The Corpse Cast Episode 386 – Eastern European Folk Horror – Leptirica (1973) and Viy (1967)

Join your undead hosts Mike Cadaver and Matt Wall as we dig deep into the shadowy roots of Eastern European folk horror, where ancient superstitions, rural dread, and nightmarish creatures lurk just beyond the village lights.

This time we’re exhuming two pioneering classics from behind the Iron Curtain:

Then we cross into Yugoslavian territory with **Leptirica (1973)** (aka *The She-Butterfly*), a made-for-TV Serbian gem directed by Đorđe Kadijević and often hailed as the first true horror film from the region. Drawing from Milovan Glišić’s 19th-century vampire story *After Ninety Years*, it follows a young man who must prove his worth by spending a night in a cursed mill haunted by the infamous folkloric vampire Sava Savanović. Things get hairy (literally) with monstrous nocturnal attacks, a transformative she-vampire, stakes through the heart, and a creeping atmosphere soaked in Slavic rural paranoia and folklore. It’s raw, eerie, and ferociously cynical—think early folk horror with teeth.

Secondly we dig into the Soviet masterpiece Viy (1967)—directed by Konstantin Yershov and Georgi Kropachyov, and based on Nikolai Gogol’s chilling tale. A wayward seminary student finds himself trapped in a remote church, reciting prayers over the corpse of a beautiful young woman… who turns out to be a vengeful witch with a taste for revenge. Expect hypnotic flights across moonlit fields, demonic visions, and the terrifying titular Viy—a monstrous spirit whose gaze no mortal can withstand. This one’s a wild blend of Gothic fantasy, dark folklore, and surreal visuals that still feels fresh and frightening today.

Grab your holy water (or rakija), light a candle, and come get buried in Eastern European folk horror with us. Don’t blink… or the Viy might see you.

Available now wherever corpses are cast! 🪦🎙️ #FolkHorror #Viy #Leptirica #EasternEuropeanHorror #TheCorpseCast