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Rating of
4/4
Between Horror and Documentation
cacb3995 - wrote on 10/09/2018
Danish director Benjamin Christensen in 1921 took the subject of witchcraft and confected a film experience around it to explore it as a historical phenomenon and see how it relates to the then present. This film defies simple categorization: is it a documentary? a horror film? a docu-fiction? a film essay? I’d go with that one. And indeed the film is experimental and unconventional in the way it is presented, but in truth Christensen wasn’t concerned with revolutionizing the form or medium, but rather exploring the ramifications and implications of a certain historical moment in a very essayistic fashion (even when many of the events are being dramatized). The result, however, does in a sense trascend this “academic” function and becomes both, an interesting study of a …
Rating of
3.5/4
Haxan (Witchcraft Through the Ages)
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 11/28/2011
A documentary type horrific flick about witches and demons presented chapter by chapter. A lot going here such as the depiction of hell, Satan, temptation, witches potions, hysteria, loneliness and how little difference there is during the medieval and modern times. So many characters involved that is similar to Pan's Labyrinth, pace of the film is continuous and the concepts based on the director's research is very engaging. Has numerous symbolism's and disturbing sequences (involving torture, nun's become insane, Satan's influence, a baby sacrificed, many more) that were sacrilegious in its era but the intent in the conclusion was well thought of. Haxan (Witchcraft Through the Ages) the most expensive Scandinavian silent film in history and is clearly worth every kronor spent.
