Severin Films upcoming documentary, Woodlands Dark And Days Bewitched by director Kier-La Janisse, examines the history of the folk horror genre, from the very first films such as Witchfinder General and The Wicker Man to The Witch and Midsommar and all points in between.
Janisse’s three hour long film is the first feature-length documentary to focus on the popular subgenre, and includes interviews with over 50 writers, professors, and directors, and films from America, Asia, Australia, and Europe.
Besides “…touching on over 200 films, television plays and episodes as well as early inspirational literature – the film also examines the rise of paganism in the late 1960s, the prominence of the witch-figure in connection with second wave feminism, the ecological movement of the 1970s, the genre’s emphasis on landscape and psychogeography, and American manifestations of folk horror from Mariners’ tales and early colonial history to Southern Gothic and backwoods horror. Finally, the film navigates through the muddy politics of folk nostalgia.”
The film is currently available as an on-demand title through this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival (accessible by Canadian viewers only) and will also screen at the upcoming FrightFest in London on August 29.
Woodlands Dark And Days Bewitched includes an original score by Jim Williams and a special animated sequences featuring collage art by filmmaker Guy Maddin. David Gregory and Carl Daft acted as executive producers. Richard Wells created the poster for the film (which is featured below).
Come back to Conskipper for more information about screenings and pre-orders for the blu-ray and dvd editions of Woodlands Dark And Days Bewitched from Severin Films.
