Folk horror has experienced a resurgence in recent years following the release of films such as Ari Aster’s Midsommar and Robert Eggers’ The Witch.
An entire section has been devoted to the subgenre at this year’s Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (Bifan) in South Korea, where 11 titles include Benjamin Christensen’s influential Haxan from 1922 and Ben Wheatley’s Kill List from 2011.
On a panel at the festival, three experts in horror cinema discussed how the rise in streaming has contributed to the ongoing success of folk horror and how it reflects nationwide divisions being seen in countries like the US.
“Folk horror is about cities versus small communities, which is so interesting when you think about division that exists in America now,” said Canadian filmmaker Kier-La Janisse, whose documentary Woodlands Dark And Days Bewitched: A History Of Folk Horror is playing at Bifan.
“You feel threatened no matter which side you’re on, like your values are being threatened by the other group,” she added of how the intense polarisation being felt in the US and other countries is influencing how folk horror resonates with audiences.
The vast availability of films via streaming platforms, where viewers can now access folk horror from across the globe in ways not previously possible, is a key factor in its resurgence according to producer and former Sitges film festival co-director Mike Hostench.
In particular, western film fans now have much better access to folk horror from Asia, which has its own traits. One major difference, said Hong Kong-based UK critic James Marsh, is Asia’s relative willingness to embrace superstitions.
As an example, he cited Japan’s embrace of creatures such as yokai – native spirits embodied in modern form in entertainment like Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbour Totoro or even Pokémon. “What is Pikachu, after all, if not a little demon guy?” he added.
“Directors like Ari Aster and Rob Eggers are of the same generation and grew up on the same films,” said Marsh of the current wave of filmmakers. Once they had hits, he added, the industry began pumping more funding into similar projects.
The three panellists contemplated the possibility that the current folk horror boom might dilute the genre but emerged optimistic that more interest is ultimately a good thing.
“At the last festival I was at, I had three unrelated investors pitch me ‘Midsommar in Spain,’ ‘Midsommar in Mexico City’ and ‘Midsommar in the woods of Tennessee,’” said Hostench with a laugh.
Janisse added that while some newer films seem to be simply “checking the boxes” of folk horror, investors are also now more interested in films from voices that previously faced financing challenges.
“I’m feeling encouraged,” added Marsh. “More minorities are getting the opportunity to tell their stories, which will bring us new perspectives.”
Legacy of colonisation
The panel discussion, one of the festival’s series of Mega Talks, was moderated by Bifan programmer Jin Park and questioned what exactly is folk horror.
“Most commonly, folk horror takes place a rural setting, and deals with a clash between modernity and folk practices, a conflict that arises between insiders and outsiders,” said Janisse.
The legacy of colonisation, added Marsh, is a huge part of the genre: “The most interesting examples feature a new status quo that attempts to drive out any perceived threat, such as paganism or folk traditions, an attempt to override the old world with more rigid rules, and the pushback against such colonisation.”
For recent examples of Asian folk horror, the panellists cited In My Mother’s Skin from the Philippines and Sorcery from Chile, both of which deal with the legacy of colonisation.
Folk horror films can also be defined by how they end, said Hostench: “They tend to have very scary and intense unsettling endings… they never end well, but that’s why they stick with you.”
Exploring the origin of the label, Janisse said it had occasionally surfaced in decades past, but really caught on in the early 2010s thanks to a documentary about an “unholy trinity” of films from the late 1960s and early 1970s: Witchfinder General, The Blood On Satan’s Claw and, most importantly, The Wicker Man, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
“All three of those films feel very contemporary, because they deal with powerful men who are at war with women,” said Hostench. “Behind their facade of authority, the men are terrified of these empowered women, which resonates today.”.
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