10 Folk Horror Movies To Lead You Astray

Another film by the director bringing folk horror back to the UK, Ben Wheatley.

A Field in England is a 2013 production, starring Reece Shearsmith, that follows a group of deserters from an English Civil War battle.

The folk horror explored in this film is magic. Interestingly, the word “witchcraft” is never used, even though England in this time period was rife with witch trials. This may be because the characters using the magic are men, and therefore it is referred to as “alchemy.”

Using men as the magic-bearers aids the theme of power and corruption. In the middle of a war where parliamentarians and royalists are fighting over political power, the men in the field are waging a magical war on each other in order to become the most powerful alchemist.

Whether that power grants them the ability to find treasures, or just allow them to keep evil at bay, the horror here is the way ancient forces can cause people to harm each other.

Magic isn’t displayed too often in the film, but when it is, there’s a very creepy style to it. In one scene, the protagonist, Whitehead, is bewitched by another alchemist to act as a divination tool. He is tied to the end of a rope, a haunted grimace on his face, as he steers the greed-filled man in the direction of treasure.