When this set arrived, my wife asked me what folk horror was, and I couldn’t really provide a concrete definition. I mean, I generally know it when I see it, but like film noir, what constitutes folk horror is fairly open ended. So instead, I offered the recent Midsommar as an example, which was enough convince the missus that she would not be joining me for this particular review.
Too bad, really, because some of the titles included in this set, such as The Ninth Heart and the gorgeously grotesque November, could just as easily be considered dark fantasy, which she has enjoyed on occasion (okay, probably not November, which is really, really “out there”).
In cinematic terms, when & where folk horror actually started is equally murky. Because of this, you’re likely to find conflicting views on what films were among the first in the genre. However, All the Haunts Be Ours Volume Two, Severin Films’ follow-up to their first massive boxed set, serves up the memorably haunting Finnish film, The White Reindeer, which was first released in 1952.
Whether or not it actually was the first folk horror film doesn’t matter. What does matter is that it reflects another exhaustive effort by Severin to not-only acquire and remaster a variety of films from around the world, a couple of ‘em are so obscure that they’re scanned from a single known print (such as Argentina’s Nazareno Cruz and the Wolf and USA’s Who Fears the Devil).
Not having seen or reviewed Volume One, I cannot draw comparisons regarding the film selection, but will say that Volume Two includes what’s easily the best bonus feature of any release this year: All the Haunts Be Ours: A Folk Horror Storybook is a beautifully bound & illustrated 252-page hardcover collection of 12 original folk horror stories by various notable authors, including Kim Newman, Ramsey Campbell, Eden Royce and Sarah Gailey, among others.
 |
| A Little Severin Book! |
Altogether, there are 24 films spread out over 13 discs. Like any collection, they vary in quality and one may question whether or not a few of them constitute folk horror (if you subscribe to a concrete definition). Still, this is a huge collection of titles…some that viewers might be familiar with, others I’m willing to wager few have ever seen, much less heard of. The City of the Dead and Psychomania are probably the best-known English language titles, the former being an atmospheric little gem featuring Christopher Lee. Conversely, Edge of the Knife is an unusual and earthy Haida-language film (which is hardly spoken anywhere save for a small part of Canada).
And in between, the films vary in tone, pace, aesthetic and general interest. For example, the Polish film, Demon, is an often surprisingly-funny tale of possession filled with odd, shitfaced characters. Britain’s Born of Fire is surreal and apocalyptic, while the USA’s Blood Tea and Red String is a strange stop-motion animated fantasy. Czechoslovakian director Juraj Herz is represented twice, the aforementioned November and Beauty and the Beast, which offers a dark & grimy take (but still somewhat romantic) on the oft-told story. Hailing from Wales, From the Old Earth may be short (and a little clumsy), but that ancient Celtic head a character digs out of his garden is creepy as hell.
Other titles include Spain’s Akelarre, Japan’s kitty-fied classic, Bakeneko, USA’s The Enchanted, Korea’s Io Island, France’s Litan, Thailand’s Nang Nak, The Phillipines’ The Rites of May and Saudi Arabia’s Scales (this writer’s first Saudi film!). Not all of them are particularly good, and more-than-a-few might be an acquired taste, but for folk horror fans, there’s a ton to discover. The films also feature pretty excellent transfers, most mastered in either 2K or 4K.
The features are only part of the journey. There are also 21 short films spread throughout the set, generally paired with titles that either feature the same director, similar subject matter or hail from the same countries. In the case of Blood on the Stars, it’s actually longer than the main feature, From the Old Earth. Additionally, there are plenty of bonus features for every film, from audio commentaries to featurettes to interviews, both new and archival (outlined below).
It’s all packaged in a sturdy box with terrific artwork inside and out (though I’m not crazy about the disc sleeves). Like Volume One, All the Haunts Be Ours Volume Two isn’t for everyone, but for folk horror lovers who've always defined the genre by the likes of The Wicker Man and Midsommar, it's a treasure trove of obscurities. In terms of quantity, comprehensiveness and presentation, this is the best boxed set of the year.
EXTRA KIBBLES
ALL THE HAUNTS BE OURS: A FOLK HORROR STORYBOOK - “A Little Severin Book!”
SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKLET - Detailed summaries, bonus features info/listings and technical specs for all 24 films, as well as stills and vintage promotional artwork.
DISC FEATURES (Listed in the order they appear over 13 discs)
TO FIRE YOU COME AT LAST: Audio Commentary by director Sean Hogan, producers Paul Goodwin & Nicholas Harwood; Featurette - On the Lych Way; Trailer; Short Films - We Always Find Ourselves at Sea (with optional commentary) and Our Selves Unknown.
PSYCHOMANIA: Introduction by Chris Alexander; Audio Commentary by Maries J. Perez Cuervo; Return of the Living Dead - Interviews with some of the actors; The Sound of Psychomania - Interview with composer John Cameron; Riding Free - Interview with singer Harvey Andrews; Trailer.
THE ENCHANTED: 2 Audio Commentaries - 1) By director Carter Lord & camera assistant Richard Grange; 2) By authors Chesya Burke & Sheree Renee Thomas; A Magical Place - Interview with composer Phil Sawyer; Hole in the Wall - character notes by screenwriter Charme Porter; Trailer; Short Film - Swimmer.
WHO FEARS THE DEVIL: Audio Commentary by historian Amanda Reyes; Crumble Will the Feet of Clay - Interview with producer Barney Rosenzweig; Silver Strings - Interview with actor/musician Hedges Capers; Featurettes - Manly of the Mountains with author David Drake, Occult Appalachia with historian Mitch Horowitz; Alternate Opening - With alternate title, The Legend of Hillbilly John (intro by actor Severn Darden; Trailer.
THE WHITE REINDEER: The Projection Booth - Episode from the program focusing of The White Reindeer; Short Films - A Witch Drum, The Nightside of the Sky and With the Reindeer.
EDGE OF THE KNIFE: Audio Commentary by directors Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown; Featurette - Retake: Making the First Haida-Language Feature Film; Short Films - Haida Carver and Nalujuk Night.
BORN OF FIRE: Igniting the Fire - Interview with director Jamil Dehlavi; The Silent One Speaks - Interview with actor Nabil Shaban; Between the Sacred and the Profane - Lecture by Dr. Ali Nobil Ahmad; The Djinn Revisited - The djinn legend in film is discussed by director Dalia Al Kury; Trailer; Short Films - Towers of Silence and QÃF.
IO ISLAND: Audio Commentary by historian Arie Schudson; Shaman’s Eyes - Featurette on shamanism in Korean films; Short Film - The Present (animated).
SCALES: Telling Our Stories - A discussion with director Shahad Ameen and producer Rula Nasser; Trailer; Short Film - Kindil.
BAKENEKO: A VENGEFUL SPIRIT: Audio Commentary by author Jasper Sharp; Featurette - Scratched: A History of the Japanese Ghost Cat; The Vampire Cat - A story read by Tomoko Komura; Trailer; Short Film: Man-Eater Mountain.
NANG NAK: Audio Commentary by Mattie Do (a director) and scholar Katarzyna Ancuta; Love and Impermanence - Interview with director Nonzee Nimibutr; Trailer.
SUNDELBOLONG: Hantu Retribution: Female Ghosts of the Malay Archipelago - Interviews with filmmaker Katrina Irawati Graham and author Dr. Rosiland Galt; Short film - White Song.
SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC: A Conversation with Director/Co-Producer David Gregory and Co-Producer Ekky Imanjaya; Trailer.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: Audio Commentary by historian Michael Brooke; Archival Interviews - With director Juraj Herz, actors Vlastimil Harapes & Zdena Studenkova; Short Film - Frantisek Hrubin.
THE NINTH HEART: Audio Commentary by author Kat Ellinger; Featurettes - The Uncanny Valley of the Dolls: The History and Liminality of Dolls, Puppets and Mannequins; The Curious Case of Juraj Herz and the Svankmajers.
DEMON: Introduction by Agnieszka Jezyk; Audio Commentary by historian Daniel Bird & critic Manuala Lazic; Video Essay - In the Shadow of the Dybbuk; Trailer; Short Film - Dybbuk.
NOVEMBER: Video Essay - The Supernatural Lore of November; Featurette - Kratt Test Footage; Trailer; Short Films - Boundary (WTF???), Journey Through Setomaa (from 1913, it's the oldest film in the entire collection); Midvinterblot.
LITAN: Audio Commentary by historian Frank Lafund; Featurette - Un Tournage Litn; TV Episode of Temps X - Jean-Pierre Mocky, Un Drole D’Oisseau.
BLOOD TEA AND RED STRING: Introduction by director Christiane Cegavske; 2021 Indie Scream Online Film Festival Q&A - Featuring director Christiane Cegavske; Stills & Illustrations; 2 Trailers (including one for the director’s current work-in-progress).
NAZARENO CRUZ AND THE WOLF: Audio Commentary by filmmakers Garcia Bogliano and Nicanor Loreti; Short Film - Love from Mother Only (with optional commentary).
AKELARRE: Individual Interviews with director Pedro Olea, actors Silvia Munt and Inaki Miramon; Featurette - Invoking The Akelarre.
FROM THE OLD EARTH: Introduction by musician Gruff Rhys; Featurettes - Getting A Head in North Wales; From the Old Earth By the Book; A Sword in the Battle of Language; Short Films - Blood on the Stars, which is actually longer than the main feature (includes introduction by Gruff Rhys), and The Wyrm of Bwlch Pen Barras.
THE CITY OF THE DEAD: Introduction by author Kay Lynch; 4 Audio Commentaries - 1) By historians Kim Newman & Barry Forshaw, 2) By historian Jonathan Rigby, 3) By the late, great Christopher Lee, 4) By director John Llewellyn Moxey; Featurette - Sir Christopher Lee Remebers The City of the Dead; Individual Archival Interviews with director John Llewellyn Moxey and actress Venetia Stevenson; Video Essay - Burn, Witch, Burn!: A Tribute to John Llewellyn Moxey; Trailer.
THE RITES OF MAY: Audio Commentary by historian Andrew Leavold; Featurette - Portrayal of Guilt, featuring film scholar Frances N. Sangil; Short Film - Itim: An Exploration of Cinema, which is actually a Rites of May documentary.
No comments:
Post a Comment