A Holy Place

Sveto mesto (Holy Place) is based on a literary classic, Nikolai Gogol's 1835 short story, 'Viy'. Gogol's story deals with Toma, a theology student who is forced to read the Psalms over an (un)dead girl for three nights in a row. All the while supernatural forces are trying to grab him from the Holy Circle drawn on the church floor. Kadijevic adapts and enriches 'Viy' by inventing a new backstory for the witch-girl and her father. The dead girl, Catherine (unwittingly killed in the prologue, while in the shape of a hag), is referred to as a 'saint' and her father is a harsh and unpleasant man.