The Wickar man is probably the most well known of this genre and then recently the film midsomer which is a feminist take on the folk horror genre. Below are a few films I've seen recently that also some film stills that feed into my research and the use of folk genre to explore wider themes of horror and fear.
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| stills from Midsommer |
Men 2022. Directed by Alex Garland.
I think Jessie Buckley is an incredible in this super weird, trippy, scary folk horror. I saw this film at the Broadway with my friend Beth- a proper alternative film buff who has been broadening my horizons throughout the years of our friendship with our regular cinema trips.
when we were leaving the film when a man at the desk said "Did you get it ?"
"YES!" we said " yes we got it!"
Saying he didnt understand because he was a man would be a sweeping statement, this film was written by a man.
This is a feminist horror film, played out in a rural setting, highlighting the isolation of being an outsider. In this village peopled by men, all of whom seem to melt into each other, it starts off as being creepy then sinister turning into an all out body horror gory nightmare!
I hate gory films, I'm very squeamish, however as it was part of the large story, a metaphor, not gore for gores sake I think its a great tactic, using the genre of horror to personify the real horror of these dysfunctional abusive relationships with men.
The bogey man here is a green man character feeding into the folk theme, the idea that the green man is all men, hes a predator and not a nurturer,a shape shifter, the wildness making him more of an animal, than the loveable, robin hood, jack in the green and many other carnations of this green man figure.
Its full of folk symbolism and though set in the modern day , Harpers retreat into the country side is a retreat into the past. Its playing on the stereotype of the backwards, sexist country men and rural isolation.
Alex garland had said on the ambiguity of the film that he didn't like to spoon feed his audience and invites an aspect of imaginative participation from his audience.
But we got it, Beth and I, or at least we understood a version of it and it created some great conversations around our experiences and how tapping into this folk tale/ horror brings to light these old, deep fears.
"In 1923 on the fictional Isle of Inisherin off the Irish Coast, two mates, Pádraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson) engage in a row when Colm tells Pádraic "I just don't like you anymore." Baffled by the proclamation, Pádraic persists in trying to make amends, meeting resistance from Colm at every turn. The row escalates under the watchful eyes of the entire village as Colm makes good on a gruesome promise. The threat of death-as if brought by a banshee-falls over the village as no one knows just how far the feud will go."
—KS at ClassicCoupleAcademy.com
I thought this film was really atmospheric. Its billed as a comedy, Its a very dark comedy that boarders on horror due to the bleak nature of events. Its quite a slow moving film which sets the pace of remote location. Visually its beautiful- the landscape and the houses with simple furniture and the clothes of the characters- a perfect folk tale back drop. The old woman character Mrs McCormick is reminiscent of a witch from a fairy tale, she adds to the macabre feel of this fable that stays just on the edge of reality. She is the real Banshee of the film, a harbinger of doom who is never welcome and is always present when a loss occurs. The link to folk music feeds into my research and essentially the musician character of Colm a seems to be a person dealing with depression in a time when there is little understanding or help ( it make me wonder how mentally ill and Nero divergent people are portrayed in folk tales of the past)Hes a man who senses his time is running out and forsakes his friendship to concentrate on composing his music and leaving his legacy. When his friend keeps approaching and questioning him on the subject, Colm in a bid to be free of him threatens to cut off his own fingers if he wont leave him alone... rendering himself unable to play his beloved instrument, essentially highlighting the fact that his friend is stealing his time, his art. After he cuts off his own fingers hes says he feels relived. I assume released of the pressure of making music and leaving a legacy that will out live him. Hes a contradiction but one that so many creative people are torn by.Meanwhile other character's weave through the story with darker twists and turns. There is a focus on loss, loss of friendships, family, and the rural way of life, meanwhile the civil war rages only in the distance while these characters are playing out a civil war of their own. 
Lamb 2021Director 
Again a film using the rural isolation as a back drop that enables this story to play out. Living in isolation, anything can become normal without an outside voice or opinion to police it. the voice of reason here is a visiting relative that soon becomes accepting of this half human half animal child .. it preys on the horror of grief and longing and is a story about a gift from nature and on he flip side disrespecting / stealing from nature. Its a slow moving atmospheric film, visually beautiful, lots of folklore imagery the lamb with the flower crown very similar to the imagery of the may queen stills from Midsommer.
I think essentially the genre of folk horror works on the fear of the unknown and isolation from the wider world, the idea that these rural communities are able to summon super natural forces, or the fear of the force of nature itself and the unknown depths of human nature.
I think essentially the genre of folk horror works on the fear of the unknown and isolation from the wider world, the idea that these rural communities are able to summon super natural forces, or the fear of the force of nature itself and the unknown depths of human nature.
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