According to this analysis, one can figure that folk horror is defined by the following:

For this list, I will be using Adam Scovell's excellent analysis of the Folk Horror Genre, The Folk Horror Chain . Mr. Scovell's studies are attempting to canonize the subgenre, to create a definitive list of films that adheres to a set of guidelines that aren't too restrictive, but not too broad either.

Click 'READ NOTES' if you want to see a brief writeup on each entry.

::This is a list in progress::

Click 'READ NOTES' if you want to see a brief writeup on each entry.

For this list, I will be using Adam Scovell's excellent analysis of the Folk Horror Genre, The Folk Horror Chain. Mr. Scovell's studies are attempting to canonize the subgenre, to create a definitive list of films that adheres to a set of guidelines that aren't too restrictive, but not too broad either.

celluloidwickerman.com/2014/09/25/the-folk-horror-chain/

According to this analysis, one can figure that folk horror is defined by the following:

1. Strong emphasis on Rural Location, aesthetically and otherwise.

2. Location leads to isolation and isolated groups.

3. Isolation leads to skewed moral and belief systems.

4. Skewed beliefs lead to supernatural and/or violent outcomes.

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A film containing at least a couple of these major bullet points can arguably be considered part of the genre, though you do have to be discerning and consider context and intent, etc.

Folk Horror has become one of my favorite niche genres of film, a potent, yet small subgenre steeped in the strange and naturalistic. A Folk Horror is categorized often by how influential the landscape/wilderness is to its story, the characters and the themes contained within.

The films often deal with a struggle between the religions of the ancients and that of Christianity, Religion and Rationalism, or a combo of the three. From what I've noticed as well, many of the protagonists in these films come from the point of view as total outsiders, in too deep in something they aren't familiar or are comfortable with. Though primarily an English dominated subgenre, there are of course, exceptions to this when one actually attempts to define it.

Many film viewers tend to label any film dealing with subjects of the occult and witchcraft as Folk Horror, and while many of them contain said elements, the association isn't always appropriate. Occult Horror and Folk Horror do share many similarities and the line is often blurred, so this is simultaneously very understandable. As stated earlier, It's a very niche corner of Horror, containing a relatively small handful of titles, but one whose influence on Horror as a whole has been very understated.

My list here begins with the more quintessential Folk Horror films and its potential progenitors, followed by what many consider to be the sub-genre's renaissance in the 60s and 70s. The next grouping is a chronological look at a myriad of folk horror films sprinkled across various countries. This is concluded with modern folk horror films and films considered part of the Folk Horror Revival.