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Haxan Review: Documentary or Psychological Horror? That Which Used to Scare Us
Haxan: Witchcraft through the Ages, is a silent 1922 Swedish and Danish co-production, directed by Danish director Benjamin Christensen, whose filmography ran mostly through the silent era, including a five-year stint in Hollywood. Haxan, which was also written by Christensen, takes is a lecture/docudrama in seven parts, covering the Middle Ages, the Inquisition, and the modern era. Unfortunately, it must be said that much of part one will bore the impatient viewer, as it really is a lecture (complete with a pointer!) on the origins of witchcraft. Luckily, the sheer number of paintings, drawings, and woodcuts used to illustrate his points throughout the section is impressive, and even foreshadows some…
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Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark–Humdrum Horror
Before I begin, let me address the elephant in the room—I am not the target audience for this movie. The source material became popular long after my school days. While I was growing up, there was precious little available for mid-level horror—it went from Scholastic collections of ghost stories to Stephen King, with nothing in between. I read The Shining when I was 12, and will forever have ‘roque/stroke’ burned into my memory. I mention this for a couple of reasons—first, because I WISH I’d had horror that was tailored for my age group, and that I went into this movie without any expectations. There’s no nostalgia factor here to…