'Viy'

It only took 50 years, but Viy was Russia's first horror film. Congratulations.

Written by Nikolai Gogol, an adaptation of this 1967 film was set to be released recently, the 200th birthday celebration for ol' Nik. Oddly enough, I can't

Will admit, for their first time, the Russians did it right. Viy is an extremely creepy and skin-crawling horror film.

So, why didn't the Soviet Russians make horror films?

They saw film as a means of education and revolution, first and foremost. By the time Stalin got in power in the late-1920s, Western films were rarely seen and any films imitating that of Western art were looked down upon if not directly censored.

Generally, horror films are about the unknown, the supernatural and the irrational -- all opposite values of communism.

Once the Thaw started and Russian cinema got new life, filmmakers and filmgoers sought art that connected to their own lives. Any deviation tended to side with the allegories of science fiction. Also, the Russians didn't identify with the alienation of horror films as until 1968 it was a period of relative hope.

Horror films really never caught up in Russia until the 1980s.