Folk horror movies
Folk horror is a subgenre of horror film for cinema or television which uses elements of folklore to invoke fear in its audience. Typical elements include a rural setting and themes of isolation, religion, the power of nature, and the potential darkness of rural landscapes. Although related to supernatural horror films, many derive their horror from the actions and beliefs of people rather than explicitly supernatural elements; the primary focus of the stories is often upon naïve outsiders coming up against these forces. Local folklore has long been integral to Thai, Indonesian and Malaysian horror films, as well as prominent examples of folk horror existing in British and American cinema.
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- DirectorDaniel GruenerStarsSusana ZabaletaAlejandro TommasiRicardo BlumeA woman sees her best friend murdered before her eyes, and thus becomes very traumatised. Her husband tells her to stay at home, where she discovers a little gris-gris bag. She opens the bag, without knowing its magical origin, and smells a powder. She begins investigating and discovers a strange address: "Academia #10". She then goes there and meets a witch, who warns her of the dangers of the powder she smelled and the dark powers of voodoo. She then meets a psychologist, who becomes interested in her case and the black magic surrounding her. When a mysterious black man appears and strange things begin to happen, her life turns into a race against time and against a powerful voodoo deity.
- DirectorJuan López MoctezumaStarsClaudio BrookDavid SilvaTina RomeroAfter the death of her parents, a young girl arrives at a convent and brings a sinister presence with her. Is it her enigmatic imaginary friend, Alucarda, who is to blame? Or is there a satanic force at work?
- DirectorChris NewbyStarsNatalie MorseGene BervoetsToyah WillcoxIn the 14th-century, a visionary girl is to become an Anchoress, a walled-in recluse, so that she can live in the Virgin's house forever. Over time she awakens to her own sensuality and explores her own female, earth-based spirituality.
- DirectorDavid AmitoMichael LaiciniStarsNicole TompkinsRowan SmythDan IstrateA young boy and girl enter the forest to dig a hole to Hell. Said to be a cursed film from the late 1970s, "Antrum" examines the horrifying power of storytelling.
- DirectorGareth EvansStarsDan StevensRichard ElfynPaul HigginsIn 1905, a drifter on a dangerous mission to rescue his kidnapped sister tangles with a sinister religious cult on an isolated island.
- DirectorJohn HarriganStarsKate AldertonMilo CradickEthan-James HarriganRefugee gods, transposed to flesh and blood, wash ashore to rouse the myths of ancient Britain, half-drowned in a forgotten past. They disperse through shifting realities to awaken the giant Albion and find the holy grail in a ritual to save England from the rot of darkness and hatred that's strangling its soul.
- DirectorSidney HayersStarsSuzy KendallFrank FinlayFreddie JonesAfter one schoolgirl is raped while taking a short cut through the local woods, and another is murdered in the same woods a few days later, the local police are baffled. With the help of a reporter from one of the local papers, and against the wishes of a psychologist at the local hospital, a young teacher at the school the girls attended uses herself as bait to lure the perpetrator out. Could it be the creepy husband of the head mistress at the school, the psychologist who seems to be taking an unusual interest in the case, or something altogether more sinister?
- DirectorChristopher SmithStarsEddie RedmayneSean BeanCarice van HoutenSet during the time of the first outbreak of bubonic plague in England, a young monk is given the task of learning the truth about reports of people being brought back to life in a small village.
- DirectorAdam WimpennyStarsEd StoppardAnnabel RileyHarry BurtonThe classic English ghost story gets a revision when a college professor finds himself plagued by spectral visions.
- DirectorDaniel MyrickEduardo SánchezStarsHeather DonahueMichael C. WilliamsJoshua LeonardThree film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.
- DirectorPiers HaggardStarsPatrick WymarkLinda HaydenBarry AndrewsIn early 18th century England, the children of a village slowly convert into a coven of devil worshipers.
- DirectorJesús FrancoStarsChristopher LeeMaria SchellLeo GennIn 1685 England, a young woman seeks to avenge her sister after she is executed by a Lord Chancellor who condemns various rebels and "witches" to satisfy his political and sexual whims.
- DirectorJim WynorskiStarsBruce BoxleitnerMichael HorseAdoni MaropisAncient Native American legend of the Bone Eater rises up and begins terrorizing the local townspeople.
- DirectorElliot GoldnerStarsGordon KennedyRobin HillAidan McArdleA team of Vatican investigators descend upon a church in a remote area to demystify the unusual happenings, but what they discover is more disturbing than they had first imagined.
- DirectorPeter Graham ScottStarsPeter CushingYvonne RomainPatrick AllenIn 18th-century England, the Royal Crown sends Royal Navy Captain Collier and his crew to investigate reports of illegal smuggling and bootlegging in a coastal town where locals believe in Marsh Phantoms.
- DirectorAnn TurnerStarsRebecca SmartNicholas EadieVictoria LongleyAn imaginative and somewhat disturbed young girl fantasizes about evil creatures and other oddities to mask her insecurities while growing up in rural Australia.
- DirectorFritz KierschStarsPeter HortonLinda HamiltonR.G. ArmstrongA young couple is trapped in a remote town where a dangerous religious cult of children believes that everyone over age 18 must be killed.
- DirectorDonald P. BorchersStarsRobert GerdischJordan SchmidtDavid AndersWhile traveling, an unhappy married couple encounter a cult of murderous children who worship an entity called He Who Walks Behind the Rows.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsSarah PattersonAngela LansburyDavid WarnerA teenage girl in a country manor falls asleep while reading a magazine, and has a disturbing dream involving wolves prowling the woods below her bedroom window.
- DirectorGordon HesslerStarsVincent PriceElisabeth BergnerEssy PerssonIn 1500s England, a cruel witch-hunting magistrate, who often tortures innocent villagers for his entertainment, runs afoul of a witch who conjures a banshee to kill the magistrate and his family.
- DirectorDan GildarkStarsJason CottleCasey CurranEthan AtkinsonA Seattle history professor, drawn back to his estranged family on the Oregon coast to execute his late mother's estate, is reaquainted with his best friend from childhood, with whom he has a long-awaited tryst. Caught in an accelerating series of events, he discovers aspects of his father's New Age cult which take on a dangerous and apocalyptic significance.
- DirectorMartin GoldmanStarsKim HunterJ.J. BarryCarolyne BarryA man accidentally runs down a young girl and has a curse placed on him by the girl's father, an occultist. He goes to a spiritualist for help in fighting the curse.
- StarsBette DavisDavid AckroydRosanna ArquetteA young couple moves to a quiet New England village, only to soon find themselves mixed up in mysterious rituals.
- DirectorJohn FawcettStarsSean BeanMaria BelloSophie StuckeyIn mourning over the tragic drowning of their daughter Sarah, James and Adèle are visited by Ebrill, a young girl who claims she died 60 years ago - and bears a startling resemblance to Sarah.
- DirectorHollingsworth MorseStarsTom SelleckBarra GrantTani GuthrieAn antique dealer living in the Philippines buys an ancient painting of witches burning because one witch looks identical to his Wife.