‘Folk horror is based upon the juxtaposition of the prosaic and the uncanny…’
Folk horror has given the horror community some of its most memorable moments. Whether it be the ancient, Pagan-influenced British iteration that birthed such grotesqueries as Blood on Satan’s Claw, The Wicker Man and The Borderlands or the more rural American stylings of Deliverance and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre there is something inherently creepy about the unresolved past. Kier-La Janisse’s Shudder documentary Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched is an exhaustive look at the origins of folk horror and the fears and anxieties that have inspired it since Haxan was released in 1922…
At 3 hours and 14 minutes, this is not a documentary for the uninitiated. A prior knowledge of the subgenre is to be encouraged. However, every possible folk horror film you could think of is mentioned and at least partially dissected here by a knowledgeable collection of film scholars, critics and those who have been involved in the making of the films. We have archive footage of both the writer and the director of The Wicker Man interspersed with a meditation on voodoo, paganism and other ancient beliefs. It’s excellent if exhausting. I had to break it down into two sittings such is the level of thinking required to take everything in. One thing is for certain, even for horror film aficionados, there is much to learn here.
There are many horror documentaries on Shudder (Amazon’s horror streaming service) and all of them are at least partially interesting. Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched, despite its clumsy title, is probably the one I have enjoyed the most so far. Essential viewing for fans of folk horror.