Hagazussa (2017)

Continuing our discussion of the middle ages and how they would absolutely suck to live through, here's Hagazussa: all that except told from the female perspective, which historically has a tendency to make things much darker and more disturbing across the board. Taking place at a time when mental illness was called simply 'hysteria' and it was popularly considered the result of demonic possession, what was a woman like the protagonist of Hagazussa supposed to do when she begins having what can only be described as a psychotic break from reality, all alone with her newborn daughter in a hut somewhere in the forest? The result of such a difficult subject is one of the best psychological horror films ever made, one of the best folk horror films ever made, and an incredibly impressive debut for director/screenwriter Lukas Feigelfeld. 

The opening third of the film establishes the tone perfectly; our protagonist is introduced to us as a child, surviving in the woods with her mother until either a mysterious illness, dementia, or perhaps a spooky presence located deep within the woods takes her away and leaves our 'heroine' alone in the world with no one but herself to rely upon. The next time we see her, years and years later, she appears to be doing well. She possesses a baby of mysterious origin who she diligently cares for, and her hard work on the farm seems to keep her and her daughter reasonably well-fed, clothed, and with a roof to sleep under each night. That is, until events transpire that threaten to push our lead over the edge. 

Like the best psychological horror films, Hagazussa is, at heart, a character study. We have no reliable POV, and when local suspicion spins out of control and turns sinister, you almost wonder if any of it is actually happening at all and whether or not our protagonist hasn't just lost her mind from a combination of isolation, sexual abuse, and the daily rigors and stresses of becoming a new mother. Everything is just so damned ambiguous. Albrun seems almost fated to make the wrong choice at every turn, but we always understand why, and can only watch in horror as she descends further and further into her own personal hell on earth with us in tow.

It all leads to a shocking conclusion that will most likely sicken squeamish audiences and offend most others, but that I personally found quite hard to argue with, and even harder to shake. The power of this film is in its ability to inhabit an ancient world where folklore and wive's tales reign supreme, where all we know about the Earth and its natural forces are what we can observe with our own eyes and thus are left to imagine what drives it all, and then find the human story that exists in between all the strange magic and bizarre ceremony; a story of profound human suffering that may cause one to look a little more sympathetically on the lonely old witch of legend. If you're a folk horror fan of any stripe or even just a fan of psychological horror, this is one film you do not want to miss.