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Folk Horror - Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched Documentary [2022]
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched is a new Folk Horror documentary which maintains that this genre is not uniquely rooted in the UK, but is in fact a global phenomenon, albeit one that has often been culturally overlooked.
What Is Folk Horror?
Folk Horror is a term often used to describe rural horror in isolated places, from pagan cults to folklore to collective mania, often forged in our ancestors’ past.
In recent years this genre has gained traction in literary fiction with anthologies such as The Fiend In The Furrows, Andrew Michael Hurley’s The Loney, The Gallows Pole by Benjamin Myers, and not forgetting Shirley Jackson’s classic short story The Lottery. But perhaps its greatest influence has been in British film and TV, famously with The Wicker Man [1973], Penda’s Fen [1974], and my personal favourite, the BBC’s Robin Redbreast [1970]. Recently there has been an explosion in filmmakers discovering and revising Folk Horror for modern audiences with the excellent A Field In England [2013], Midsommar [2019], and In The Earth [2021].
To most it is a pecularly British genre built on myth and magic in the darkest regions of the human mind. But Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched is a new documentary which challenges this notion and maintains it is not a uniquely UK phenomenon, but is in fact a global genre, albeit one that has often been culturally overlooked.
The Unholy Trinity Of Folk Horror
Beginning with the unholy cinematic trinity of The Wicker Man, Blood On Satan's Claw and Witchfinder General - originally conceived by Mark Gatiss - Woodlands Dark Days Betwitched explores cultural mythology by studying over 200 film gems from all over the world. It investigates how Folk Horror has dripped blood from the earth to the silver screen as we attempt to come to terms with our own past beliefs in a bid to try and understand our world.
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched
As much as an exploration as an explanation of the Folk Horror phenomenon, this excellent documentary is available to view on Shudder or on DVD with a runtime of 3 hours and a huge cast of interviewees. It comes highly recommended for horror fans wanting to expand their Folk Horror knowledge or personal film collection wishlist.
Visit the website to purchase the DVD :
https://woodlandsdarkanddaysbewitched.com
Watch the full trailer :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSYBpdDSh9A
An Introduction To Pinky Violence Courtesy Of Collider
Explore the Pinky Violence film genre with this beginners introduction to the Japanese exploitation movies of the 1970s, courtesy of Collider.
Explore the Pinky Violence film genre with this link to a beginners introduction to the Japanese exploitation movies of the 1970s, courtesy of Collider.
For the unitiated cinephile, this largely uncelebrated film genre is a wild mix of sex and violence that inspired a generation of film makers, including Tarantino with his Kill Bill series and its unashamedly wholesale cloning of scenes from Lady Snowblood. But for my money, the Female Prisoner Scorpion series is this genre’s crowning achievement. The series features spellbinding cinematography, a fantastic soundtrack, and the world’s most deadly beautiful female protatgonist, played by actress Meiko Kaji, as she wreaks revenge on the men who have wronged her.
Read the full Pinky Violence Collider article here:
https://collider.com/pinky-violence-japanese-exploitation-movies-examples-explained/
Watch the full Female Prisoner Scorpion 701 trailer here:
Santa Claus is coming : Watch Christmas Evil (1980)
You’d better watch out ‘cause Santa Claus is coming to town and this year he’s in a bad mood. He knows where you live and he’s carrying an axe. He’s checking his list to see if you’ve been naughty or nice. In fact, he’s checking it twice…
Watch Evil Christmas [1980]
You’d better watch out ‘cause Santa Claus is coming to town and this year he’s in a bad mood. He knows where you live and he’s carrying an axe. He’s checking his list to see if you’ve been naughty or nice. In fact, he’s checking it twice…
Ive often heard a rumour about a half decent retro horror film featuring a deranged Santa Claus serial killer. Can it be true? Yes, count me in. Its a simple premise, which in the wrong director’s hands could become ridiculous, or just enjoyably ridiculous - like Christmas Evil (1980).
Also known as You Better Watch Out, Christmas Evil’s narrative follows the classic horror file trope where the central protagonist suffers a traumatic childhood event which haunts him for the rest of his life - I’m talking to you Michael Myers. Laughably, in Christmas Evil, this occurs after a small boy is traumatised when he learns that Santa isn’t real. Following a nervous breakdown as an adult, he then goes on to commit a vengeful Christmas killing spree dressed as Santa Claus. (Thanks go out to Vinegar Syndrome for the film tip and trailer). Merry Bloody Christmas…
Watch the Christmas Evil trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2zPRNgzBrM
Watch the FREE full movie on Youtube below:
Day Of The Dead TV Series 2021
According to the showrunners, this new TV series is described as a ode to George A. Romero’s “Day of the Dead”. Yes, you read that correctly, this show is somehow linked to that classic movie, but how and why is anybody's guess.
"Day Of The Dead" is yet another brainless zombie TV series from the SYFY Channel which is slowly lumbering towards us in October 2021. This new 10 part series follows in the well worn footsteps of The Walking Dead, Z Nation and Black Summer, and according to the showrunners, is described as a ode to George A. Romero’s “Day of the Dead”. Yes, you read that correctly, this show is somehow linked to that classic movie, but how and why is anybody's guess.
But before you get too excited, this low budget gore fest with its hapless victims looks like it will get pretty old, pretty fast, without Romero's trade mark social commentary. Instead you might be better off rewatching The Walking Dead, or better yet, watch Kingdom.
Check out the trailer and make up your own mind, if you're curious.
Lockdown 3 Part 6 : Censor Film Trailer
Censor cleverly trades on Video Nasty VHS visuals and themes as the main character, Enid, searches for her missing sister. Reality and fiction soon blur on her dark inward journey to discover the truth, with a narrative similar to Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now.
Censor Trailer [2021]
Censor riffs on the 1980’s era of Video Nasties, a pre-internet time when horror films were often demonised by the British Board Of Film Censorship, the national press, and culture was vetted by moral guardians like Mary Whitehouse.
This new horror film cleverly trades on Video Nasty VHS visuals and themes as the main character, Enid, searches for her missing sister. Reality and fiction soon blur on her dark inward journey to discover the truth, with a narrative similar to Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now.
Directed by newcomer Prano Bailey-Bond, Censor is the newly celebrated darling of the Sundance Film Festival and has been tipped as this year’s best horror film. Censor is released on June 25th, 2021. You can watch the trailer below.
Read a list of the original 72 Banned Video Nasties here:
https://www.imdb.com/list/ls051364249/
Lockdown 3 Part 4 : Ben Wheatley's In The Earth
Director Ben Wheatley returns to his early folk horror roots with In The Earth, a worthy low budget successor to A Field In England.
Director Ben Wheatley returns to his early folk horror roots with In The Earth, a worthy low budget successor to A Field In England. Filmed in 2020 during a very real global pandemic, it stars Joel Fry, Ellora Torchia, and Reece Shearsmith (Psychoville / League Of Gentlemen) in a search for a cure to a disasterous virus in a forest where madness, myth and psychedelica collide. Released 23/04/2021.
Synopsis : “As the world searches for a cure to a disastrous virus, a scientist and park scout venture deep in the forest for a routine equipment run. Through the night, their journey becomes a terrifying voyage through the heart of darkness, the forest coming to life around them.”