RileyOBlimey
Well-Known Member
In Moondial superstition is certainly the most destructive force.
Folk Horror Appreciation Thread
- Thread starter RileyOBlimey
- Start date
In Moondial superstition is certainly the most destructive force.
One film I feel keeps getting missed off the list is Roman Polanski's Macbeth. I suppose because it's Shakespeare, it's not thought of as horror nevermind folk horror. But Shakespeare can be horrifying and Polanski plays up that element.
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One of the reasons I don't think of Witchfinder General as folk horror is that the soundtrack is a pretty typical 60's cinematic orchestral fair. It's excellent, it's even very atmospheric but it doesn't have a relation between cinema and folk music. The film feels like it's from an older more classic era rather than the earthier feel of films from the 70's. This relation between film and score is firmly realised in the Wicker Man. What you see but also what you hear are very much part of the experience of Summer Isle itself, it's not just there to prime the mood.
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The soundtrack to The Blood on Satan's Claw is a definite move into something more genuinely unsettling. It's still an orchestral score but it's built around this very distinctive impish, piercing descending cromatic. A really simple but effective idea that changes the whole experience of the film. There's also avant garde noise passages, sliding strings, droning strings and a bit of theremin (or a theremin related instrument). It feels they're really pushing the boat out in creating an unnerving experience. It's something akin to then contemporary avant folk.
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Polanski uses the Third Ear Band on Macbeth who I would loosely describe as a drone based folk rock group. And they create something even harsher, less melodic and at times ear splitting than Mark Wilkinson's score for Blood on Satan's Claw. It's a full on horror soundtrack, that doesn't sound self consciously unnerving, it just exudes terror and darkness in these harsh clashing tones which were simply part of TEB's musical vocabulary. It feels like a step beyond Blood on Satans Claw (I'm biased btw - I love TEB) albeit less memorable. Both films were released in 1971. But here there is a relation between the folk scene just as there is with the Wicker Man and Paul Giovanni and Magnet.
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Mark Kermode said Bobby Krlic's soundtrack to Midsommar reminded him of Paul Giovanni's for the Wicker Man. I really don't know what he was talking about. I definitely see parallels between it and the soundtrack to Macbeth though. Midsommar is tonely anti-horror - bad things happen but they're not presented as horrifying, it's all about cult indoctrination and the empathy and support that can provide (for a time) while quietly informing you that the cult istelf is both murderous and fascistic. Consequently the soundtrack is full of warm orchestral music with swelling, earthy melodic bass. But it pulls out some disturbing high register drones to match the dissonance of the film itself. I definitely hear the Third Ear Band in that and to a less extent Mark Wilkinson's score.
So musically I see this version of Macbeth as being not just part of the folk horror tradition but as being one of its foundational keystones.
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One of the reasons I don't think of Witchfinder General as folk horror is that the soundtrack is a pretty typical 60's cinematic orchestral fair. It's excellent, it's even very atmospheric but it doesn't have a relation between cinema and folk music. The film feels like it's from an older more classic era rather than the earthier feel of films from the 70's. This relation between film and score is firmly realised in the Wicker Man. What you see but also what you hear are very much part of the experience of Summer Isle itself, it's not just there to prime the mood.
---
The soundtrack to The Blood on Satan's Claw is a definite move into something more genuinely unsettling. It's still an orchestral score but it's built around this very distinctive impish, piercing descending cromatic. A really simple but effective idea that changes the whole experience of the film. There's also avant garde noise passages, sliding strings, droning strings and a bit of theremin (or a theremin related instrument). It feels they're really pushing the boat out in creating an unnerving experience. It's something akin to then contemporary avant folk.
---
Polanski uses the Third Ear Band on Macbeth who I would loosely describe as a drone based folk rock group. And they create something even harsher, less melodic and at times ear splitting than Mark Wilkinson's score for Blood on Satan's Claw. It's a full on horror soundtrack, that doesn't sound self consciously unnerving, it just exudes terror and darkness in these harsh clashing tones which were simply part of TEB's musical vocabulary. It feels like a step beyond Blood on Satans Claw (I'm biased btw - I love TEB) albeit less memorable. Both films were released in 1971. But here there is a relation between the folk scene just as there is with the Wicker Man and Paul Giovanni and Magnet.
---
Mark Kermode said Bobby Krlic's soundtrack to Midsommar reminded him of Paul Giovanni's for the Wicker Man. I really don't know what he was talking about. I definitely see parallels between it and the soundtrack to Macbeth though. Midsommar is tonely anti-horror - bad things happen but they're not presented as horrifying, it's all about cult indoctrination and the empathy and support that can provide (for a time) while quietly informing you that the cult istelf is both murderous and fascistic. Consequently the soundtrack is full of warm orchestral music with swelling, earthy melodic bass. But it pulls out some disturbing high register drones to match the dissonance of the film itself. I definitely hear the Third Ear Band in that and to a less extent Mark Wilkinson's score.
So musically I see this version of Macbeth as being not just part of the folk horror tradition but as being one of its foundational keystones.
I don't think A Field in England is the best 2010's folk horror film - that would be The Witch IMO - but it's the film that best re-establishes the connection between cinema and folk music (that I know of).
Robert Egger's films The Witch and The Lighthouse are primarily concerned with time period authenticity and this window into the past. But that's pretty unusual. Most of these period horror pieces are saying as much about the present as they are about the past and are obliquely contemporary. Jim William's soundtrack to A Field in England feels like 2010's folk just as Paul Giovanni's Wicker Man soundtrack captures the 70's folk scene.
There are precisely three themes/songs in the Field in England soundtrack that I think are completely knock out.
Firstly there is Walking Here, Two Shadows Went, which I think is the main theme of the film. It sounds plausibly 17th century but nevertheless very contemporary. And that captures the whole flavour of the film with it's period setting and it's odd and psychedelic stylistic choices.
Then there's Baloo My Boy, which again sounds plausibly 17th century and lisped/sung by Richard Glover. I really like that they didn't get a professional singer to sing it, it feels like music of the people, something maybe his grandmother taught him. But it's really a contemporary rediscovery of the folk story telling tradition. The way it's presented in the film is also something very special, it takes you out of the film, out of the time.
And finally there's Blanck Mass's magnificent Chernobyl. This is used in a particularly memorable scene and it's pure modern electronica. Ben Wheatley tends to use some of his favourite tunes in his films, and the danger in this case is that it would take you out of the period setting. But there is something abstract and timeless about the film. Not about the past but about making a connection with the past - I think this underlying theme is confirmed in the final scene.
Don't try to watch these moments out of context - that would count as spoilers. The film is a very interesting auditory/sensory experience and seeing these moments creep up on you should be experienced for the first time.
Robert Egger's films The Witch and The Lighthouse are primarily concerned with time period authenticity and this window into the past. But that's pretty unusual. Most of these period horror pieces are saying as much about the present as they are about the past and are obliquely contemporary. Jim William's soundtrack to A Field in England feels like 2010's folk just as Paul Giovanni's Wicker Man soundtrack captures the 70's folk scene.
There are precisely three themes/songs in the Field in England soundtrack that I think are completely knock out.
Firstly there is Walking Here, Two Shadows Went, which I think is the main theme of the film. It sounds plausibly 17th century but nevertheless very contemporary. And that captures the whole flavour of the film with it's period setting and it's odd and psychedelic stylistic choices.
Then there's Baloo My Boy, which again sounds plausibly 17th century and lisped/sung by Richard Glover. I really like that they didn't get a professional singer to sing it, it feels like music of the people, something maybe his grandmother taught him. But it's really a contemporary rediscovery of the folk story telling tradition. The way it's presented in the film is also something very special, it takes you out of the film, out of the time.
And finally there's Blanck Mass's magnificent Chernobyl. This is used in a particularly memorable scene and it's pure modern electronica. Ben Wheatley tends to use some of his favourite tunes in his films, and the danger in this case is that it would take you out of the period setting. But there is something abstract and timeless about the film. Not about the past but about making a connection with the past - I think this underlying theme is confirmed in the final scene.
Don't try to watch these moments out of context - that would count as spoilers. The film is a very interesting auditory/sensory experience and seeing these moments creep up on you should be experienced for the first time.
Actually tell a lie, there's four. The Ring a Roses scene is also very special in a naive sort of way.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
Anyone seen this?
Saw it at a festival but think I was too fatigued to take it in properly
en.m.wikipedia.org
Saw it at a festival but think I was too fatigued to take it in properly
The Field Guide to Evil - Wikipedia
I keep meaning to watch this. I guess Onibaba counts as well (sort of).
Listening to that now. Big series of podcasts that's part of. May check some of the others out.
Looks like there's some odd but interesting entries into their discussion there - Seventh Seal, Green Room, Texas Chainsaw Massacre. All good stuff though.
Reno
The In Kraut
Kwaidan is great but is far from super obscure. It won the Jury prize in Cannes at the time and is one of the most famous Japanese films of its era. Its based on the stories by Lafcadio Hearn, a Greek writer who lived in Japan and like the Brothers Grimm he collected local folk tales and put them down in writing. Its a long film at over 3 hours and when they released it in the US they cut my favourite episode "The Woman in the Snow". Visually stunning, it was a huge influence on Paul Schrader's Mishima.
RileyOBlimey
Well-Known Member
RileyOBlimey
Well-Known Member
Anyone seen this?
Saw it at a festival but think I was too fatigued to take it in properly
The Field Guide to Evil - Wikipedia
Watched it this afternoon (it’s included on Amazon Prime). I enjoyed it!
RileyOBlimey
Well-Known Member
Listening to that now. Big series of podcasts that's part of. May check some of the others out.
Looks like there's some odd but interesting entries into their discussion there - Seventh Seal, Green Room, Texas Chainsaw Massacre. All good stuff though.
The oddities are included due to their rural location, important scenes in bright daylight (I haven’t seen Seventh Seal so, exclude that), outsiders who think they’re above the yokels coming unstuck and violent happening.
I think I can see it in all of them for different reasons but they are a bit of reach. Which is fair enough.
If you have BFI Player you can get Seventh Seal. It's a real classic but not usually considered to be a horror film at all.
RileyOBlimey
Well-Known Member
Call me a heathen but the little of Bergman’s work I’ve watched has been pretentious and/or depressing. I will, for the sake of this thread, give the Seventh Seal a watch.
It's a meditation on the inevitability of death involving a crusader playing chess on the beach with death himself. You'll love it.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
Watch Virgin Spring and get back to us. A taut thriller - nowt pretentious about it
Reno
The In Kraut
...and of course remade by Wes Craven as Last House on the Left.
Bergman isn't a favourite of mine either I have to admit, they deal with heavy emotional subject matter but they never move me. I can appreciate the craft and the artistry, I just don't enjoy them. I like his lighter early films better than his later ones and by the late 60s the heaviness of the drama becomes self-parody. A lot of what he did was revelatory then, but hasn't aged that well. The clunking symbolism of The Seventh Seal now always makes me think of Bill & Ted.
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RileyOBlimey
Well-Known Member
I’m throwing in La Bete (The Beast) into the Folk Horror pot: La bête (1975) - IMDb
It’s quite outrageous.
It’s quite outrageous.
Me and the youngest just watched the first episode of Granada's 1969 adaptation of Alan Garner's The Owl Service on youtube, and it totally belongs on this thread - has the mood just right.
Produced in 1969 and televised over the winter of 1969–1970, the series was remarkably bold in terms of production. It was the first fully scripted colour production by Granada Television and was filmed almost entirely on location at a time when almost all TV drama was studio-bound. It used editing techniques such as jump cuts to create a sense of disorientation and also to suggest that two time periods overlapped. For the series, the book was adapted in seven scripts (later stretched to eight) by Garner and was produced and directed by Peter Plummer.[1] The direction was quite radical and seemed to be influenced by the avant-garde, a noted contrast to what might be expected of a children's serial.[2]
Produced in 1969 and televised over the winter of 1969–1970, the series was remarkably bold in terms of production. It was the first fully scripted colour production by Granada Television and was filmed almost entirely on location at a time when almost all TV drama was studio-bound. It used editing techniques such as jump cuts to create a sense of disorientation and also to suggest that two time periods overlapped. For the series, the book was adapted in seven scripts (later stretched to eight) by Garner and was produced and directed by Peter Plummer.[1] The direction was quite radical and seemed to be influenced by the avant-garde, a noted contrast to what might be expected of a children's serial.[2]
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
Artaxerxes
Look out, he's got a gnu!
Ben Wheatley's latest looks promising
Reno
The In Kraut
Discussed on page 3
One of those podcasts mentioned above mentioned some folk horror (or related) TV. I jotted down everything them mentioned.
The Owl Service
Robin Redbreast
Whistle and I'll Come to You
The Ash Tree
Stigma
Penda's Fen
Children of the Stones
Beasts
M.R. James (a warning to the curious)
The Pipkins
Worsel Gummage
The League of Gentlemen
Psychoville
Inside No. 9 (Trial of Elizabeth Gadge)
True Detective
One of the seasons of American Horror Story
I think we've covered most of these and some of them are... well OK. Most of the 70's stuff is on youtube.
The Owl Service
Robin Redbreast
Whistle and I'll Come to You
The Ash Tree
Stigma
Penda's Fen
Children of the Stones
Beasts
M.R. James (a warning to the curious)
The Pipkins
Worsel Gummage
The League of Gentlemen
Psychoville
Inside No. 9 (Trial of Elizabeth Gadge)
True Detective
One of the seasons of American Horror Story
I think we've covered most of these and some of them are... well OK. Most of the 70's stuff is on youtube.
Reno
The In Kraut
If we can add US productions, there was the mini-series based on Tom Tyron's novel Harvest Home, which ticks all the boxes for folk horror.
Artaxerxes
Look out, he's got a gnu!
RileyOBlimey
Well-Known Member
I’ve just watched the new epic Folk Horror documentary. Definitely worth a watch: Home - Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched
cloudyday
caput mortuum
1978 play for today Redshift is worth a look for some FH elements.
Interesting blog post here about Cider With Rosie, a book I've never read but had assumed - similarly to the author - was a bucolic tale of country life for kids. Might have to track a copy down cause it sounds pretty dark.
precastreinforced.co.uk
Reading 1959: Cider With Rosie and unexpected folk horror
The first moment when it occurred to me that I might have the wrong idea about Laurie Lee’s autobiographical novel of life in rural Gloucestershire between the wars was a casual, almost appro…
precastreinforced.co.uk
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