_Viy_ is a movie this is only going to appeal to arthouse snobs or perhaps Russians who are more familiar with the folk tail.
Being that I am neither, I found this boring.
There is no story to speak of here. If you've read the synopsis, you've seen the movie: a witch curses a priest, he is tasked with watching her corpse, she haunts him for three nights. The end.
This did not need to be a feature film. Were it a short film or a stage play, it would work better.
There are, however, a few redeeming qualities: it looks amazing, particularly the lighting; The moments in the church, between the witch, and priest are stelar.
This is an effects-heavy film: think Jan Svankmajer or George Melies. So, it does have a charm to it that you can only get with old films, where they feel more like magic shows, and must have been astounding for the time.
Unfortunately, I have seen better. All that will stick with me is a witch wearing a flower crown.

Post script: In an early scene, our protagonist, Khoma, kicks a pig in the face. I was ready to write this off as merely acting, using forced perspective. Trouble is, later on, we have a pig being dragged by his ears.
If you can agree that it's wrong to abuse a dog or cat, then you have to also agree that it's wrong to abuse a pig. If you disagree with all of that, then you're a sociopath; in which case, I can momentarily adopt your amoral philosophy to demonstrate that it does not hold water when applied against you.

I gather this is one of the few "horror" films ever made during the Soviet era and it plays rather well on the superstitions of a rural population who are pretty much scared of their own shadows! "Khoma" (Leonid Kuravlyov) is a young priest who is charged with sitting with the corpse of a young woman. Locked, overnight, inside a small wooden church, he must protect her body from the evil spirits that might emanate from the depths of Hell to corrupt not just her, but him too! The eponymous "Viy" is the mightiest of those demons who is determined to seduce the young man - but can the faith and strength of this man of God prevail? I really quite liked this - it is maybe a bit over-scripted, but the visual effects are fun and there is (deliberate) humour amongst the scenes of mayhem as coffins - and their occupants - whizz around the church scaring the cassock off the innocent and frequently terrified "Khoma". The denouement - well that has to be seen to be enjoyed. Don't let the opening few minutes - a bit fable-esque - put you off, this is easily as entertaining as anything Hammer were chucking out in the late 1960s and there are some quirky supporting characters to keep it lively for a quickly paced eighty minutes.