The Best Folk Horror Movies


10 Angel Heart, 1987

Angel Heart

Harry Angel is a private detective contracted by Louis Cyphre to track down the iconic singer Johnny Favorite. However, everybody that Angel questions about Favorite seems to meet a tragic demise. Eventually the trail leads Angel to New Orleans where he learns that Favorite had dabbled in the black arts. As Favorite’s whereabouts and true identity become clear, Angel learns that being hired by Cyphre was not a random choice.

Director: Alan Parker
Writers: Alan Parker, William Hjortsberg
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet
Budget: $17 000 000
Box office: $17 185 000

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9 Men, 2022

Men

In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, Harper retreats alone to the beautiful English countryside, hoping to have found a place to heal. But someone or something from the surrounding woods appears to be stalking her. What begins as simmering dread becomes a fully-formed nightmare, inhabited by her darkest memories and fears in visionary filmmaker Alex Garland’s feverish, shape-shifting new horror film.

Director: Alex Garland
Writer: Alex Garland
Starring: Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, Gayle Rankin
Box office: $11 152 000

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8 The Wailing (곡성 | Gokseong), 2016

Gokseong

An unprecedented spate of grisly murders and the outbreak of an unexplained virulent disease wreak havoc in Goksung, a sleepy rural hamlet nestled in a damp mountainous region of South Korea. As a result, vague but disquieting rumours of demonic activity shroud the once-peaceful village. But no one can escape the silent but dreadful curse, not even police sergeant Jong-goo’s only daughter, Hyo-jin. After all, the girl’s body shows clear signs of infection. As the community’s suspicions fall on a reclusive newcomer, pressing questions arise. Are dark forces at work? Is the cryptic stranger the root of all evil?

Director: Na Hong-jin
Writer: Na Hong-jin
Starring: Kwak Do-won, Hwang Jeong-min, Jun Kunimura
Budget: $8 500 000
Box office: $51 539 000

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7 Kwaidan (怪談), 1964

Kaidan

Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning «ghost story,» this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior’s reflection in his teacup.

Director: Masaki Kobayashi
Writers: Yoko Mizuki, Lafcadio Hearn
Starring: Michiyo Aratama, Misako Watanabe, Rentaro Mikuni
Budget: ¥350 000 000

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6 The Wicker Man, 1973

The Wicker Man

Sergeant Howie arrives on the small Scottish island of Summerisle to investigate the report of a missing child. A conservative Christian, the policeman observes the residents’ frivolous sexual displays and strange pagan rituals, particularly the temptations of Willow, daughter of the island magistrate, Lord Summerisle. The more Sergeant Howie learns about the islanders’ strange practices, the closer he gets to tracking down the missing child.

Director: Robin Hardy
Writers: Anthony Shaffer, David Pinner
Starring: Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento
Budget: £500 000
Box office: $57 450

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5 Sleepy Hollow, 1999

Sleepy Hollow

Set in 1799, «Sleepy Hollow» is based on Washington Irving’s classic tale «The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.» Faithful to the dreamy custom-bound world that Irving paints in his story, the film mixes horror, fantasy and romance and features an extraordinary cast of characters that dabble in the supernatural.

Director: Tim Burton
Writers: Washington Irving, Kevin Yagher, Andrew Kevin Walker
Starring: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson
Budget: $100 000 000
Box office: $206 071 000

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4 Hereditary, 2018

Hereditary

When the matriarch of the Graham family passes away, her daughter and grandchildren begin to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry, trying to outrun the sinister fate they have inherited.

Director: Ari Aster
Writer: Ari Aster
Starring: Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff
Budget: $10 000 000
Box office: $80 200 000

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3 The Witch (The VVitch: A New-England Folktale), 2015

The VVitch: A New-England Folktale

In 1630 New England, panic and despair envelops a farmer, his wife and their children when youngest son Samuel suddenly vanishes. The family blames Thomasin, the oldest daughter who was watching the boy at the time of his disappearance. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, twin siblings Mercy and Jonas suspect Thomasin of witchcraft, testing the clan’s faith, loyalty and love to one another.

Director: Robert Eggers
Writer: Robert Eggers
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie
Budget: $3 500 000
Box office: $40 423 000

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2 The Blair Witch Project, 1999

The Blair Witch Project

Found video footage tells the tale of three film students (Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams) who’ve traveled to a small town to collect documentary footage about the Blair Witch, a legendary local murderer. Over the course of several days, the students interview townspeople and gather clues to support the tale’s veracity. But the project takes a frightening turn when the students lose their way in the woods and begin hearing horrific noises.

Directors: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
Writers: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez, Heather Donahue
Starring: Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams
Budget: $22 000
Box office: $248 639 000

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1 Midsommar, 2019

Midsommar

A young American couple, their relationship foundering, travel to a fabled Swedish midsummer festival where a seemingly pastoral paradise transforms into a sinister, dread-soaked nightmare as the locals reveal their terrifying agenda.

Director: Ari Aster
Writer: Ari Aster
Starring: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Vilhelm Blomgren
Budget: $9 000 000
Box office: $47 863 000

Trailer:

 

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