5 Overlooked Films Ep 20 - Folk Horror

[@regalesq.3687]

I would also add " The Empty Man" A new age take on folk horror. Great atmosphere

[@merlin704]

The Blood on Satan's Claw is such a great overlooked film. I picked up the HD digital version off of Amazon last year to add to my classic horror collection.

[@paulfillingham4778]

Blood on Satans Claw is brilliant, one of my favourite films.

[@OlDirtyGamer-]

The blood on Satan’s Claw is a classic!

[@gabrielpierce1985]

The fact that The Ritual is considered an overlooked film is beyond a shame. Easily one of the best original horror films in the decade.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

100% agreed

[@evanhenry7630]

Not sure if it counts as "folk horror", but "The Moor" (2023) was brilliant, and I haven't heard anyone talk about it. If you enjoy a slow burn movie, with an underlying tension throughout, I'd say check it out, most unsettling thing I've seen in awhile.

[@MichaelRowe-cv3oq]

We have an independent art-house cinema here in Nottingham which normally shows films about an Iranian boy and his pet brick.They did a single showing of The Ritual,it was so popular that it was brought back for about a full weeks run and it was very successful.

[@FrithonaHrududu02127]

"Farhad and His Brick" is actually my favorite movie. My only complaint was that I felt 4 hours was just too short. I especially thought the choice to do all dialogue in sign language was especially interesting.

[@MichaelRowe-cv3oq]

@FrithonaHrududu02127 Great to see the other fan of this amazing film who loves it as much as I do,I'm hoping/waiting for the Extended/Directors cut of said film any day now...and I'll need a day to view it.😃

[@sabrinaloizides-merideth9874]

The Ritual is also an AMAZING book!

[@Grogeous_Maximus]

The Ritual is simply so good. It just keeps piling more and more dread on top an already cozy but disturbing atmosphere. The ending isn't the strongest, but compared to most horror movies, it totally holds up.

[@davidp4864]

A Dark Song is one of those rare movies that I consider to be perfect.

[@Le_Pete]

Absolutely!!!

[@ronsterm7076]

Blood On Satan's Claw is a longtime favorite. British folk horror is always the best. That film and Pyewacket will always be in my Halloween rotation.

[@go3119]

I loved Pyewacket. I’m so glad you mentioned this one!!!

[@mjjoe76]

You could make an anthology of movies using names of the familiars the witch finder supposedly discovered. Vinegar Tom, Elemanzer, Grizzel Greedigut. All good movie titles too!

[@PrinceGastronome]

The Ritual has a fantastic monster design. I know the guy who designed it. Genius.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Agreed. It was shocking and looked amazing.

[@akumaswrath6663]

The ritual is one of the best horror films in the last 15 years. It's a masterpiece.

[@InGenSB]

​@@akumaswrath6663the existential dread I got from this movie was "amazing".

[@oliverholmes-gunning5372]

It was a cool design in and of itself, but it came close to ruining an otherwise deeply grounded and psychological film for me. Honestly fully revealing the creature after such effective tension building that left everything to the imagination was such a jarring tonal shift that all I could do was burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of it. Again, I'll concede that the design itself was pretty cool-looking, but it belonged in a completely different movie. Shame, cause otherwise the film was near-perfect. The acting, cinematography, imagery and tension-building were phenomenal, and it had probably the best-written characters I've ever seen in a modern horror movie outside of Bone Tomahawk.

[@khartog01]

I loved it.

[@davidlionheart2438]

I LOVE "The Blood On Satan's Claw"! I quite literally know it by heart. Everything about it is exemplary. Beautifully written, acted, directed, and photographed. Patrick Wymark and Linda Hayden deserve special praise, as does composer Marc Wilkinson. His excellent, extremely unnerving score is fully fifty percent of the film's effectiveness, and it is magnificently effective.

[@DaveC74]

Depending on what you’re looking for frailty, one of the best hidden gem horror films ever made.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Indeed!

[@eborgann]

I loved that movie. It's one of my favorites.

[@philipmorris4843]

Didn’t know anything about Frailty when I saw it and was totally blown away. Cinematic Masterpiece

[@dasdeke]

Frailty was so good.

[@Zombie_Trooper]

Blood on Satan's Claw is such an underrated gem. I was introduced to it thanks to Mark Gatiss.

[@Susang]

This video got you a new subscriber. The Blood on Satan's Claw is a classic that doesn't receive the praise it's due.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thanks for the sub! Yep, that movie is grand. So happy to see that people love it. :)

[@richardhussey-cq2se]

The Blood On Satans Claw is shown here in Britain on Legend Channel quite often.

[@cheshirecat7830]

I always suggest Child of Glass (1978). It was shown on - of all things - The Magical World of Disney. There is no gore, no nudity, and no cursing; but there is atmosphere. It scared me as a kid and still gives me chills today.

[@HelenMaxwellfan]

Yes, that was a good movie. I also love the book series that features Bollosom Culp, the movie is based on one of the books.

[@leadingblind1629]

Sounds like how Watcher In The Woods got me! The remake is such a sanitized travesty.

[@cheshirecat7830]

@@leadingblind1629 I also enjoyed Watcher in the Woods. I had forgotten the name and only remembered one scene, but I was able to find it again recently and watched it.

[@Smokeisprogress]

Satan's claw was on TV a lot in the mid 70s, I always remember the Fur patches.

[@jasperfen3754]

The Ritual - not sure if I liked the book or movie better. The creature design in the movie was awesome. Pyewacket - I really loved this one. A Dark Song - I enjoyed the movie, and the ending was unexpected and satisfying. Kill List - I don't think I ever really understood what was happening in this one, which did not keep me from really liking it. The Blood on Satan's Claw - just saw this one farily recently after listening to a BBC audio adaption. I love a good old folk horror movie. First one of these lists where I had seen all the movies. And I liked all the movies. Thanks for making a good use for a good series for the October.

[@metalmcintire]

Man I was literally JUST thinking about The Ritual, and how it was highly praised when it came out but immediately forgotten the next year.

[@Laneous14]

I recommend it to everyone every Halloween.

[@fisheyenomiko]

It's really great! And has one of the most unique monsters I've ever seen.

[@Malum09]

Netflix release killed it.

[@derBene]

Maybe buy the original book and give it as a present to friends who enjoy horror stories.

[@peterondrus7065]

@@derBene We get it you know how to read

[@DerekDomino71]

Blood on Satan's Claw is fantastic, I bought both the Severin and 88 Films releases. I need to check out the rest of these on the list.

[@freaknr1]

The Ritual might be forgotten by many, but it shows up all the time on my facebook-timeline, with people gushing about its monster-design. Great film! I would also recommend Eyes of Fire. A really interesting little folk horror that is mostly forgotten today.

[@maxhill9254]

"The Ritual" is awesome, I loved it 🙂

[@IanGarofalo91]

I'm glad to see folk horror getting some love on this channel. It's my favorite style of horror thanks to my love of folklore in general. The Ritual was one of the most suspenseful movies I've ever seen, and the scares were very effective and never felt cheap. I confess I didn't care much for Kill List, but maybe I just need to give it another chance. It's funny that Christopher Lee's fee was too high for The Blood on Satan's Claw, as he later did The Wicker Man for free!

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thanks! I've been getting more into it lately. I need to see The Witchfinder General.

[@johnhart7704]

Kill List is such a grea film. More people should know about it.

[@philiptuttle8468]

Don’t sleep on “The Harrow”, fantastic combination of folk horror, and creature feature.

[@falgalhutkinsmarzcal3962]

Onibaba is a fantastic Japanese folk horror movie that I recommend to any horror fan or cinephile.

[@ebbderelict]

[Watches intro] I don't know if you've ever heard of the series Hellraiser but that's good to watch around Halloween. 😉

[@CorbCorbin]

They made a reboot just recently. Hulu movie.

[@MandleRoss]

Oh, isn't that the films where they say "We have so many things for you to see"?

[@LarixusSnydes]

imho. Hellraiser I and II are great, the sequels after that: not so much.

[@fantachan102]

I remember The Blood on Satan's Claw! I randomly picked it on Tubi after reading the description thinking that it was going to take place in the 20th century. To my surprise, that was not the case, and I enjoyed it slightly more. 😋

[@richardspillers6282]

The Ritual was a breath of fresh air and I can't understand why I keep forgetting about it.

[@1jotun136]

You've been spelled to forget.

[@frankb821]

I need to attempt "Blood on Satan's Claw" again, since I fell asleep on my first attempt at the Skyline Drive-In's Monsterfest in 2022. Of course, they started the film at 3:30am and I'm no spring chicken

[@JohnQ5]

Hurrah! Big fan of horror and VERY happy your first video this month focuses on one of my favorite subgenres.

[@kevinrowland7942]

It's a good day when there's a new Good Bad Flicks.

[@MichaelRowe-cv3oq]

Loved The Ritual.Frailty is an overlooked masterpiece.I saw The Blood on Satan's Claw in the cinema here in the UK in roughly 1974-i was 13,the scene where Linda Hayden disrobes is still one of the most erotic scenes of all time.I often view it while playing pocket billiards.

[@philingrouille7198]

Blood on Satan's Claw was a fun watch. Disturbing in a few parts but I remember plenty from it.

[@GromMolotok]

You're overfilling my "to be watched" list. I don't have enough hours in the day!

[@GoodBadFlicks]

:)

[@gregoryvn3]

Saaaaame

[@PG-wz7by]

Good to see A Field in England mentioned in passing. Not for everyone, but there's a small devoted fanbase.

[@mjjoe76]

Happy Spooky Season!

[@brandonpage7087]

LMAO, what you said about the Netflix films that get the most attention, being the bad ones, is exactly why I don't sub to Netflix, or any other streaming services. That & the fact that films that you wanna see, could be & often are randomly pulled from viewing, at any time! Anyways, I can't believe that we're being blessed with 2, count 'em 2, GBF videos, this week!! What a treat!! I was curious, when the next in depth exploring episode would be coming out? LOVE those!!

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Soon

[@WhiskeyBrewer]

The Ritual did have a brief Theatrical Run in the UK before Netflix got their grubby hands on it

[@fifth_noble8022]

I recently saw Eyes of Fire and I LOVED it. Personally think it belongs on this list.

[@markaitkenguitar]

Awesome. Since I’ve seen and loved four of these, I’m confident that I’ll enjoy the fifth!

[@skippyroadbite798]

Definitely going to check out Kill List! If you like that director, I really enjoyed Field in England and Free Fire. Also, obligatory mention that The Ritual’s monster is one of the greatest ever

[@oliverholmes-gunning5372]

I swear I must be the only person who hates that thing, cause everyone always raves about it. I thought the movie was amazing right up to the creature reveal, but that ruined an otherwise excellent masterclass in slow-burn tension. They really should have carried on just hinting at the creature and leaving the rest up to the audience's imagination as far as I'm concerned. I'll concede that the design itself was cool, but it belonged in a completely different (and altogether wackier) movie. Highly recommend Kill List though, it's easily one of the most lowkey disturbing movies I've ever watched, left more of an impression on me than most Von Trier films- the acting and staging is so naturalistic that you forget you're watching a movie and start to feel like it's a documentary, which makes the violence that much more impactful when it finally happens. The hammer scene (I won't say any more details as I don't want to spoil it) in particular really sticks with you. A Field In England and Free Fire are great too, of course. I also very much enjoyed High-Rise (also by Ben Wheatley), real ensemble cast and a lot of interesting themes to explore...

[@tim2024-df5fu]

"The Haunting" (1963) Directed by Robert Wise. It's the first Haunting of Hill House movie and arguably the scariest.

[@DreamersDisease88]

I recently have come to love folk horror

[@jamesmumford8718]

Great recommendations. I will be checking out The Blood on Satan's Claw for sure.

[@krawalleundhiebe7900]

I love the Ritual! It's my absolut comfort movie. Would love to have a physical copy but alas

[@RyanParreno]

LOL Thanks for reminding me I got the new 88 Films releases of Witchfinder General and Blood on Satan's Claw I really should make the time to watch them both some time

[@derBene]

Enjoyed the book and the movie of The Ritual. Would have loved to watch it in a cinema. Had a great time back then with Signs.

[@RavenHouseMystery]

Great job putting this video together, Cecil. I'll have to check out both A Dark Song and Kill List. Of the ones I have seen, I think my favorite is The Ritual. Folk horror is a tough genre to crack. Like Gothic horror, folk horror tends to rely on a simple story cloaked in heavy atmosphere. This can make these films drag along to a predictable ending. For example, I thought that Pyewacket's plot felt similar to Pumpkinhead.

[@SAMTYLER1974]

I’d highly recommend “The Outcasts” written and directed by Robert Wynne-Simmons, the screenwriter behind “Blood On Satans Claw” and recently released on Blu-ray by the terrific BFI Flipside label. Grossly overlooked compared to Piers Haggard’s iconic film it eschews a lot of the overtly graphic, sexual and religious aspects of BoSC in favour of a far more subtle, haunting and supernatural tale. Beautifully shot and with a superb cast it’s one of those folk horror films that one could argue is less horror and more drama but is, nonetheless, a superb film.

[@rum8121]

So I’m 30 minutes into the blood on Satans Claw I gotta say it’s well worth it so far

[@MikeFowlerguitars]

Excellent list. All films have been in my top 20 horror films for a few years. Kill List and Blood on Satan's Claw are particularly good.

[@GlorieBee218]

I'm so glad you mentioned two of my most favourite movies, The Blood on Satan's claw and A Dark song. Thank you.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

You are welcome :)

[@Alexalicious]

I've heard of all of these, but have only seen The Ritual, which I adore~! Saddens me so much I may never own it physically.

[@nonsequitor]

RE: Wheatley: I expect the reason was life is hard and expensive when you're an artist. If "Hollywood" only offered crap taking it to make more than most of us do in decades was the correct move. Meg2 is so CCP coded I couldn't make it though even after a bottle of Jack despite liking Statham crap but whatever. I expect he's quiet because there's no obvious moves if your passion is art and you're in Hollywood 🤷‍♂️

[@thegood9]

You're the FIRST channel I look to for this sort of rec, Cecil! Thank you! Agree so much about Netflix. It seems Hulu films get more buzz if they're good, but, still even there, if a film is as good as "The Ritual", they have GOT to learn to get them into theatres first. Terrible leadership at Netflix. See what Hulu is doing. See what happened with Alien: Romulus. All the opportunity that would've been lost. Hulu appears to have MUCH better thinkers and evaluators. They missed on "Prey", and I think they are determined to never let that happen to them again.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Thanks! I think to them, they only care about the streaming market. They will happily dance when theaters go out of business.

[@thegood9]

@@GoodBadFlicks I am sure you're correct there. Until they start buying them...

[@peterpuleo2904]

Pyewacket starts off as a typical teenagers behaving goofy movie, but be patient, because after the first 15 minutes it takes off and it is very well done.

[@camelwars]

Great list, A Dark Song is one of my favorites

[@AccoSpoot]

So glad you've found your way into my favourite genre! There are so many more than 5 great films to watch, check out the documentary Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched for more!

[@GoodBadFlicks]

:)

[@manrae]

A dark song looks interesting, thanks! And I agree, the Ritual was fantastic

[@DoorsInTheLabyrinth]

I love folk horror! Severin is releasing a second edition of their amazing "All the Haunts Be Ours" box set, and I can't wait! There were a ton I hadn't seen on the first box, a couple have turned into favorites of mine! In particular, Eyes of Fire, Viy and The Dreaming!

[@zacharycunningham1789]

I couldn’t agree with the intro more, Cecil! Also, awesome list!!!

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Yay, thank you!

[@GeekLegionofDoom]

The Ritual was released on dvd in the Uk

[@chrisward000]

And is not on Netflix in the UK. Only available to buy or rent on Apple, Amazon etc. It did get a theatrical release here though.

[@laajos300]

I find that from all of these (not including the ritual cuz errbody knows it) A Dark Song lingered in my memory the most. Slow burn, low-budjet & lowkey but well written and acted, and the "reveal" was most impressive.

[@TheFly212]

Kill List is a tremendous chilling film. And it requires multiple repeat viewings. I'm not gonna spoiler things here. But I talk to my horror buff pals about Kill List every time around this time of the year lol. It's a real good conversation starter lol. Dark. Don't speak about it to normies.

[@robertdanielpickard]

great list! I just happen to have seen them all, and they're all great recommendations. looking forward to the next group. always like to find something new

[@jacotromp59581]

Folk horror is great. The Ritual is one that is so underrated and I wish I would've seen it in the cinema. The cinematography is absolutely stunning. Yet another one Netflix took and ruined. While I like streaming, it's a pathetic system. Why not release stuff in the cinema? Why not release it on physical media? Streaming services are dumb, because they throw so much money away. I don't have Netflix, but I collect physical media, go to the cinema and there are a lot of individuals like me, so streaming services are throwing a lot of movie into the water.

[@jordanthomas4379]

‘The witch’ 2016 amazing movie

[@thEannoyingE]

The Ritual kicks ass, and has a great creature that it builds up to. A note about Pywachet, the film is actually a remake of an older film called Bell, Book & Candle.

[@pong86r]

Dude, i love The Ritual and truly became my favorite movie made the last decade

[@Vaquix000]

Damn, linda hayden has nice eyes. I clicked this wondering who she was, thought she was a current actress since she has a modern look to her. Very pretty, crazy to think she's 71 now.

[@troyschulz2318]

6:49 Wheatley’s mostly been doing TV miniseries and streaming stuff.

[@dfailsthemost]

Yesss A Dark Song. I knew nothing about it and watched it on a whim. Awesome

[@Kenjitsuka]

Great to see more spooky recommendations from you! Thanks Cecil!

[@piotrmroczkowski2324]

I just watched Kill List and Dark Song, and they are both very good. Dark Song is a great example of how you can make a great atmospheric movie with low budget.

[@kalgrove6426]

This is why I visit this channel ❤

[@UnwrittenSpade]

I absolutely loved the ritual what a fun movie to go into blind! Another great video mate!

[@timothyc.4668]

In the Ritual there is a scene with an old lady, that is one of my favorite of all time. I have never had such an abrupt laugh in my life. Love that movie.

[@czguy3045]

EXCELLENT list. I've seen them all and would highly recommend every individual of them.

[@colinwatt9387]

Cinematographer 'Dick Bush" tee hee. which reminds me that The Blood on Satans Claw had a rare full-frontal-including-bush scene which was formative for me as a young teen. Up there with the incongrous, but highly appreciated, naked dance scene featuring Britt Eckland from The Wicker Man.

[@MalachiWhite-tw7hl]

Wasn't actually Britt, was a stand-in by a London stripper. True.

[@kri249]

Personally I'm not that big on modern films, particularly modern horror, but I was genuinely impressed with the Ritual. The thing I loved the most was that it didn't have to explain everything to the audience like we're too dumb to get it. It gave random bits of evidence throughout the film to let you figure out the story of the blonde woman in the camp and it wasn't even crucial to the plot. I never realised how refreshing that can be.

[@CaptainVKanth]

That slap at the end....ooooffff....

[@oliverholmes-gunning5372]

As a big folk horror fan I was honestly so surprised when the credits rolled on Meg 2 and I read "directed by Ben Wheatley". It's genuinely hard to believe that the guy responsible for such indie and arthouse classics as Kill List, A Field In England, High-Rise and Free Fire also made a dumb blockbuster sequel involving Jason Statham taking on a giant prehistoric shark with a jet ski😂😂 It's like learning Robert Eggers had signed on to an Adam Sandler project or something lol

[@sweetwilliam27]

A Dark Song is probably in my top 50 horror movies of all time

[@13strigoi69]

I'd recommend reading the book by Adam Nevill. Far more effective than the movie imo. His first five books are my favorite modern horror novels. Blood on Satan's Claw has been a favorite since I was a kid. Had a crush on Linda Hayden.

[@GoodBadFlicks]

I'll check it out!

[@MandleRoss]

A Dark Song was truly great! That final scene was highly unexpected and really worked for me!

[@Cobalt-Bleu]

All great choices. Folk has become one my favourite horror genres of late

[@Anson120]

If my name was Dick Bush, I would be so happy. LOLOLOLOLOL

[@SasmakToy]

A field in England is trippy AF! I watched it messed up & was utterly swept up by the wind in the tall grass & the plots own twists.

[@NessieNep]

Omg Kill List is fantastic~! Glad you know of it too~!

[@GoodBadFlicks]

Such a great movie!

[@theretromisfit]

My Three Suggestions would be… The Zero Boys, Hell Night (Linda Blair), Inoperable

[@Madbandit77]

Definitely The Zero Boys.

[@TheRealNormanBates]

9:20 don't forget about the fantastic music!

[@Draqson]

I watched the first 3 movies and "The Ritual" is definitely memorable especially for the first half.

[@NerdRahtio]

I have been in the Carpathian Mountains and the scariest thing i saw was drivers flying on the curved roads!

[@ianbrewster8934]

The ritual is amazing

[@bluesman99999]

Thanks for the recommendations Cecil!

[@GoodBadFlicks]

You're so welcome!

[@TheStrykerProject]

I admit I skipped over Pyewacket for a bit, and when I finally did watch it I was very pleasantly surprised. "Slow burn" can sometimes cause me to miss (or at least put off) good (bad) flicks. 😉