[Review] Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror
Following a successful premiere at SXSW in March of this year, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror has been screened all around the world to captivated audiences. Unfortunately, because of the national lockdowns and not being able to attend the Melbourne International Film Festival, I wasn’t able to see it until recently. Folk horror would have to be one of my favourite sub-genres of horror and being able to learn more about it from around 50 film lovers and filmmakers made this documentary absolutely worth the wait.
Directed by Kier-La Janisse, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk horror explores the history of folk horror from its roots through to its revival over the past few years. With a cast of fantastic horror academics, writers, experts, and lovers; the documentary provides a variety of information through the exploration of over 200 folk horror films. The documentary provides the fundamental educational elements in understanding the sub-genre has developed into a much loved one. Being provided with an educational experience through the discussion of folk horror, we learn the genre wanted to subvert the boundaries of gothic horror and move into exploring charlatanism and nihilism up until what folk horror has become today.
Source: IMDB
As a huge history nut, the exploration of influential moments in time was an interesting aspect that the film implements impeccably. The film begins straight away with an in-depth exploration of the “trinity” of folk horror; Michael Reeves' Witchfinder General (1968), Piers Haggard's Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) and Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man (1973). Guests speaking on the documentary, including the filmmakers behind this trinity of films, discuss the foundation behind the development of folk horror into the subgenre that it is today. As the documentary progresses, they expose the viewer to different folk horror from different cultural perspectives, including British, Asian, and American folk horror and their influences.
As an Australian horror lover, I loved the inclusion of our stories and the ancient cultures of Indigenous peoples and how they influenced these stories. Hearing Alexandra Heller-Nicholas share our horror was fascinating and gave me goose bumps. The horror documentary traverses the world unravelling the wonderful folk horror stories that we know and love, including Lake Mungo, Candyman, and Midsommar. Janisse takes on discussing the tropes that folk horror films have used including the overused and misused Native American burial ground, however, discussing it as America’s struggle with its colonist history and how they have desecrated the history of Indigenous peoples on their own land.
Filmed using stunning clips from an impressive library of folk horror movies that will be known to the connoisseurs of the genre. It’s this incorporation with the high-quality interview cuts that make this documentary fly by. The feature-length documentary is over three hours long, however, broken up into parts that cover specific topics. I could pause my viewing and come back to it later forgetting nothing (super helpful for my poor short-term memory). Janisse has provided horror lovers with a well researched and filmed educational piece. This documentary is certainly more for the lovers of the sub-genre, as it is quite lengthy and dives deep into the lore, history, legends, and more. Each guest has extensive knowledge about the films from their regions and explores them in a passionate, educational, and palatable way.
As someone who enjoys history documentaries, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror was a captivating and intriguing look into one of the foundational genres of horror. Janisse has created a fantastic look at folk horror and this should be a staple of documentaries for all of those interested in discovering more about the roots of horror along with the likes of Horror Noire, In Search of Darkness, and Behind the Monsters.
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror is now streaming on Shudder.
