Häxan - Witchcraft Through the Ages [DVD] [1922]

After the hype about this film which I'd wanted to see for years I was rather disappointed. Maybe when it was first made it would have made a different impression on the audience but I found it rather tedious occasionally unpleasant and often funny in ways I'm sure the makers didn't intend which rather spoilt atmosphere.

This is an odd beast of a movie, and rather hard to classify. It treats its subject matter; witches, devils and witch trials in the Middle Ages in a way that's part documentary, part dramatisation and part exploitation. The framing is documentaristic, discussing old world views, beliefs in magical practices, and the methods of the Inquisition. However, the extended live action sequences - mostly short, but one forming a longer story arc within the movie - entirely abandon this neutral pretence, and revel in the grotesque and often disturbing imagery of black magic, physical deformity and torture. In portraying mediaeval prejudices, the film's approach is entirely exploitative, transforming its sources into lurid entertainment. This is Häxan's great draw today - as a freakshow or pseudo-horror, it is a precursor to the exaggerated "Satanism" of black metal. Was it a coincidence that this movie was conceived in Denmark and produced in Sweden?We are shown a little carnival of bloody horrors. Old crones brew foul concoctions in their cellar lairs, or fly to satanic witches' sabbaths in the woods. Young women cavort with grotesque devils. Superstitious townsfolk denounce their own as witches and sorcerers. The monks who run the witch trials (who could be the villains of the film) are conniving, rotten scumbags, played by the actors with relish, and the rest of the "mediaeval" figures - superstitious, ugly and weirdly dressed folks - are also simple caricatures instead of realised personalities. In fact, Häxan is less horroristic than hilariously, although sometimes disturbingly funny. Its devils with their wagging tongues and grimacing faces are lovingly-made rubber-and-fur monsters, and as we look on the actors, we sometimes have the feeling they are having the time of their lives. There is a full array of clever trick shots, reversed footage, superimposition and other neat touches which are very impressive tricks by the standards of their time. They may be old news today, but they work admirably, and the dark lighting gives the live scenes a very appropriate ambience. Here is a vision of The Darkest Middle Ages, not really accurate, but a very entertaining and popular fantasy, its images still very powerful ninety years after the film's debut. The ending, serving an ironic counterpoint, raises questions which are less and less comfortable the more we consider them - can we safely write off ancient superstition as something we have surpassed? The timeframe is 1922, but it may as well be 2012.On this DVD, Häxan comes in two versions. The first is the 2001 restoration, a very sharp, tinted copy featuring three scores (one symphonic, two more experimental), which looks and sounds as well as a film from 1922 can. However, the disc also contains the previously better known black-and-white version, which is a good 30 minutes shorter, rather less well-preserved, but it features narration by cult author William S. Burroughs, which is nice as added value.

This took me right back as a girl, to the first time I watched this ! It is beautiful cinematography, so much fun. It's so very interesting how people thought every pimple or upset came from witchcraft. How men got away with so much is (almost) beyond belief ! A real eye opener. We love this old sweetie !

Really enjoyed this - amazing production for it's time and still much of the information is relevant to those that sadly still practice such things whether you believe in it or not.

Crazy movie, The newer alternative version with narration from W. S. Burroughs is included and is well worth it.

My friend loves it, she would recommend it to anyone interested in the history of the occult

Having seen snippets from this film in many documentaries over the years I was always curious to see it whole. An odd little film which seems to be an excuse for showing naked people dancing in the era of silent film all under the pretense of presenting a serious history of witchcraft this film is curio delight. Five stars for just being...

Deffinately a no no for me....too boring and no excitement sorry !!!