Where to start with Haxan? It's evil. It's creepy. It's old. It's crass. It's the elderly woman who lives in the old house on the corner who sends chills down your spine when she gives you that look. She is definitely a witch, right?
Haxan is a movie about witchcraft and evil. It is part documentary and part silent film. It is a bit slow, so I watched it in parts, but it is broken down into chapters, which makes for good stop points.
The movie outlines the rise of witchcraft and witch hunts from medieval times to the 20th Century. It gives light to the ridiculousness of the judicial system of the past, which encouraged snitching and false accusations. The point of Haxan is if you were an old, poor woman, maybe one down on your luck, you stood a high chance of being accused of witchcraft and tortured and killed. Along the way, you might want to accuse someone else of witchcraft, because if you are going to die for an untruth, why not bring an enemy down with you?
From a movie perspective, Haxan is fascinating. The costumes and effects are still chilling and spooky one hundred years later. Without the aid of digital effects, Satan still looks like the legit Prince of Darkness. For its day, it was a high budget production. Gotta make the Devil look evil when his butt is getting kissed by wicked nuns.
Most of all, Haxan is an experience. It is a must see for horror fans or anyone interested in the occult. I am surprised it is not more widely known. Maybe torture and hell isn't everyone's favorite subject.
Grade: 5 Satan butts out of 5
Btw, you can watch it here for free:
