Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror

Summary

Documentary films have been of interest to me since I first saw the documentary Roger & Me when it played on the Bravo network one night when I was a preteen. I love documentary films and have tried to watch the notable documentaries that have been released over the years. Criterion Collection has long been my favorite distributor of important documentaries, but in recent years I have noticed a surprising label has created some of the better documentaries of the last decade. That label is Severin Films. I have enjoyed watching their films Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau, Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson, and now I have just watched their most recently produced documentary Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror. One of the things that makes the documentaries produced from Severin unique, is that the films that they have made initially stemmed from ideas for special features for a release that spiraled into a fascinating full-length documentaries. Kier-La Janisse had been tasked with creating a special feature about the history of folk horror for Severin’s excellent Blood on Satan’s Claw release, and instead she ended up creating a sprawling 194 minute documentary that stands as the definitive work on the subject. The film has won an astounding amount of awards on the festival circuit and her work on the subject also spawned the massive All the Haunts Be Ours box set from Severin. I love folk horror films like The Wicker Man, Viy, and Blood on Satan’s Claw, so I ordered the All the Haunts Be Ours set as soon as it was announced. When it arrived, the first film I watched in the set was Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched. I had been eagerly looking forward to checking out the film and the box set. Both the film and the box set exceeded my high expectations.

Over the course of three hours in the film, director and writer Kier-La Janisse defines what folk horror is and then discusses the aspects of folk horror films that makes them fit within the definition. She examines the beginnings of folk horror within the folktales of different nations and gives a wonderful array of examples touching on over one hundred films from all over the world. The scope of the documentary’s research is remarkable. The film also features some well done animated paper collage sequences from Canadian experimental filmmaker Guy Maddin alongside some well made animations from Ashley Thorpe. The music for the film was composed by Jim Williams. This is notable because Jim worked as composer on the films A Field in England and Kill List by Ben Wheatley, which are two great examples of modern folk horror. Interview subjects include Piers Haggard, Robert Eggers, Kat Ellinger, Linda Hayden, Jasper Sharp, Robert Wynne-Simmons, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Kevin Kolsch, Kier-La Janisse, Dennis Widmyer, Alice Lowe, and many, many more. 

Over the course of two nights I watched the film. I had actually watched two and a half hours of the film the first night, but I wanted to save some of the film for the next night. Surprisingly, despite its length, the film flies by. The interviews are of very high quality and the discussions held in the film are all interesting. It serves as both a wonderful introduction to the world of folk horror (and as an introduction to the excellent All the Haunts Be Ours box set,) and a very detailed discussion of the genre which should expose even the most ardent folk horror fan to some new films. Kier-La Janisse’s meticulous and far-reaching documentary obviously took an incredible amount of research to achieve. I believe that it will stand as the definitive scholarly work on the subject of folk horror. Like the other documentaries that Severin has produced in the last decade, this release comes very highly recommended. It is deserving of all the praise that it has recently received. I would also say that if the subject interests you, the All the Haunts Be Ours box set that features this film and nineteen others (including releases of Eyes of Fire, Viy, Dark Waters, and A Field in England) is worth every penny. Highly recommended.

Video

Severin Films have provided a great looking 4K digital transfer of the film in 1080p. Depth and clarity are uniformly excellent, but, as can be expected, the video quality will vary based on the best available elements of the films discussed in the documentary. The animated sequences in the film look great and add a little bit of additional refinement to an already impressive film. This Blu-ray is a great way to experience the film.

Audio

Severin have provided a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track that sounds great. As expected, this is a documentary and focuses on numerous people discussing films, which means this track is not meant to be a demo quality surround event. That said, the music by Jim Williams is excellent and fits the film perfectly. Fans of the picture will have no issues whatsoever with how the film sounds.

Supplements

• Video Introduction By Writer/Director/Producer Kier-La Janisse
• Animating Folk Horror — A Conversation with Ashley Thorpe – in this interesting piece, animator Ashley Thorpe shows some of the techniques he used to create some of the animatics in the film.
• Outtake: What is Folk Horror?
• Outtake: Harvest Hymns — The Sounds and Signals of Folk Horror- This piece was only cut from the movie to trim teh length down of teh film. It is a good piece that is well worth your time. Marc Wilkinson, John Cameron, Jim Williams, and more discuss the sounds of folk horror.
• Outtake: Terra Assombrada — Expressions of Folk Horror in Brazil – Filmmaker Dennison Ramalho and Scholars Carlos Primati and Laura Loguercio Cánepa discuss Brazilian folk literature and songs in the folk horror of that country.
• Folk Poetry – Ian Ogilvy and Linda Hayden recite classic folk poems set to Super 8 footage.
• Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 4/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched is a fantastic documentary. The film is a wonderful sprawling exploration of the world of folk horror. The breadth of knowledge on the subject shared by writer and director Kier-La Janisse is truly impressive. The film touches on over one hundred films and features excellent interviews with numerous film scholars, actors, and directors as it seeks to define what makes a folk horror film a folk horror film. It explores the subject so thoroughly that I can’t imagine a more definitive work on the subject. The music by Jim Williams is excellent and the collage work by Guy Maddin is used to a nice effect.  Severin Films have provided an excellent looking transfer of the film and the additional supplemental material is well worth your time. I highly recommend checking out this film. I also would encourage you to buy the All the Haunts Be Ours box set from Severin that includes this film and nineteen other films in the folk horror genre from around the world.