In my 20+ years of reviewing movies for home video, I have never come across a box set quite like this one. ALL THE HAUNTS BE OURS is a 15 disc collection of “Folk Horror” that includes 19 movies, a documentary, and 3 CDs. One CD is the documentary soundtrack. The other two feature a complete reading of Welsh author Arthur Machen’s THE WHITE PEOPLE which deals with encounters with forest Deities.
The 19 films are quite a mix from several countries. 4 are from the U.K., 4 from Australia, 5 from Central Europe, 2 from Italy, 2 from Scandinavia, and 1 each from Canada and the U.S. All are in their native languages and all 19 come with subtitles. There are no English dubs. The documentary, WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED, is British made.
From my perspective, while all of the films have their merits, there are only 12 movies that I would want to revisit. They are 3 British titles (ANCHORESS, PENDA’S FEN, ROBIN REDBREAST), 3 Australian (ALISON’S BIRTHDAY, CELIA, KADAICHA), 4 of the 5 Central European movies (LEPTIRICA, LOKIS, VIY, WILCZYCA), one from Italy (IL DEMONIO), and one from America (EYES OF FIRE).
That being said, there are 5 of those 12 films that I would consider to be outside the realm of “Folk Horror” Those movies are ANCHORESS, CELIA, PENDA’S FEN, IL DEMONIO, and LAKE OF THE DEAD. 4 of the 5 are reality based. PENDA’S FEN deals with its central character’s visions which are not based in folklore. IL DEMONIO (1963) is remarkably similar to THE EXORCIST although it is based on fact and was made 10 years earlier.
The films which did not appeal to me were CLEARCUT, DARK WATERS, THE DREAMING, A FIELD IN ENGLAND,, TILBURY, and WITCHHAMMER. The primary reason is that I found them to be excessively violent. There were also a few that had nothing to do with the subject matter. 2 of the movies TILBURY, from Iceland, and A FIELD IN ENGLAND were just completely bizarre. The former was singularly unpleasant while the latter was way too obtuse to figure out.
However the extras provided more than enough to make the set worth having for the discriminating horror film fan (yes, they do exist). The 3 hour plus documentary WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED is very thorough and utterly fascinating. It should be viewed first before tackling the movies themselves as it provides the necessary background. There is also a CD soundtrack album which features all the music used in the doc.
Also included, as mentioned earlier, is a 2 CD audiobook of THE WHITE PEOPLE. It is beautifully read by British actress Linda Hayden who horror fans will remember from 1971’s folk horror movie THE BLOOD ON SATAN’S CLAW. There is at least one commentary per movie and several discs have short films that are related. Finally, there is a 154 page booklet which contains a variety of articles and a brief summary of all 19 movies.
ALL THE HAUNTS BE OURS will never be popular with the general public and it wasn’t intended to be. It was created for the horror film connoisseur or those who are interested in the folktales and legends of Britain and other countries. Severin Films, who have recently been specializing in designer box sets for lesser known or forgotten European horror films, have outdone themselves with this presentation. Too bad the movies are so uneven.
The Capsule Critic 