Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror

2021

3h 14m

Documentary

Horror

List

100%

Tomatometer

50 Reviews

88%

Audience Score

Fewer than 50 Ratings

WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED is the first feature-length documentary on the history of folk horror, exploring the phenomenon from its beginnings in a trilogy of films - Michael Reeves' The 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 manifestations in American, Asian, Australian and European horror, to the genre's revival over the last decade.

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Critics Consensus

Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror takes a fascinating deep dive that'll leave like-minded viewers making numerous new additions to their streaming queues.

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Roger Moore

Tribune News Service

Breathtakingly thorough...but in being this long and broad in scope, "Woodlands" can't help but feel repetitive - exhaustingly-so.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jan 27, 2022

Full Review

Leslie Felperin

Guardian

At three-and-a-bit hours long, this is worth every geeky minute if you're into the genre of the title - think Witchfinder General all the way through to Midsommar.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 5, 2022

Full Review

Richard Whittaker

Austin Chronicle

Roots intertwine, single trees become forests, moss grows in between boughs, and myths dance twixt sunlight and shadows. Folk horror, like the old ways, will find you before you find it.

Mar 25, 2021

Full Review

Carey-Ann Pawsey

Orca Sound

The entire history of folk horror films is revealed here as well as where it is looking to go in the future. So comprehensive that if you are a fan then this is an a essential watch.

Rated: 3.5/5

Mar 10, 2022

Full Review

Christopher Cross

Tilt Magazine

One of the most impressive, well-focused documentaries on a genre of film, ever.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 15, 2022

Full Review

James Croot

Stuff.co.nz

Founder of The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, Canadian Kier-La Janisse's fabulous directorial debut is guaranteed to leave you searching out streaming services, Alice's and Aro Video's catalogues for copies of what's teased here.

Jan 12, 2022

Full Review

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a a

This is the best study of archaic images in cinematic art that I have ever seen in my life, executed meticulously. What a pity that this is such a short study, I am sure that it would have been possible to release 3 episodes of 2 hours each. In any case, this is the best I've seen from such an important horror genre.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/18/23

Full Review

Laurel P

If you enjoy folk horror, want to know more about it, or are doing any sort of research on horror films, this is a must-see. Not at all boring, very engaging to dig into what folk horror is and does, and why it makes these moves.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Meticulously researched and detailed, this film explains and documents the horror subgenre. Though the focus is on European and especially British folk horror, it does put it in context with films from all over the world - all exploring the modern man's anxiety around not so distant past represented by rural living, old religions and ancient cultural practices.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

brad p

‘Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror' Dives Deep Into Subgenre Analysis

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie sucks. I guess technically it's a documentary. It's dry boring uninteresting and not at all scary. It just sucks. I guess if you are into folk horror to the degree that you are a folk horror nerd- you may like this movie. However, I learned from this one micro genre of movies that I will permanently avoid.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Morgan D

A lot of documentaries that cover multiple films at once struggle with being too cursory. Woodlands doesn't have this problem and thoroughly engages with the rich themes in folk horror.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/28/22

Full Review

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Kier-La Janisse

Director

Piers Haggard

Actor

Lawrence Gordon Clark

Actor

Jeremy Dyson

Actor

Alice Lowe

Actor

Robert Eggers

Actor

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Synopsis

WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED is the first feature-length documentary on the history of folk horror, exploring the phenomenon from its beginnings in a trilogy of films - Michael Reeves' The 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 manifestations in American, Asian, Australian and European horror, to the genre's revival over the last decade.

Director: Kier-La Janisse
Producer: Winnie Cheung, Kier-La Janisse
Screenwriter: Kier-La Janisse, Kier-La Janisse
Production Co: Severin Films
Genre: Documentary, Horror
Original Language: Brazilian Portuguese
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 26, 2021
Runtime: 3h 14m

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