After a week of some of the worst cold of the entire winter, we seemed to snap into spring in the last week of February! As grateful as we might be however, it's hard to banish the thought that it's looming climate change we have to thank. In a way it would almost be a relief if a sinister pagan cult was to blame for our unnatural seasons. Embrace that debauched but possibly preferable alternative in these four films!
A nasty exploration of inter-couple resentment, Midsommar follows Dani, a young woman who attends a midsummer festival in the remote Swedish countryside with her boyfriend. The most unnerving aspect of the ensuing horror may be how it all occurs in bright, bright daylight!
Those who grew up in the 2000s may only know The Wicker Man through Youtube clips of the disastrous and hilarious 2006 remake starring Nicolas Cage (also recommended!), but this tale of a devout Christian detective investigating a missing young girl on an idyllic island is worth seeking out. The shocking finale, and an unnerving Christopher Lee as the island’s cheery mayor, makes clear how silly and scary can be two sides of the same coin.
Featuring a very 80's mix of horror, comedy and zany special effects, The Lair of the White Worm traces the fallout of the discovery of a gigantic, snake-like skull in the Derbyshire countryside. Fans of Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi (as well as Snake Gods, evil priestesses, and actors wearing huge fake fangs) will get a kick out of this gonzo classic.
Much of the terror in the above films is based on the premise of an entire community going insane and turning against the protagonist. But this exact scenario was actually experienced by countless women accused of witchcraft in the medieval and early modern ages. Exploring this phenomenon, Häxan combines eerie fictional vignettes and documentary to probe the question of what drives people to murder their neighbors.
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