Do you ever sit on your social medias and daydream of a simpler time? Have you been on YouTube and just lost yourself in an ambiance video? You might be burned out from your urban life. The world since 2020 has completely changed, we were so used to working from home, now the office in the place of complete dread. You have to sit in a place with people you don't want to be around for five minutes, let alone eight hours a day. Prices for just basic needs and rent are skyrocketing, mostly driven by corporate greed. We have a White House completely bought by just a handful of people. All around you are people who want to kill you over your politics. No wonder why we want to leave the dystopia of the cities, and move back to a more rural way of life.

Yet, as much as we find rural life to be idyllic, it can also make for eerie atmosphere for horror. There's everything around: you're miles away from help, eerie townsfolk that have a strange take on religion, many forests for strange things to happen, and so much more. Since 2020, there has been a rise in interest when it comes to folk horror.

Ari Aster’s Midsommar came out at the perfect time, it was a year before we would all be placed on lockdown to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Many horror fans fell in love with the beautiful cinematography and the story in general. Since then, hits like Lamb, The Feast, and Moloch have all released. What draws us to these types of films? There are many answers, including the ones above.

First, what the hell is "folk horror" anyways? It was a term coined in the 1960's in a BBC Documentary. As with many arbitrary titles for subgenres, folk horror is difficult to truly define. However, there are characteristics that are similar in many of the movies: many of them take place in rural settings, they usually involve ancient traditions, they reject the modern world, and use themes of witchcraft and paganism to help tell stories.

Ideas of Stonehenge, Old Iron Age Nordic (Viking) areas, or places of former American colonies come to mind for the settings. What makes these movies work is the tension between people who have lived in the area for a long time, accustomed to their old ways and traditions versus people who live in a more modern type of society. Another theme that works with folk horror is isolation, which could account for why Midsommar became even more popular in 2020. We were locked in our homes, feeling isolated from the world. Folk horror became relatable for many of us in 2020 and 2021.

Folk horror has been a genre that has created fear for a long time. The Brothers Grimm wrote their fairytales, which many folk horror moves draw their inspiration from, in the early 1800s. This was during a time many people had an interest in the occult or pre-Christian religions. You could even consider Lovecraft to have some roots in folk horror, with many of the tropes he used, including: fear of technological advancement, isolation and mental health, fear of the unknown, and even having protagonists questioning their own place in the universe.

Movies also have a long history of using folk horror as a vehicle of telling stories. Many horror fans are aware of the "unholy trinity" of folk horror: 1968's Witchfinder General, 1971's Blood on Satan's Claw, and the iconic 1973 movie The Wicker Man. However, there are many more between the last 1960's to the early 2010's that classify as folk horror.

Before Midsommar, 1984's Children of the Corn would be the best example of a mainstream folk horror movie. It's set in rural Nebraska, while the rest of the town turns to prayer, the children become indoctrinated into a cult of "He Who Walks Behind the Rows." The cult would involve human sacrifice. The protagonists are on the way to Seattle when they run over a boy who was meant to be a human sacrifice. Every hallmark of what we would expect from a folk horror is within the Stephen King movie.

But what exactly makes folk horror popular these days? We touched on a few ideas in the open of the article. People are disillusioned with a capitalist world that sees wealth inequality continue to rise, working at jobs that require more time and sacrifice of family and community, they are tired of a social media algorithm that further divides people, people are tired of the corruption of their lives and values. Yet, there's more to it than that simple reason. The popularity of another genre, ecological horror, is also gaining popularity because people are watching their world around them collapse. The exploitation of natural resources is something that many people think and worry about. They also worry about losing their culture and heritage.

Folk horror is also gaining popularity thanks to many of the white nationalistic groups that feel comfortable to be in the open in today's society. Like many other horror genres, folk horror can explore sensitive topics through an entertaining lens. When we look at cults and other religions, we can see the same hallmarks you would see when it comes to groups like the Proud Boys and the Three Percenters. You can almost see white supremacy as a religion, with the white European race being the god they worship.

The genre can also explore and critique patriarchy. As we see many of the older male dominated religions being toppled by fearless women in many of these movies. There's always talk of the old way, and a clinging to "traditional" values, many ideals that are very popular within conservative structures and discourse. With folk horror, we can look even more in depth on how our own histories have changed the course of modern day, and even call in to question how we think.

The ending of Midsommar is a good example of this. Just look at Dani's smile at the end, is she smiling because she is free of Christian, who was emotionally manipulating her through the movie. Seeing him end in a burning building is the emotional freedom she craves. Even her friend Mark, who was killed a little earlier in the movie, played with the emotional gaslighting calling her "literally abusive" for asking her boyfriend to show just a little emotional support.

Yes, in folk horror, we are the bad guys. There are no metaphors, folk horror about as blunt as a hammer to your face. We have much to atone because of our history, but we can change. In the end, that's what makes it popular. It asks you the simple question, "which way, traveler?"

So, what are some underrated folk horror movies that may have missed your radar?

The film follows Aleksandra Cwen as goat-herder Albrun, who leads a secluded life in a remote part of the 15th-century Alps, an area which is fraught by belief in witches and fear of heathens and other non-Christian cultures.

A widowed woman who travels on holiday to a countryside village but becomes disturbed and tormented by the strange men in the village

The story describes a fictional small American community that observes an annual tradition known as "the lottery", which is intended to ensure a good harvest and purge the town of bad omens. The lottery, its preparations, and its execution are all described in detail, though it is not revealed until the end what actually happens to the person selected by the random lottery: the selected member of the community is stoned to death by the other townspeople.

If you've seen these movies, tell me what you think about them, or feel free to suggest your own.