Folk Horror & Femininity

As you may have realized, I have always gravitated towards female centered plots. I have found them to be the most effective and beautiful stories, especially horror/ thrillers surrounded by women. So I’ve spent the last few months diving into the depths of horror and different genres trying to find the gems. What I came to the conclusion is that the folk horror genre is one of the best genres for celebrating women empowerment.

What is folk horror ? (from what i've gathered so far)

From my few watches so far, I wanted to give you my first impressions on what this genre is, and what the main themes are. You can probably guess that they come from old folklore and legends. Some films take place during the medieval times or take you into a universe that resembles that.

Others, usually embrace the fact that there are still small communities and cultures that celebrate these traditions and they spin it in a way that makes you feel alienated from the community and also... creeped out. After watching a few films, I could see recurring themes of innocence, coming of age, sacrifice, and sex. Most films have to do with a young innocent virgin who must be sacrificed, a Midsommar celebration that includes crazy costumes, rituals that make you fall in love with the genre. Many of the films have women who are not innocent, then viewed primarily as witches. Most films take place somewhere in Europe and include white nightgowns, flower crowns and women being complete girl bosses and fucking with men. From further observation, a common theme in the folk horror films I have seen is that women are firstly viewed as weaker in the beginning, however the further the film goes it seems as if the women actually have the upper hand. They become the ultimate girl boss if you will

What's it got to do with women empowerment?

The genre has started with underlying messages of women empowerment however as the horror genre grows it has put a spotlight on women, and the sub genre of folk horror is a huge impact. Because of the use of paganism, satanic rituals, and witches it can use these aspects as metaphors for women being able to come into their own, and be independent. For example witches who seduce man and over power the man instead, are really just symbolic for women not being seen as the object and by owning her sexuality she is owning herself. After a movie like Midsommar, I suspect i'll begin to see many more women in folk horror as a vehicle for them to become powerful strong women. Paganism specifically celebrates women, and the way I interpret older films about paganism and witches, is they may have been viewed as evil witches then, however as we watch now we can see how these women are badass. They do what they want, don’t follow the system, they refuse to be seen as passive weak women. And so, now they've taken the classic witch trope from old folk horror films (which were originally shown as old grouchy ugly creatures, are being shown as real women, and sometimes the films even write the witch as the hero, not the antagonist.

Let's take the Witch (2016) by Robert Eggers for example, {Spoiler alert from The Witch} The entirety of the movie is about a hyper religious family, with hyper religious beliefs, complexities between family members, and the main character (played by Anya Taylor) Is seen as the problematic child in the family. She is the outcast, she is un-pure, she thinks un-pure thoughts, she acts like a regular teenage girl quite honestly. By the end of the film she is given the choice to join the satanic cult and become a witch, which she agrees to and in this case it is a happy ending. She finally feels empowered, happy and free. Now, this is just an example of a growing genre and collection of films, and I can foresee that folk horror will soon be the new medium for powerful films about women.

Want to get a start into the genre? Here are a few I recommend that I find show a good general idea of the sub-genre, good and bad films dating back to the 70s, watch for how the newer the films gets the different ways female characters are represented. This is a huge interest of mine so this will be the first of many studies on folk horror and femininity, All of this is written from my perspective, so stay tuned for a fact/researched based post where I will really dig into the genre!