The countryside is unnaturally still. In the distance are lights; the shadows are chanting a steady rhythm into the air. Suddenly, a scream is heard, echoing across the empty land, unanswered and ignored.
It’s a typical atmosphere for most folk horror films, a genre that has grown popular in recent years. The isolation of the setting, the mystery of the events, and an impending sense of tragedy make for an unsettling watch.
What Is Folk Horror?
Folk horror is horror that is based on folklore or legends. Typical elements include rural settings, religion, superstitious beliefs, the dark side of nature, and alienation.
Most of them loosely follow this plot: An urban dweller goes on a trip to the countryside. They encounter locals with strange practices that are often rooted in old, even pre-Christian, religions and folklore. This outsider soon finds themselves isolated from the outside world and often becomes a victim of fatal beliefs.
Folk horror films show a clash between the present and past, the urban and rural, and the modern and primitive. The horror comes from the differences between these concepts. Imagine someone who grew up in an urban setting is suddenly confronted by the primality of nature.
These horrors can be supernatural but are more often mundane. So while demons and pagan gods do appear as villains, it’s mostly humans who are the real monsters. Deranged, sadistic leaders and their drone-like followers are usually the biggest menaces in these films.
Folk Horror Examples
This genre was popular in England during the 1960s and 1970s before falling out of favor. It has since seen a revival in the 2010s on a global scale.
Below is a list of the best folk horror films that you can watch when you need your regular dose of scares.
1. The Wicker Man
A young girl disappears and Police Sergeant Neil Howie goes to investigate. He ends up on the isolated island of Summerisle, where he finds the islanders worshipping their ancestors’ gods.
Lurking within this strange, seemingly harmless community is a secret—one that proves dangerous to him the more he stays on the island.
2. The Wailing
After being visited by a mysterious man, a rural village is struck by an infection. Those who fall victim to it become deranged, violently killing their families before dying.
When a local policeman finds his daughter has been afflicted, he begins a desperate hunt for the person responsible. But his opponent is no mortal—rather, it’s a demon intent on gorging itself on their suffering.
3. Hagazussa
In a remote village in the 15th century, the orphan Albrun is cast out by her community. Detested and maligned, she lives in relative isolation save for her infant child.
The control she has exercised for so long slowly begins to deteriorate. And when the last straw finally goes, her otherworldly birthright becomes a weapon against those who have made her the scapegoat for their fanatical superstitions.
4. The Blood on Satan’s Claw
In a rural village in early 18th-century England, a farmer digs up a mishappen corpse. Soon, the village slowly succumbs to superstitious paranoia.
Local children begin playing depraved games in a crumbling church, and people start to disappear or mysteriously fall ill. A judge takes it upon himself to stop the corruption before the community succumbs to the devil’s insidious influence.
5. Kuroneko
A woman and her daughter-in-law are raped and murdered by passing samurai. They return from the underworld, ripping out the throats of any samurai they find.
Meanwhile, a war hero is dispatched to deal with the vengeful spirits. But in confronting them, he finds that he must struggle with his personal demons as well.
6. Kill List
Two former soldiers turned hitmen accept a lucrative job from a mysterious client. But the mission turns out to be strange and unsettling.
With the client threatening their families, backing out is not an option. And pushing on sees them uncovering a labyrinth of conspiracies that slowly culminates into a brutal finale.
7. The Witch
A religious dispute sees William and his family banished to the fringes of New England. The isolation soon takes a toll, and disturbing events begin happening around them.
Eaten away by the tragedies they’ve recently experienced, blame is laid on their oldest daughter, Thomasin. Accused of witchery, she’s slowly backed into a corner with no choice but to lash out in a catastrophic defense.
8. Kwaidan
Kwaidan is an anthological film composed of four stories. Though each chapter is worthy of watching, the standout story is “Yuki-onna” or “The Woman of the Snow.”
Two woodcutters wait out a snow storm. One of them is killed by a spirit, while the other is spared because of his youth. Later, he meets and marries a beautiful woman, who also happens to be the spirit from all those years ago.
9. Viy
A young monk is ordered to stand guard over the body of an elderly woman for three nights. Each night that he stands vigil, the spirits of the dead rise to torment him.
The body itself revives and turns into a beautiful woman, whom he realizes is a witch. And with her magic is a way to summon a being so terrible even demons tremble.
10. Midsommar
Emotionally shattered Dani joins her increasingly distant boyfriend on a trip to an isolated, Swedish commune. There, they are to witness ancient traditions and a rare festival that only happens every 90 years.
What starts as a carefree holiday slowly turns sinister. The once, welcoming commune begins closing in on the visitors, leaving no chance for escape.
11. The Hallow
A conservationist and his family travel to a remote Irish village. Locals warn them about the forest surrounding the village, where they claim live “fairies, banshees, and baby-stealers.”
When these claims prove true, the family suddenly finds themselves assaulted by otherworldly forces. The only thing that can stop them is light, but what do they do during the night?
12. The Blair Witch Project
Three young filmmakers hike into the woods to make a documentary about the fabled Blair Witch. They disappear, with their equipment and footage found sometime later.
The majority of the film concerns the recovered footage. Within is a sequence of disturbing events that ultimately answer how and why the three disappeared.
Terrors From the Unknown
Humans have always been scared of the unknown; it’s why we form communities, build walls, and light our surroundings. When the darkness closes in or when we feel alone, we get a sense of the things that are older and more powerful than humanity.
Just think about how much of our fairy tales, folklore, and legends are built around the premise of someone getting lost or straying off the path. They encounter strange things that often put them in some form of danger, fatal or otherwise.
These stories are memories of a more primal world. When these become the focus of a horror film, it creates a debilitating effect that makes people doubt the safety of modernity.
Did you find this post useful? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- Cosmic Horror: Your Guide to Incomprehensible Terrors
- Exploring Gothic Horror: A Brief History and Examples
- 12 Best Horror Audiobooks to Listen to for a Scare
- 10 Authors Like Stephen King to Satisfy your Horror Cravings
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
