Witches, rituals and burning effigies: five of the best folk horror films
Dark forests and human sacrifice form a small part of one of the horrors most terrifying subgenres. We’ve opened an old box of VHS tapes to find five classic folk horror films…
Welcome to The Basement, a weekly column dedicated to unearthing the hidden secrets and mysteries within some of the most terrifying movies, books, comics and beyond. Each week we’ll bring you a new feature that delves deep into the darker side of pop culture. This week Matt Trask is dusting off a box of old VHS tapes to uncover five of the best folk horror movies…
Folk horror is one of the most fascinating and deeply unsettling sub genres in horror. Unlike many other sub-genres like slasher films, folk horror films rarely follow a specific formula on their quest to scare audiences. Many of the films on this list share common themes of religion, witchcraft and human sacrifice, but all defy any simple explanation. If you’re looking for a jump scare then you may want to pay another sub-genre a visit because folk horror is about something far more sinister and far darker.
Witchfinder General (1968)
Matthew Hopkins is one of cinema’s most underrated villains. He deserves to be spoken of in the same breath as Dracula and Jack Torrance because he possesses something far more horrifying than most villains in that he is real. Hopkins is the self-appointed Witchfinder General who moves from town to town like a plague, accusing, trying and murdering women and men for perceived witchcraft. His apathy is beautifully brought to life by Vincent Price whose Hopkins is a man less driven by a divine right and more by an insatiable bloodlust. Witchfinder General doesn’t need the supernatural to scare audiences, just a brutal villain with a very human agenda.
The Wicker Man (1973)
If Witchfinder General penned the introduction to folk horror then Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man wrote the book. A seminal classic fuelled by indelible imagery that would become synonymous with the sub-genre for decades to come. The story is simple; a policeman ventures to a remote isle in search of a missing girl but the horror isn’t merely in the plot. The Wicker Mans deep and horrifying atmosphere is a slow, bending branch waiting to snap during the films twisted climax. Something is deeply wrong on Summersisle.
If Witchfinder General penned the introduction to folk horror then Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man wrote the book.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Many have argued that folk horror is a British cinematic tradition but no film has been infused with folklore in quite the same way as The Blair Witch Project. Where The Wicker Man invented the folk horror movie, The Blair Witch Project updated it for the modern, internet age. Building a deep, dense mythology around a fictional town online helped to turn a simple found footage horror movie into a truly horrifying experience dripping with dread in a way no film has been able to achieve since. The perceived reality of the film’s events coupled with the innovative marketing campaign helped turn The Blair Witch Project into a modern-day urban legend filled with the same sense of history as the films that inspired it.
Kill List (2011)
Modern films have taken to deconstructing the classic folk horror movie and none have been more successful in subverting the sub-genre than Kill List. A film that begins with two men embarking on a journey to kill a series of people ends with the very same men locked in a nightmare from which they cannot wake. Its feverish visuals and dark story take you in a direction that will leave you thinking about the film for days afterwards. Like the telling of good folktale, this films unforgettable imagery will hold in your mind like the stuff of dreams.
The Witch (2016)
Returning to the Puritanical religious roots of the folk horror genre, The Witch delves into New England folklore to create a horror story where the titular character bleeds through every frame. The Witch is only glimpsed very briefly during the film’s run-time but her presence is felt during every second. From its simple, period production design to the guttural sound and music, The Witch succeeds in creating a truly terrifying modern folktale.
For more folklore follow our Twitter page for our weekly #FolkloreThursday posts and check out last weeks post about the myths and legends of Cadair Idris.
