Program Note
The term “folk horror” was first coined in 1970 while discussing the British horror sub-genre, focusing on the supernatural elements of folklore, such as the beliefs and actions of people in isolation, religion, paganism, and sacrifice. Led by the films of “Unholy Trinity”, these mostly British films and TV dramas ruled the 70s and 80s genre film scene, before disappearing for a while. However, the revival of folk horror films over the last decade brought back interest in the genre, led by Robert Eggers’ The Witch, Ari Aster’s Midsommar and Joko Anwar’s Impetigore. With this in-depth documentary, director Kier-La Janisse examines this in detail, with over 200 film clips and insightful interviews with fifty filmmakers, writers, and academics. This solid anthology work, running over 3 hours, is a must watch for folk horror fans and informative filmmaking fans. (Jongsuk Thomas NAM)