X
  • Severin Films
  • 3 h 14 m
  • Severin Films
  • 3 h 14 m
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror

Summary Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched explores the folk horror phenomenon from its beginnings in a trilogy of films - Michael Reeves' Witchfinder General (1968), Piers Haggard's Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) and Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man (1973) - through its proliferation on British television in the 1970s and its culturally specific manif...

Directed By: Kier-La Janisse

Written By: Kier-La Janisse

  • Severin Films
  • 3 h 14 m
  • Severin Films
  • 3 h 14 m

Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
80
User Score User reviews are not available yet

Summary Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched explores the folk horror phenomenon from its beginnings in a trilogy of films - Michael Reeves' Witchfinder General (1968), Piers Haggard's Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) and Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man (1973) - through its proliferation on British television in the 1970s and its culturally specific manif...

Directed By: Kier-La Janisse

Written By: Kier-La Janisse

Top Cast

View All

Linda Hayden

Self - Poem Reader

Ian Ogilvy

Self - Poem Reader & Actor

Kevin Kölsch

Self - Author, English Gothic

Sean Hogan

Self - Director, The Devil's Business

Robert Wynne-Simmons

Self - Screenwriter, Blood on Satan's Claw

Samm Deighan

Self - Associate Editor, Diabolique Magazine

Mikel Koven

Self - Author, Film Folklore and Urban Legends

Ian Cooper

Self - Author, Devil's Advocates

Jonathan Rigby

Self - Author, English Gothic

Piers Haggard

Self - Director, Blood on Satan's Claw

Bruce G. Hallenbeck

Self - Author, British Cult Cinema

Robin Hardy

Self - Director, The Wicker Man

Mitch Horowitz

Self - Author, Occult America

Anthony Shaffer

Self - Writer, The Wicker Man

Robert Eggers

Self - Director, The Witch

Kier-La Janisse

Self - Author, House of Psychotic Women

Lawrence Gordon Clark

Self - Creator, A Ghost Story for Christmas

Sam Dunn

Self - Powerhouse Films

Alice Lowe

Self - Co-Writer, Sightseers

Kat Ellinger

Self - Editor, Diabolique Magazine

View All Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
80
100% Positive
8 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews
80
100% Positive
8 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
Mar 20, 2021
[A] mind-blowingly thorough and epic documentary.
By Lorry Kikta FULL REVIEW
91
Mar 20, 2021
This is a three-hour documentary whose only problem is that it’s not even longer. Whether you’re a lifelong genre fiend or someone who just sampled Midsommar for the first time and needs another fix, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched is an absorbing academic exercise in the pedagogy of folk horror.
By Clint Worthington FULL REVIEW
90
Mar 23, 2021
Filled with thoughtful commentary, lush visuals and a myriad of perspectives, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror is a must-watch that chronicles humankind’s most intriguing cinematic stories.
By Marisa Mirabal FULL REVIEW
80
Jan 6, 2022
With its really smart deep dives into cultural criticism, this is a seasonal stocking overflowing with spooky fun.
By Leslie Felperin FULL REVIEW
80
Mar 20, 2021
Though it's hard to recommend this film to people without at least a passing interest in folk horror or folklore, those who stick with Woodlands Dark will find an expansive, practical, entertaining history lesson in a popular yet ill-defined subgenre of horror and come out the other side with a newfound appreciation for it.
By Rafael Motamayor FULL REVIEW
75
Mar 20, 2021
Trusting that her subject matter is fertile enough to merit such a scholarly approach, and also bewitching enough to survive it, Janisse connects the dots between “The Wicker Man” and “La Llorona” in a way that allows this multi-chapter epic to function as both séance-like spectacle and streaming-era syllabus in equal measure.
By David Ehrlich FULL REVIEW
70
Mar 20, 2021
A slippery thesis doesn’t detract from the pleasures of this documentary from genre scholar and programmer Kier-La Janisse. She draws on alluring clips from more than 100 films, plus myriad interviews, to survey an alternately lurid and surreal cinematic (as well as television) field of mostly rural tales inspired by traditional superstitions and lore.
By Dennis Harvey FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

tbd

User reviews are not available for this movie yet.

Details

 View All
Production Company Severin Films
Duration 3 h 14 m
Genres
Website https://www.kierlajanisse.com/2020/10/29/woodlands-dark-and-days-bewitched-a-history-of-folk-horror/
View All Details

Awards

SXSW Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Fantasia Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Nashville Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

Related Movies

Hoop Dreams

98
Universal Acclaim

Man with a Movie Camera

96
Universal Acclaim

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

96
Universal Acclaim

I Am Not Your Negro

95
Universal Acclaim

Woodstock

95
Universal Acclaim

Collective

95
Universal Acclaim

Amazing Grace

94
Universal Acclaim

Stop Making Sense

94
Universal Acclaim

We Were Here

94
Universal Acclaim

Faces Places

94
Universal Acclaim

David Byrne’s American Utopia

93
Universal Acclaim

Shoah: Four Sisters

93
Universal Acclaim

Our Body

93
Universal Acclaim

Sherpa

93
Universal Acclaim

The Decline of Western Civilization

93
Universal Acclaim

Brother's Keeper

93
Universal Acclaim

Crumb

93
Universal Acclaim

One More Time with Feeling

92
Universal Acclaim

Sugarcane

92
Universal Acclaim

The Act of Killing

92
Universal Acclaim

De Humani Corporis Fabrica

92
Universal Acclaim

Menus Plaisirs - Les Troisgros

92
Universal Acclaim

Related News

2024 Movie Release Calendar

2024 Movie Release Calendar

Jason Dietz

Find release dates for every movie coming to theaters, VOD, and streaming throughout 2024 and beyond, updated weekly.

  • movie
Every Zack Snyder Movie, Ranked

Every Zack Snyder Movie, Ranked

Nick Hyman

With the arrival of Zack Snyder's latest Rebel Moon chapter on Netflix, we rank every one of the director's films—from bad to, well, less bad—by Metascore.

  • movie
Every Guy Ritchie Movie, Ranked

Every Guy Ritchie Movie, Ranked

Nick Hyman

We rank every one of the British director's movies by Metascore, from his debut Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels to his brand new film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

  • movie
April Movie Preview (2024)

April Movie Preview (2024)

Keith Kimbell

The month ahead will bring new films from Alex Garland, Luca Guadagnino, Dev Patel, and more. To help you plan your moviegoing options, our editors have selected the most notable films releasing in April 2024, listed in alphabetical order.

  • movie
DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

Jason Dietz

Find a list of new movie and TV releases on DVD and Blu-ray (updated weekly) as well as a calendar of upcoming releases on home video.

  • movie