Last night I watched this:
VIY 1967 Soviet Union Dirs: Konstantin Yershov, Georgi Kropachyov & Alexandr Ptushk. Hanzibar/Pagan Films
As a lover of the novella upon which this is based I was delighted to discover this film existed (again, thanks Loops!
). It's really very close to the source text indeed and pulls off the conversion from odd story to film with considerable success.
It's a film both charming and spooky with a lovely look to it. The performances are great (and often funny) and the naïve special effects are a joy to behold. Ity also manages to cram a lot into a short running time (78 mins) which is something I admire greatly! A Gothic tour-de-force is not too strong a term. A film deserving of a greater audience. I recommend this highly.
Apparently a large budget remake with fancy CGI is due any day now.