If Beale Street Could Talk
Blood On Satan’s Claw, 10.55pm, Legend Xtra, February 19
Set in the aftermath of the English Civil War, when an urgent effort was underway to modernise ordinary people’s thinking and restore civilised values, Piers haggard’s folk horror classic uses diabolic motifs to tell a story whose underlying premise is a battrle of ideas. It sees an isolated village fall prey to the malign influence of a charismatic teenage girl with a penchant for cruelty, whose brutal gang the adults are at a loss as to how to deal with. Where spiritual authority fails, only academic learning offers hope, but there is a terrible price to pay. Cleverly shot in a way that further distinguishes the children from the preceding generation, this sophisticated film has deep roots and ongoing relevance today.
If Beale Street Could Talk, 11.15pm, BBC2, February 20
They say the blues began on Beale Street,...
Blood On Satan’s Claw, 10.55pm, Legend Xtra, February 19
Set in the aftermath of the English Civil War, when an urgent effort was underway to modernise ordinary people’s thinking and restore civilised values, Piers haggard’s folk horror classic uses diabolic motifs to tell a story whose underlying premise is a battrle of ideas. It sees an isolated village fall prey to the malign influence of a charismatic teenage girl with a penchant for cruelty, whose brutal gang the adults are at a loss as to how to deal with. Where spiritual authority fails, only academic learning offers hope, but there is a terrible price to pay. Cleverly shot in a way that further distinguishes the children from the preceding generation, this sophisticated film has deep roots and ongoing relevance today.
If Beale Street Could Talk, 11.15pm, BBC2, February 20
They say the blues began on Beale Street,...
- 2/19/2024
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Folk horror opens the crypt of mankind’s most ancient fears, letting loose tales twisted in tradition and draped in dread. From eerie European landscapes to the haunted heartland of America, folk horror invites you to dig through the ditches and burn with the witches.
Okay, but seriously. What’s unique about the Folk horror subgenre, is that it explores the dark and often terrifying traditions, myths, and legends of different cultures. These tales offer a glimpse into the ancient, often pagan world, filled with rituals, mystery, and horror. Sometimes otherworldly, but always steeped in superstition.
Here are 25 must-watch folk horror movies, ready to take you on a terror-filled trek through the time-tarnished tapestry of human superstition and witchy, culty vibes. Ready to get folked up?
Warner Bros. 1. The Wicker Man (1973)
A policeman investigates a girl’s disappearance on a remote Scottish island, only to uncover a community entangled in pagan practices.
Okay, but seriously. What’s unique about the Folk horror subgenre, is that it explores the dark and often terrifying traditions, myths, and legends of different cultures. These tales offer a glimpse into the ancient, often pagan world, filled with rituals, mystery, and horror. Sometimes otherworldly, but always steeped in superstition.
Here are 25 must-watch folk horror movies, ready to take you on a terror-filled trek through the time-tarnished tapestry of human superstition and witchy, culty vibes. Ready to get folked up?
Warner Bros. 1. The Wicker Man (1973)
A policeman investigates a girl’s disappearance on a remote Scottish island, only to uncover a community entangled in pagan practices.
- 8/15/2023
- by Kimberley Elizabeth
‘We Might Hurt Each Other’ – ‘Friday the 13th’-Inspired Slasher Hits Screambox *Tomorrow*! [Trailer]
Straight out of the Chattanooga premiere, Cineverse and Bloody Disgusting’s throwback slasher We Might Hurt Each Other (formerly Pensive) arrives on our Screambox streaming platform tomorrow!
The bloody Lithuanian teen horror was directed by Jonas Trukanas and stars Gabija Bargailaite (Pilgrims) and calls back to slasher classics like Friday the 13th.
Inspired by local legends, Pensive follows a group of privileged high school classmates. After these classmates destroy a set of life-size wooden statues during a wild graduation party, a mysterious masked killer begins picking the group off one by one.
Gory and glorious, Pensive is a gritty throwback to the 80s and the heyday of slasher cinema. Calling back to Friday the 13th, the filmmakers took what was great about the era and give it a refreshing lift with the infusion of Eastern European folklore. Check out the trailer below.
Other July highlights include The Exorcist writer William Peter Blatty...
The bloody Lithuanian teen horror was directed by Jonas Trukanas and stars Gabija Bargailaite (Pilgrims) and calls back to slasher classics like Friday the 13th.
Inspired by local legends, Pensive follows a group of privileged high school classmates. After these classmates destroy a set of life-size wooden statues during a wild graduation party, a mysterious masked killer begins picking the group off one by one.
Gory and glorious, Pensive is a gritty throwback to the 80s and the heyday of slasher cinema. Calling back to Friday the 13th, the filmmakers took what was great about the era and give it a refreshing lift with the infusion of Eastern European folklore. Check out the trailer below.
Other July highlights include The Exorcist writer William Peter Blatty...
- 7/10/2023
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
Get ready for a brand new summer slasher when Screambox drops the Lithuanian splatter film We Might Hurt Each Other this July, alongside other gems including the horror comedy Shoky & Morthy: Last Big Thing, the brutal Czech film Repulse, Elvira’s Haunted Hills, and the documentary Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street.
Here’s everything you need to know…
Evil, terror, lust… the Mistress of the Dark really knows how to party! Elvira’s Haunted Hills is now streaming on Screambox, alongside 13 Nights of Elvira and over 10 classic episodes of Elvira’s Movie Macabre.
A masked killer strikes in Screambox Original We Might Hurt Each Other on July 11. Lithuania’s first slasher pays tribute to the golden age of the subgenre while infusing an influence from Eastern European folklore.
A pair of notorious YouTubers make a killer comeback in the Screambox Exclusive Shoky & Morthy: Last Big Thing on July 18. The...
Here’s everything you need to know…
Evil, terror, lust… the Mistress of the Dark really knows how to party! Elvira’s Haunted Hills is now streaming on Screambox, alongside 13 Nights of Elvira and over 10 classic episodes of Elvira’s Movie Macabre.
A masked killer strikes in Screambox Original We Might Hurt Each Other on July 11. Lithuania’s first slasher pays tribute to the golden age of the subgenre while infusing an influence from Eastern European folklore.
A pair of notorious YouTubers make a killer comeback in the Screambox Exclusive Shoky & Morthy: Last Big Thing on July 18. The...
- 7/1/2023
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
A new season of The Wicker Man is upon us. The classic 1973 horror film, which is arguably the best-known of three British films from its era that embody “folk horror” (the others being Witchfinder General and Blood on Satan’s Claw), is returning to UK cinemas for one night on June 21 in a special new 4K remastered version of the “Final Cut,” complete with re-edited footage deleted from the original, troubled theatrical release.
Following that, the three existing versions of the film (The Wicker Man may rival Blade Runner in the department of different cuts), all in 4K Uhd, will be released in an exclusive 50th anniversary collector’s edition on Sept. 4. The five-disc set will also contain a bevy of goodies, including new essays, an EP of music, and plenty of other bonus content.
Despite a turbulent production and initial release, The Wicker Man has only grown in stature over...
Following that, the three existing versions of the film (The Wicker Man may rival Blade Runner in the department of different cuts), all in 4K Uhd, will be released in an exclusive 50th anniversary collector’s edition on Sept. 4. The five-disc set will also contain a bevy of goodies, including new essays, an EP of music, and plenty of other bonus content.
Despite a turbulent production and initial release, The Wicker Man has only grown in stature over...
- 6/20/2023
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
Classic folk horror movie The Wicker Man turns fifty later this year, but today, May 1, 2023, makes for the perfect time to celebrate its momentous anniversary.
The entire premise centers around May Day festivities, after all, building its horror around the themes of rebirth, fertility, and the driving desire for an isolated community to thrive with a fruitful harvest. What’s now considered a foundational pillar of folk horror wasn’t always the case. The Wicker Man eschewed conventional horror tactics that puzzled upon initial release, mining its ultimate terror from one unforgettable ending.
The opening text attempts to establish authenticity with a producer’s thanks to Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) and his people for cooperating with the film’s production and providing insight into their religion and culture. It then cuts to a seaplane arriving at the remote Summerisle setting over the opening credits, introducing Police Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward...
The entire premise centers around May Day festivities, after all, building its horror around the themes of rebirth, fertility, and the driving desire for an isolated community to thrive with a fruitful harvest. What’s now considered a foundational pillar of folk horror wasn’t always the case. The Wicker Man eschewed conventional horror tactics that puzzled upon initial release, mining its ultimate terror from one unforgettable ending.
The opening text attempts to establish authenticity with a producer’s thanks to Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) and his people for cooperating with the film’s production and providing insight into their religion and culture. It then cuts to a seaplane arriving at the remote Summerisle setting over the opening credits, introducing Police Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward...
- 5/1/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Happy May Day, the traditional halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. It celebrates new life, specifically harvests and the oncoming warm summer months. May Day festivities include Maypole dancing, bonfires, and gathering wildflowers. All things that become so much more sinister in horror – just ask Ari Aster about that one.
We’re celebrating May Day with five folk horror movies you can stream now, from foundational classics to modern frights. Here’s where to watch them this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Apostle – Netflix
Writer/Director Gareth Evans brings every bit of the bone-crunching brutality of The Raid and The Raid 2 to his period folk horror film. The Guest’s Dan Stevens stars as Thomas, a man who travels to a remote island in 1905 to infiltrate the cult that’s kidnapped his sister for ransom. The cult leaders claim that...
We’re celebrating May Day with five folk horror movies you can stream now, from foundational classics to modern frights. Here’s where to watch them this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Apostle – Netflix
Writer/Director Gareth Evans brings every bit of the bone-crunching brutality of The Raid and The Raid 2 to his period folk horror film. The Guest’s Dan Stevens stars as Thomas, a man who travels to a remote island in 1905 to infiltrate the cult that’s kidnapped his sister for ransom. The cult leaders claim that...
- 5/1/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Evoking the twisted eeriness of classic folk horror but with a contemporary twist, Joseph Brett’s Stones is the story of a brother and sister whose family reunion at a stone circle becomes interrupted by an uninvited guest. Realised through the medium of stop motion animation, Brett’s film embraces the uncanny nature of the form with silicone-style puppets that bring a childlike yet unsettling sensibility to its tale of nostalgia, home and the connections we share with our local landscapes. Dn is delighted to premiere Stones today on the May 1st, the day used to commemorate the pagan festival of Beltane, alongside a in-depth conversation with Brett about his journey creating the film across lockdown, the creative marriage he sees between folk horror and stop motion, and the desire he and Writer Bec Boey (the other half of their Production Company Jackdaw Films) had to alter notions of representation within popular folk aesthetics.
- 5/1/2023
- by James Maitre
- Directors Notes
Stars: Natasha Linton, Rosanne Priest, Bryony Harvey, Sean Botha, Helene Udy | Written by Kemal Yildirim, Mike Hallett | Directed by Kemal Yildirim
Appropriately enough for a ghost story, The Haunting of the Lady-Jane begins at a funeral. As Lily O Cleirigh’s father, her mother, and sister confront her accusing her of causing her father’s death with her sins and keeping his soul away from God.
Six months later while Lily is on a book tour, her sister Kayleigh calls her from the same church and asks her to come home telling her “we miss you”. Lily for some reason is not interested. She’s planning a trip with Zara an aspiring influencer whom she met via her blog, and who also seems to have some family issues.
The offer of a free barge trip brings them into contact with Willard Monk a large man with his own issues. It...
Appropriately enough for a ghost story, The Haunting of the Lady-Jane begins at a funeral. As Lily O Cleirigh’s father, her mother, and sister confront her accusing her of causing her father’s death with her sins and keeping his soul away from God.
Six months later while Lily is on a book tour, her sister Kayleigh calls her from the same church and asks her to come home telling her “we miss you”. Lily for some reason is not interested. She’s planning a trip with Zara an aspiring influencer whom she met via her blog, and who also seems to have some family issues.
The offer of a free barge trip brings them into contact with Willard Monk a large man with his own issues. It...
- 3/28/2023
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Following the exciting announcement that Tony Todd will be a guest of honor at this year's Salem Horror Fest, the full lineup for the anticipated festival has now been revealed, including the new documentary Satan Wants You and retrospective screenings of Fright Night: Part II, The Fog (1980), The Blood on Satan's Claw, and more!
Exclusively announced on Fangoria, you can check out the full lineup of films and events for this year's Salem Horror Fest on their official website, and we also have the official press release with additional details:
Press Release: Salem Ma - March 13, 2023 - Named by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the “best genre festivals in the world,” Salem Horror Fest has announced the full lineup for their sixth annual presentation, which kicks off on Thursday, April 20, and runs through Sunday, April 30.
The official program begins with a featured showcase of Satan Wants You, a new documentary...
Exclusively announced on Fangoria, you can check out the full lineup of films and events for this year's Salem Horror Fest on their official website, and we also have the official press release with additional details:
Press Release: Salem Ma - March 13, 2023 - Named by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the “best genre festivals in the world,” Salem Horror Fest has announced the full lineup for their sixth annual presentation, which kicks off on Thursday, April 20, and runs through Sunday, April 30.
The official program begins with a featured showcase of Satan Wants You, a new documentary...
- 3/20/2023
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
I grew up in Suffolk, UK, one of the old stamping grounds of Matthew Hopkins, the nefarious witch-hunter whose zealotry would one day be captured on screen by Vincent Price in the 1968 horror movie "Witchfinder General." As a fan of legends and lore, I once researched a piece on local witchcraft for my A-Levels, spending many an afternoon in the Suffolk Records Office. It was a delightfully eerie experience, sitting in a darkened room peering down the lens of a microfilm viewer at 300-year-old accounts of bewitchment, familiars, and curses.
One story still sticks in my mind. A witch took a dislike to a man in her village and sent an army of spiders to torment him. Eyewitnesses supposedly saw hundreds of the things swarming his house and weaving their webs. His frightened neighbors responded by burning the place down.
The thing that struck me most about these stories was...
One story still sticks in my mind. A witch took a dislike to a man in her village and sent an army of spiders to torment him. Eyewitnesses supposedly saw hundreds of the things swarming his house and weaving their webs. His frightened neighbors responded by burning the place down.
The thing that struck me most about these stories was...
- 2/20/2023
- by Lee Adams
- Slash Film
A central image in Mark Jenkin’s weathered, rough-hewn, rocky folk horror “Enys Men” is of a weathered, rough-hewn rock. A menhir that looks like it’s been orphaned from Stonehenge stands perched on a blustery hillside on the eponymous isle. And just as many such ancient monoliths remain somewhat inexplicable, this striking cinematic anomaly appears as though excavated from the annals of filmmaking history, with the viewer playing the befuddled archaeologist faced with an uncanny artefact from a lost civilization. Shame that sometimes, such discoveries turn out to be more impressive for how they look than what they mean.
Shot by Jenkin himself, who also writes, edits and scores, the hand-processed, richly saturated “Enys Men” is warm to the eye and livid with gorgeous 16mm grain, glorying in a scratchy, imprecisely post-synced soundtrack. It follows — or trundles after, in ever-decreasing circles — a woman known only as The Volunteer (Mary Woodvine...
Shot by Jenkin himself, who also writes, edits and scores, the hand-processed, richly saturated “Enys Men” is warm to the eye and livid with gorgeous 16mm grain, glorying in a scratchy, imprecisely post-synced soundtrack. It follows — or trundles after, in ever-decreasing circles — a woman known only as The Volunteer (Mary Woodvine...
- 5/27/2022
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Mark Jenkin’s 2019 film Bait had the rare distinction of being a genuine out-of-the-blue discovery, featuring heavily on UK critics’ year-best lists after a modest arthouse release by the BFI. The black-and-white film’s experimental style was emphasized in all its press coverage, nodding to avant-garde auteurs like Stan Brakhage, Derek Jarman and Guy Maddin — all directors who are interested in the literal grain of film and video. Throw in post-synch sound, and you have a film more likely to screen to two people and a dog at a smoky underground 1960s cine-club than win a BAFTA.
For all its formal intricacies, though, Bait had a very traditional narrative, being the story of a Cornish fisherman who sees his village becoming gentrified after selling his house to a couple of rich out-of-towners. Enys Men,...
For all its formal intricacies, though, Bait had a very traditional narrative, being the story of a Cornish fisherman who sees his village becoming gentrified after selling his house to a couple of rich out-of-towners. Enys Men,...
- 5/20/2022
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Warning: contains spoilers for Inside No. 9 episode ‘Mr King’.
They didn’t burn him! Drowned, strangled and dismembered, yes, but Class 9 of Man Sancta Ysgol stopped short of going full The Wicker Man on poor Mr Curtis – ex-primary teacher, current human bean. What a delightfully nasty ending that was, a human sacrifice in Pritt Stick, doilies and crepe paper, conducted by beaming cherubs dinging triangles in happy contemplation of bloodshed to come.
More surprising perhaps than this episode’s denouement was that it’s taken until now for Inside No. 9 to offer up an entry for the folk horror canon. Why the wait? Given its creators’ previous work, this modern-day tribute to Robin Hardy’s sinister seventies classic and the likes of The Blood on Satan’s Claw felt overdue.
Was the idea of a local school for local people where the old ways die hard thought too close...
They didn’t burn him! Drowned, strangled and dismembered, yes, but Class 9 of Man Sancta Ysgol stopped short of going full The Wicker Man on poor Mr Curtis – ex-primary teacher, current human bean. What a delightfully nasty ending that was, a human sacrifice in Pritt Stick, doilies and crepe paper, conducted by beaming cherubs dinging triangles in happy contemplation of bloodshed to come.
More surprising perhaps than this episode’s denouement was that it’s taken until now for Inside No. 9 to offer up an entry for the folk horror canon. Why the wait? Given its creators’ previous work, this modern-day tribute to Robin Hardy’s sinister seventies classic and the likes of The Blood on Satan’s Claw felt overdue.
Was the idea of a local school for local people where the old ways die hard thought too close...
- 4/27/2022
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Lush, brooding and somewhat perverse, this highly atmospheric 17th century British horror film made few ripples on original release, but has come to be regarded on par with its evil twin Witchfinder General, another stylish amalgamation of satanic superstition and bleak tragedy. Disjointed at times, but high on the list of superior‚ fright films of the 70s.
The post The Blood on Satan’s Claw appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post The Blood on Satan’s Claw appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 1/26/2022
- by TFH Team
- Trailers from Hell
Folklore is the oldest manifestation of shared storytelling. It has been a part of cinema since the very early days, when it inspired works such as Alice Guy-Blaché’s The Cabbage Fairy and George S Fleming’s Jack And The Beanstalk. But what of folk horror? Kier-La Janisse’s outstanding documentary traces the history and form of this influential cinematic tradition across decades and continents, and does it all with such verve that, at three hours and 14 minutes in length, this densely packed film still flashes by.
It begins with what Janisse calls the big three: Michael Reeve’s Witchfinder General, Piers Haggard’s Blood On Satan’s Claw and Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man. All three have a strong personal relevance for her and al three continue to be celebrated as classics decades after they were made. They’re as good a hook as any on which to hang...
It begins with what Janisse calls the big three: Michael Reeve’s Witchfinder General, Piers Haggard’s Blood On Satan’s Claw and Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man. All three have a strong personal relevance for her and al three continue to be celebrated as classics decades after they were made. They’re as good a hook as any on which to hang...
- 8/20/2021
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Features: Robert Eggers, Lawrence Gordon Clark, Piers Haggard, Alice Lowe, Jonathan Rigby | Written and Directed by Kier-La Janisse
After watching Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror you certainly can’t accuse writer/director Kier-La Janisse (Eurocrime! the Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the ’70s) of just skimming the topic’s surface. Book-ended by animated credits sequences and featuring paper collages by Guy Maddin Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched is a deep dive into the definition and history of folk horror. The film’s three hours and fifteen minutes are split into six chapters that make up three roughly hour-long segments.
The first segment deals with the “Unholy Trinity” of Witchfinder General, The Blood on Satan’s Claw and The Wicker Man. While it doesn’t deny their influence and importance, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched very quickly dispenses with the idea that they are the root of the genre,...
After watching Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror you certainly can’t accuse writer/director Kier-La Janisse (Eurocrime! the Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the ’70s) of just skimming the topic’s surface. Book-ended by animated credits sequences and featuring paper collages by Guy Maddin Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched is a deep dive into the definition and history of folk horror. The film’s three hours and fifteen minutes are split into six chapters that make up three roughly hour-long segments.
The first segment deals with the “Unholy Trinity” of Witchfinder General, The Blood on Satan’s Claw and The Wicker Man. While it doesn’t deny their influence and importance, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched very quickly dispenses with the idea that they are the root of the genre,...
- 8/10/2021
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
While the other streaming services set up recurring franchises, Hulu has opted to get a bit more experimental with its original offerings in August 2021.
Hulu’s list of new releases this month is highlighted by three original series concepts with promise. Reservation Dogs premieres on August 9. Co-created by Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok), this story will follow four indigenous teenagers in Oklahoma as they stave off boredom and adulthood. Next up is Nine Perfect Strangers on August 18. This miniseries, based on a book of the same name, is produced by David E. Kelley and features staggering cast of Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Luke Evans, Samara Weaving, and more.
Only Murders in the Building is likely the biggest thing to look forward to in August though. Premiering on August 31, this comedy stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez as three true crime-obsessed friends who stumble into a true crime of their own.
Hulu’s list of new releases this month is highlighted by three original series concepts with promise. Reservation Dogs premieres on August 9. Co-created by Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok), this story will follow four indigenous teenagers in Oklahoma as they stave off boredom and adulthood. Next up is Nine Perfect Strangers on August 18. This miniseries, based on a book of the same name, is produced by David E. Kelley and features staggering cast of Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Luke Evans, Samara Weaving, and more.
Only Murders in the Building is likely the biggest thing to look forward to in August though. Premiering on August 31, this comedy stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez as three true crime-obsessed friends who stumble into a true crime of their own.
- 8/1/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to check out an array of projects from three different female filmmakers who were part of the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, including Here Before, which was written and directed by Stacey Gregg, Kier-La Janisse’s folk horror doc Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched, as well as Witch Hunt from writer/director Elle Callahan.
Read on to see what I thought of this trio of films out of this year’s SXSW, and be sure to keep an eye out for more on these projects in the near future as well.
Here Before: With her feature film debut, Irish writer/director Stacey Gregg makes quite a statement with Here Before, a psychological thriller that also happens to be a thoughtful cinematic meditation on grief and motherhood. Featuring yet another all-timer performance from Andrea Riseborough, Here Before was easily the most surprising film I saw during this year’s SXSW.
Read on to see what I thought of this trio of films out of this year’s SXSW, and be sure to keep an eye out for more on these projects in the near future as well.
Here Before: With her feature film debut, Irish writer/director Stacey Gregg makes quite a statement with Here Before, a psychological thriller that also happens to be a thoughtful cinematic meditation on grief and motherhood. Featuring yet another all-timer performance from Andrea Riseborough, Here Before was easily the most surprising film I saw during this year’s SXSW.
- 3/30/2021
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Last week, Kier-La Janisse celebrated the world premiere of her expansive folk horror documentary Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched as part of the 2021 SXSW Film Festival. The project celebrates folklore and folk horror from Britain, the U.S. and all over the world over the course of three-plus hours, and it was announced just a few days ago that Janisse’s doc picked up the Audience Award for this year’s SXSW Midnighters slate as well.
Daily Dead recently had the honor of speaking with Janisse about Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched, and during our interview, she discussed how the project initially started off as a bonus feature for Severin, but eventually evolved into the mega-doc that it is today. Janisse also chatted about the research process, trying to whittle everything down for the project, and more.
What was the catalyst behind Woodlands? Was it just something you'd always wanted to do,...
Daily Dead recently had the honor of speaking with Janisse about Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched, and during our interview, she discussed how the project initially started off as a bonus feature for Severin, but eventually evolved into the mega-doc that it is today. Janisse also chatted about the research process, trying to whittle everything down for the project, and more.
What was the catalyst behind Woodlands? Was it just something you'd always wanted to do,...
- 3/25/2021
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
What began as a BTS feature for a home video release of The Blood on Satan’s Claw, a 1971 cult favorite about Satanic possession in a 17th century English village, premiered this week at the South by Southwest film festival as a three-hour opus on the allure and dread of folk-horror. “I started working on a half-hour bonus feature for Severin [Films] and it just kept getting really big,” says Kier-La Janisse, whose directorial debut Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched adds yet another hyphen to her endeavors as a film historian-memorist (The House of Psychotic Women), editor, curator and educator (she […]
The post "Is the Real Horror the 'Old Ways' Or the Civilization That We Built?: Kier-La Janisse on Her SXSW Doc, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post "Is the Real Horror the 'Old Ways' Or the Civilization That We Built?: Kier-La Janisse on Her SXSW Doc, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 3/19/2021
- by Steve Dollar
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
What began as a BTS feature for a home video release of The Blood on Satan’s Claw, a 1971 cult favorite about Satanic possession in a 17th century English village, premiered this week at the South by Southwest film festival as a three-hour opus on the allure and dread of folk-horror. “I started working on a half-hour bonus feature for Severin [Films] and it just kept getting really big,” says Kier-La Janisse, whose directorial debut Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched adds yet another hyphen to her endeavors as a film historian-memorist (The House of Psychotic Women), editor, curator and educator (she […]
The post "Is the Real Horror the 'Old Ways' Or the Civilization That We Built?: Kier-La Janisse on Her SXSW Doc, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post "Is the Real Horror the 'Old Ways' Or the Civilization That We Built?: Kier-La Janisse on Her SXSW Doc, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 3/19/2021
- by Steve Dollar
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
, Kier-La Janisse’s “Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched” crams an entire semester’s worth of Hauntology 101 into a numbingly comprehensive 193-minute documentary that unearths the history of cinematic folk horror in such loving, erudite, and seductive detail that you almost can’t wait for it to be over so you can start watching some of the 100+ films that are excerpted along the way.
Not that such patience will necessarily be required. Trusting that her subject matter is fertile enough to merit such a scholarly approach, and also bewitching enough to survive it, Janisse connects the dots between “The Wicker Man” and “La Llorona” in a way that allows this multi-chapter epic to function as both séance-like spectacle and streaming-era syllabus in equal measure.
On the one hand, auditing the whole course in a single sitting makes it easier to recognize folk horror as a mode rather than a genre, and...
Not that such patience will necessarily be required. Trusting that her subject matter is fertile enough to merit such a scholarly approach, and also bewitching enough to survive it, Janisse connects the dots between “The Wicker Man” and “La Llorona” in a way that allows this multi-chapter epic to function as both séance-like spectacle and streaming-era syllabus in equal measure.
On the one hand, auditing the whole course in a single sitting makes it easier to recognize folk horror as a mode rather than a genre, and...
- 3/17/2021
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
“Folk horror” is a term of relatively recent vintage — or at least popularity — that only grows more broad as “Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched” spends three and a quarter hours trying to define it. Still, a slippery thesis doesn’t detract from the pleasures of this documentary from genre scholar and programmer Kier-La Janisse. She draws on alluring clips from more than 100 films, plus myriad interviews, to survey an alternately lurid and surreal cinematic (as well as television) field of mostly rural tales inspired by traditional superstitions and lore.
for a long time to come. Production company Severin Films, itself a leading restorer and home-formats distributor of vintage cult movies, should find a ready-made audience in its own customer base—which Janisse’s film will no doubt help expand.
Beyond the director herself, the various authorities heard from here (just a couple in archival interviews) include veteran and next-generation filmmakers,...
for a long time to come. Production company Severin Films, itself a leading restorer and home-formats distributor of vintage cult movies, should find a ready-made audience in its own customer base—which Janisse’s film will no doubt help expand.
Beyond the director herself, the various authorities heard from here (just a couple in archival interviews) include veteran and next-generation filmmakers,...
- 3/17/2021
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
Following the misfire of 2019’s “Hellboy” reboot, “The Descent” director Neil Marshall returns to his traditional horror roots with “The Reckoning,” an uneven melodrama about an innocent young widow accused of witchcraft during the Great Plague of London, 1665. Striving to be a rousing tale of female empowerment in the face of brutal patriarchy and religious extremism, “The Reckoning” has some powerful moments but relies too heavily on fantasy sequences to deliver scares, and its credibility is significantly compromised by the heroine consistently emerging from extreme torture sessions with barely a hair out of place or a smudge on her makeup. Dedicated horror hounds will be the main takers when this well-produced item hits U.S. theaters and VOD on February 5.
A world apart from arty contemporary folk-horrors such as “The Witch” and “Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse,” Marshall’s new film is more closely related to hellfire European exploitation titles of...
A world apart from arty contemporary folk-horrors such as “The Witch” and “Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse,” Marshall’s new film is more closely related to hellfire European exploitation titles of...
- 2/3/2021
- by Richard Kuipers
- Variety Film + TV
For me it usually starts with the title, and The Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971) has a doozy; provocative and exploitative, it evokes images of rituals, bloodlust, and other sundry delights. And sometimes the stars align, the film more or less living up to the promise of the title, or at least to the promise of the promise.
Released by Cannon Releasing Corp. Stateside in April and by its own Tigon Pictures in the U.K. in July, The Blood on Satan’s Claw didn’t do well; Tigon had a hit with The Witchfinder General (1968) with Vincent Price, and were looking to replicate that success. Regardless of its fate, The Blood on Satan’s Claw is an effective example of folk-horror, killer kids, and some light Satanism, as a treat.
We open on a field in early 18th Century England, as Ralph (Barry Andrews - The Spy Who Loved Me) ploughs the...
Released by Cannon Releasing Corp. Stateside in April and by its own Tigon Pictures in the U.K. in July, The Blood on Satan’s Claw didn’t do well; Tigon had a hit with The Witchfinder General (1968) with Vincent Price, and were looking to replicate that success. Regardless of its fate, The Blood on Satan’s Claw is an effective example of folk-horror, killer kids, and some light Satanism, as a treat.
We open on a field in early 18th Century England, as Ralph (Barry Andrews - The Spy Who Loved Me) ploughs the...
- 1/9/2021
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
When I was a kid, I somehow inherited an 8mm film projector and managed to convince my mom to buy me a handful of movies on the format. Now when I say “movies,” I mean these little spools of 8mm celluloid that basically took various motion pictures and condensed them down to silent 10-minute highlight reels, mostly in black and white.
They were in many ways the earliest precursor of home video, and one of the films I convinced my mom to purchase was Hammer Films’ Taste the Blood of Dracula. While the format really prevented me from making much sense of the narrative, certain imagery–Dracula’s face emerging from beneath a cracking caul of dust, two beautiful young women driving a stake into the heart of an older gentleman, a younger man drinking a cup of blood and choking as it poured out of his mouth–stayed firmly with me.
They were in many ways the earliest precursor of home video, and one of the films I convinced my mom to purchase was Hammer Films’ Taste the Blood of Dracula. While the format really prevented me from making much sense of the narrative, certain imagery–Dracula’s face emerging from beneath a cracking caul of dust, two beautiful young women driving a stake into the heart of an older gentleman, a younger man drinking a cup of blood and choking as it poured out of his mouth–stayed firmly with me.
- 6/8/2020
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
In his latest podcast/interview, host and screenwriter Stuart Wright talks with filmmaker and author Sean Hogan about his new book, the metacritical review of British horror films since 1945 – England’S Screaming & his European semi-sequel Three Mothers, One Father. Both of which are out now.
What connects Duc de Richleau (The Devil Rides Out), Julian Karswell (Night Of The Demon), and Damien Thorn (The Omen)? Carol Ledoux (Repulsion) and Dr. Channard (Hellbound: Hellraiser II)? Jo Gilkes (Beasts) and Angel Blake (Blood On Satan’s Claw)? How is Karswell linked to Hugo Fitch (Dead Of Night) and Emily Underwood (From Beyond The Grave)? What connects Dorothy Yates (Frightmare) to the deaths at Russell Square (Death Line)? How and why does Damien Thorn know Julia Cotton (Hellraiser)? It’s a common thread of Film Criticism to note the influences and precursors of one film to another, especially in relation to genre: by definition,...
What connects Duc de Richleau (The Devil Rides Out), Julian Karswell (Night Of The Demon), and Damien Thorn (The Omen)? Carol Ledoux (Repulsion) and Dr. Channard (Hellbound: Hellraiser II)? Jo Gilkes (Beasts) and Angel Blake (Blood On Satan’s Claw)? How is Karswell linked to Hugo Fitch (Dead Of Night) and Emily Underwood (From Beyond The Grave)? What connects Dorothy Yates (Frightmare) to the deaths at Russell Square (Death Line)? How and why does Damien Thorn know Julia Cotton (Hellraiser)? It’s a common thread of Film Criticism to note the influences and precursors of one film to another, especially in relation to genre: by definition,...
- 4/14/2020
- by Stuart Wright
- Nerdly
What at first seems like a boring summer in the countryside turns into a mythical coming-of-age journey for a London teenager in Nicnevin and the Bloody Queen, the graphic novel debut of writer Helen Mullane. With Nicnevin and the Bloody Queen out now as a trade paperback from Humanoids, we caught up with Mullane to discuss the layers of her thought-provoking folk horror comic, including her talented art team, the book's cinematic influences, and how she comes up with some of her best ideas while dog sledding.
You can read our full Q&a with Mullane below, and we've also been provided with a gallery of preview pages and artwork from Nicnevin and the Bloody Queen. To learn more about the graphic novel, visit:
https://www.humanoids.com/y_catalog/book/id/940
Thanks for taking the time to answer questions for us, and congratulations on Nicnevin and the Bloody Queen!
You can read our full Q&a with Mullane below, and we've also been provided with a gallery of preview pages and artwork from Nicnevin and the Bloody Queen. To learn more about the graphic novel, visit:
https://www.humanoids.com/y_catalog/book/id/940
Thanks for taking the time to answer questions for us, and congratulations on Nicnevin and the Bloody Queen!
- 3/10/2020
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Well, March is definitely “going out like a lamb” (as the old saying goes) when it comes to horror and sci-fi home entertainment releases, as there are only several different titles coming home this Tuesday.
Universal Studios is releasing J.A. Bayona’s heartbreaking modern fable, A Monster Calls, to both Blu-ray and DVD this week, and if you're a cult film fan, then you have a few fun movies to look forward to adding to your home collections: Witchtrap, Venom, and the four-film collection for Wishmaster, a new addition to the Vestron Video Collector’s Series.
Other notable releases for March 28th include Mortuary Massacre, The Abduction of Jennifer Grayson, Park Chan-Wook's The Handmaiden (which finally gets the Blu-ray treatment), and for the little monster fans, Monster High: Electrified.
A Monster Calls (Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Blu/DVD/Digital HD & DVD)
Liam Neeson, Felicity Jones, and Sigourney Weaver...
Universal Studios is releasing J.A. Bayona’s heartbreaking modern fable, A Monster Calls, to both Blu-ray and DVD this week, and if you're a cult film fan, then you have a few fun movies to look forward to adding to your home collections: Witchtrap, Venom, and the four-film collection for Wishmaster, a new addition to the Vestron Video Collector’s Series.
Other notable releases for March 28th include Mortuary Massacre, The Abduction of Jennifer Grayson, Park Chan-Wook's The Handmaiden (which finally gets the Blu-ray treatment), and for the little monster fans, Monster High: Electrified.
A Monster Calls (Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Blu/DVD/Digital HD & DVD)
Liam Neeson, Felicity Jones, and Sigourney Weaver...
- 3/28/2017
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Since making his cinematic debut with 2009 crime drama Down Terrace, director Ben Wheatley has become renowned for his dark, vivid and often disturbing output, including 2011's Kill List and last year's Sightseers.
But his latest effort - Civil War historical A Field in England - promises to push boundaries in more ways than one. On July 5, the surrealist period drama will become the first film in the UK to receive a simultaneous release in cinemas, on DVD, on free TV and on VoD.
Digital Spy spoke to the film's star Reece Shearsmith about its unorthodox 12-day shoot, his "horrified" reaction to Wheatley's previous work and his thoughts on the multi-platform release...
> 'A Field in England' trailer: Ben Wheatley's 'Sightseers' follow-up
A Field in England has been described as a psychedelic historical drama - how would you sum it up in your own words?
"That's really hard! It's the story of...
But his latest effort - Civil War historical A Field in England - promises to push boundaries in more ways than one. On July 5, the surrealist period drama will become the first film in the UK to receive a simultaneous release in cinemas, on DVD, on free TV and on VoD.
Digital Spy spoke to the film's star Reece Shearsmith about its unorthodox 12-day shoot, his "horrified" reaction to Wheatley's previous work and his thoughts on the multi-platform release...
> 'A Field in England' trailer: Ben Wheatley's 'Sightseers' follow-up
A Field in England has been described as a psychedelic historical drama - how would you sum it up in your own words?
"That's really hard! It's the story of...
- 6/30/2013
- Digital Spy
Following rounds 1 and 2, this one will take us right on through the countdown to Halloween and will surely be the most actively updated of the bunch. Best to begin, then, by grounding it in a classic, so we turn to David Kalat: "Frankenstein isn't a science fiction story about an arrogant scientist who intrudes on God's domain, it's a metaphor about our relationship to God." That's his argument, and I'll let him explain, but I want to pull back to a couple of earlier sentences in his piece. Mary Shelley's novel, "and the 1910 film version, treated the 'science' of Frankenstein as just so much folderol, a MacGuffin to introduce the artificial man into the story. Whale was so good at providing a reasonably convincing visualization of reviving the dead — no, more than that, a stunningly satisfying visualization of reviving the dead — it focused popular attention on that part of...
- 10/27/2011
- MUBI
There’s plenty of dank weather, occult rituals and gore in Wake Wood, the latest movie from the revived Hammer Films. Here’s Ryan’s review…
No sun. Perpetual rain. It's the weather, I suspect, that makes the British Isles home to so many spectacularly hideous works of horror. Writers like W W Jacobs and Arthur Machen have been frightening the wits out of unwary readers for over a hundred years, while Hammer Films have been weaving similarly nightmarish visions in cinema since the 1950s.
Wake Wood, one of a clutch of new offerings from a freshly revived Hammer, harks back to a long tradition of horror that is distinctly of the British Isles. Set in a quiet village somewhere in Ireland, it has a loamy, dank atmosphere that recalls Jacobs' startling short story, The Monkey's Paw, and vague echoes of the folky weirdness on display in the 1971 film, The Blood On Satan's Claw.
No sun. Perpetual rain. It's the weather, I suspect, that makes the British Isles home to so many spectacularly hideous works of horror. Writers like W W Jacobs and Arthur Machen have been frightening the wits out of unwary readers for over a hundred years, while Hammer Films have been weaving similarly nightmarish visions in cinema since the 1950s.
Wake Wood, one of a clutch of new offerings from a freshly revived Hammer, harks back to a long tradition of horror that is distinctly of the British Isles. Set in a quiet village somewhere in Ireland, it has a loamy, dank atmosphere that recalls Jacobs' startling short story, The Monkey's Paw, and vague echoes of the folky weirdness on display in the 1971 film, The Blood On Satan's Claw.
- 3/25/2011
- Den of Geek
Having had the TV hit of the summer with Sherlock, Mark Gatiss is now bringing cult horror to the masses – and putting Edwardians on the moon. Stuart Jeffries meets a shooting star
'When I was a boy," says Mark Gatiss, "I wanted to be a whiskery man in a white coat saying, 'Look, it's a pterodactyl!'" He elaborates, mentioning one of his film heroes, who died earlier this year: "I wanted to be Lionel Jeffries in an Edwardian-set family fantasy film."
Gatiss, now 43, has his wish. He's playing Edwardian inventor Joseph Cavor in his own defiantly kidultish adaptation of Hg Wells's 1901 novel The First Men in the Moon. Cavor is white-coated, facially hirsute and occasionally ditsy. Just before they set off for the moon, fellow astronaut Arnold Bedford inquires: "I say, Cavor, we will be able to get back, won't we?"
"I don't see why not," says Cavor vaguely.
'When I was a boy," says Mark Gatiss, "I wanted to be a whiskery man in a white coat saying, 'Look, it's a pterodactyl!'" He elaborates, mentioning one of his film heroes, who died earlier this year: "I wanted to be Lionel Jeffries in an Edwardian-set family fantasy film."
Gatiss, now 43, has his wish. He's playing Edwardian inventor Joseph Cavor in his own defiantly kidultish adaptation of Hg Wells's 1901 novel The First Men in the Moon. Cavor is white-coated, facially hirsute and occasionally ditsy. Just before they set off for the moon, fellow astronaut Arnold Bedford inquires: "I say, Cavor, we will be able to get back, won't we?"
"I don't see why not," says Cavor vaguely.
- 10/11/2010
- by Stuart Jeffries
- The Guardian - Film News
Linda Hayden, the teen femme fatale of 1970s British films, as a seductive sorceress in The Blood on Satan's Claw.
TCM (North America) will have a rare broadcast tonight of the kinky 1971 British Tigon Studios horror film The Blood on Satan's Claw dealing with witchcraft among teenage girls in 17th century England. The wonderful character actor Patrick Wymark has the lead role and super-sexy teen Linda Hayden parades around starkers. The film is gripping throughout and evokes aspects of the better Hammer horror movies. The telecast is at 3:45 Am (Est)...
TCM (North America) will have a rare broadcast tonight of the kinky 1971 British Tigon Studios horror film The Blood on Satan's Claw dealing with witchcraft among teenage girls in 17th century England. The wonderful character actor Patrick Wymark has the lead role and super-sexy teen Linda Hayden parades around starkers. The film is gripping throughout and evokes aspects of the better Hammer horror movies. The telecast is at 3:45 Am (Est)...
- 1/22/2010
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
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