All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror Volume Two — An Overview

Estimated reading time: 27 minutes

All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror Volume Two sees Severin taking their already ambitious folk horror collection and kicking it into overdrive. Expanding on the first collection, this second volume now expands the paradigm, exploring folk horror from many regions beyond the mostly Anglo-American and European folk horror. In this 13-disc, 24 film collection Severin gathers films from 18 different countries including Indonesia (Sundelbolong), Spain (Akelarre), Japan (Bakeneko: A Vengeful Spirit), South Korea (IO Island), and Finland (The White Reindeer).

In addition to the feature films — although the opening film To Fire You Come at Last clocks in at a mere 45-minutes – there are numerous short films paired with the features, mostly from the same nation or origin and filmmaker. Going into detail for each film and short film is beyond the scope of this particular review, but some of the highlights of the collection includes Disc 5 and Disc 6 which have the incredible Japanese film Bakeneko: A Vengeful Spirit and the Korean shaman horror IO Island. Moving away from Asia, Czechoslovakia’s Beauty and the Beast is more horror than fantasy, with its terrifying atmosphere and creepy makeup effects for the Beast. The Welsh film (literally in Welsh-Celtic language) From the Old Earth, a more traditional folk horror is one the most intriguing films in this magnificent collection.

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The Video

Every film in the set is encoded in AVC 1080p. There are no serious issues added by the compression, with the majority of the films looking very organic, from the opening To Fire You Come at Last with its stark black and white and brilliant contrast to From the Old Earth’s very crisp grain and natural, vibrant colors. Some films like the Indonesian Sundelbolong or the Czechoslovakian Beauty and the Beast have sources that can probably never look (or sound) great, with limited dynamic range and some scratches and dirt still in the image.

The Audio

Each feature and short film in the collection is encoded in DTS-HD Master Audio. Depending on the film, there is 5.1, 2.0 stereo, or 2.0 mono or some combination. Each film’s sound quality varies depending on the source, the era, the region it is from, but generally Severin does well presenting the sound as good as it can for the sources.

The Supplements

Severin has really gone all out for this release, including a 200-age hardcover storybook of folk horror by writers Eden Royce, Kim Newman, Cynthia Pelayo, Sarah Gailey, Chandra Mayor, Steve Duffy, Eric Schaller, Erika T. Wurth, Yvette Tan, Ramsey Campbell, Cassandra Khaw, and Lynda E. Rucker , with illustrations by Drazen Kozjan. There is also a 25-page booklet listing each film with artwork and synopses and credits. Below you will find listed not only the on-disc supplements for each disc but the technical specifications for each film.

Disc 1:

To Fire You Come at Last

1.85:1 AVC 1080p Black & White

English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo

Subs: English SDH

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary with Director Sean Hogan and Co-Producers Paul Goodwin and Nicholas Harwood
• On the Lych Way (1080p; 00:16:02) – Corpse Road Chronicler Dr. Stuart Dunn Discusses the Pathways of the Dead
• Trailer (1080p; 00:01:04)
• Short Films:
  • We Always Find Ourselves in the Sea (1080p; 00:22:24)
    • Audio Commentary for We Always Find Ourselves in the Sea with Director Sean Hogan and Co-producers Paul Goodwin and Nicholas Harwood
    • EPK for We Always Find Ourselves in the Sea (1080p; 00:09:46)
  • Our Selves Unknown (1080p; 00:03:09)

Psychomania

1.66:1 AVC 1080p

English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono

Subs: English SDH

Bonus Features:

• Introduction by Film Historian Chris Alexander (1080i; 00:05:32)
• Audio Commentary with Maria J. Pẽrez Cuervo, Founding Editor of Hellebore Magazine
• Stone Warnings (1080p; 00:28:37) – Dr. Diane A. Rodgers on Stone Circles and Standing Stones in Film and Television
• Return of the Living Dead (1080p; 00:25:04) – Interviews with Actors Nicky Henson, Mary Larkin, Denis Gilmore, Roy Holder, and Rocky Taylor
• The Sound of Psychomania (1080p; 00:09:08) – Interview with Soundtrack Composer John Cameron
• Riding Free (1080p; 00:06:29) – Interview with “Riding Free” Singer Harvey Andrews
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 00:02:52)
• Easter Egg – (1080p; 00:01:09)

Disc 2:

The Enchanted

1.85:1 AVC 1080p

English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono

Subs: English SDH

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary with Director Carter Lord and Camera Assistant Richard Grange, Moderated by Filmmaker/Author Kier-La Janisse
• Audio Commentary with Chesya Burke, Author of Let’s Play White, and Sheree Renée Thomas, Author of Nine Bar Blues
• A Magical Place (1080p; 00:11:40) – Interview with Composer Phil Sawyer
• Hole in the Wall (1080p; 00:04:40) – Character Notes by Screenwriter Charné Porter
• Trailer (1080p; 00:00:27)
• Short Film – Swimmer (1080p; 00:24:32)

Who Fears the Devil

1.85:1 AVC 1080p

English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono

Subs: English SDH

Bonus Features:

• Introduction to the Legend of Hillybilly John Alternate Opening by Actor Severn Darden (1080p; 00:04:11)
• Audio Commentary with Television Historian Amanda Reyes
• Crumble Will the Feet of Clay (1080p; 00:35:06) – Interview with Producer Barney Rosenzweig
• Silver Strings (1080p; 00:20:44) – Interview with Actor/Musician Hedges Capers
• Manly of the Mountains (1080p; 00:16:36) – Author David Drake Remembers Manly Wade Wellman
• Occult Appalachia (1080p; 00:22:31) – Occult Historian Mitch Horowitz on the Arcane Texts of Wellman’s John Balladeer Stories
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 00:03:06)

Disc 3:

The White Reindeer

1.37:1 AVC 1080p B&W

Finnish DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono

Subs: English

Bonus Features:

• The Projection Booth Episode on The White Reindeer Hosted by Mike White and Featuring Kat Ellinger, Author of Daughters of Darkness, and Talk Without Rhythm’s El Goro (Played in Conjunction with The White Reindeer)
• Short Films:
  • A Witch Drum (1080p; 00:10:14)
  • The Nightside of the Sky (1080p; 00:04:35)
  • With the Reindeer (1080p; 00:07:58)

Edge of the Knife

1.78:1 AVC 1080p

Haida DTS-HD MA 5.1

Secondary: Haida DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo

Subs: English

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary with Directors Gwaii Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown
• Retake: Making the World’s First Haida-Language Feature Film (1080p; 00:24:22)
• Short Films:
  • Haida Carver (1080p; 00:12:15)
  • Nalujuk Night (1080p; 00:13:11)

Disc 4:

Born of Fire

1.85:1 AVC 1080p

English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono

Subs: English SDH

Bonus Features:

• Igniting the Fire – Interview with Director Jamil Dehlavi (1080p; 00:19:15)
• The Silent One Speaks – Archival Interview with Actor Nabil Shaban (1080p; 00:34:39)
• Between the Sacred and the Profane – Archival Lecture on the Cinematic World of Jamil Dehlavi by Dr. Ali Nobil Ahmad (1080p; 01:05:37)
• The Djinn Revisited – Director Dalia Al Kury Examines the Role of the Djinn in Contemporary Arab Culture (1080i; 00:24:29)
• Born of Fire and the Roots of Pakistani Horror – Interview with Scholar Syeda Momina Masood (1080p; 00:11:12)
• Trailer (1080p; 00:01:28)
• Short Films:
  • Towers of Silence (1080p; 00:51:16)
  • Qâf (1080p; 00:27:16)

Disc 5:

IO Island

2.35:1 AVC 1080p

Korean DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono

Subs: English

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary with Archivist and Korean Film Historian Ariel Schudson
• Shaman’s Eyes – Dr. Hyunseon Lee on Shamanism in Korean Visual Culture (1080p; 00:26:25)
• Short Film:
  • The Present (1080p; 00:15:18; animated)

Scales

1.85:1 AVC 1080p

Arabic DTS-HD MA 5.1

Subs: English

Bonus Features:

• Telling Our Stories – A Conversation with Director Shahad Ameen and Producer Rula Nasser, Moderated by Filmmaker/Author Kier-La Janisse (1080p; 00:35:02)
• Trailer (1080p; 00:01:45)
• Short Film:
  • Kandil (1080p; 00:40:02)

Disc 6:

Bakeneko

2.35:1 AVC 1080p

Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono

Subs: English

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary with Jasper Sharp, Author of Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema
• Scratched: A History of the Japanese Ghost Cat (1080p; 00:22:53)
• The Vampire Cat: The Classic Folk Take Read by Tomoko Komura with Original Music by Timothy White (1080p; 00:09:11)
• Trailer (1080p; 00:02:47)
• Short Film:
  • Man-Eater Mountain (SD; 00:27:38)

Nang Nak

1.78:1 AVC 1080p

Thai DTS-HD MA 5.1

Thai DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo

Subs: English

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary with Mattie Do, Director of The Long Walk, and Asian Gothic Scholar Katarzyna Ancuta
• Love and Impermanence: Nang Nak and the Rebirth of Thai Cinema – Interview with Director Nonzee Nimibutr (1080p; 00:22:26)
• Trailer (720p; 00:01:31)

Disc 7:

Sundelbolong

2.35:1 AVC 1080p

Indonesian DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono

Subs: English

Bonus Features:

• Hantu Retribution: Female Ghosts of the Malay Archipelago (1080p; 00:28:43)
• Short Film:
  • White Song (1080p; 00:11:21)

Suzzanna: The Queen of Black Magic (Documentary)

1.78:1 AVC 1080p

Indonesian DTS-HD MA 2.0

Subs: English

Bonus Features:

• A Conversation with Director/Co-Producer David Gregory and Co-Producer Ekky Imanjaya (1080p; 00:18:55)
• Trailer (1080p; 00:02:32)

Disc 8:

Beauty and the Beast

1.33:1 AVC 1080p

Czech DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono

Subs: English

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary with Film Historian Michael Brooke
• Archival Interviews with Director Juraj Herz and Actors Vlastimil Harapes and Zdena Studenková (1080p; 00:16:27)
• Short Film:
  • František Hrubín (1.33:1; 1080p; 00:09:12)

The Ninth Heart

1.33:1 AVC 1080p

Czech DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono

Subs: English

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary with Kat Ellinger, Author of Daughters of Darkness
• The Uncanny Valley of the Dolls: The History and Liminality of Dolls, Puppets, and Mannequins (1080p; 00:13:16)
• The Curious Case of Juraj Herz and the Švankmajers – Video Essay by Czech Film Programmer Cerise Howard (1080p; 00:25:19)

Disc 9:

Demon

2.35:1 AVC 1080p

Polish DTS-HD MA 5.1

Polish DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo

Subs: English

Bonus Features:

• Introduction by Slavic Horror Scholar Dr. Agnieszka Jeżyk (1080p; 00:10:28)
• Audio Commentary with Film Historian Daniel Bird and Film Critic/Actress Manuela Lazić
• In the Shadow of the Dybbuk – Video Essay by Peter Bebergal, Author of Strange Frequencies: The Extraordinary Story of the Technological Quest for the Supernatural, and Filmmaker Stephen Broomer (1080p; 00:17:51)
• Trailer (1080p; 00:02:09)
• Short Film:
  • Dibbuk (1080p; 00:35:22)

November

1.78:1 AVC 1080p

Estonian DTS-HD MA 5.1

Estonian DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo

Subs: English

Bonus Features:

• The Supernatural Lore of November – Archival Video Essay with Film Critic John Defore (1080p; 00:11:27)
• Kratt Test Footage (1080p; 00:03:51)
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 00:02:29)
• Short Films:
  • Boundary (1080i; 00:16:48)
  • Journey Through Setomaa (1080p; 00:07:30)
  • Midvinterblot (1080p; 00:12:27)

Disc 10:

Litan

1.66:1 AVC 1080p

French DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono

Subs: English | English for Audio Commentary

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary with Film Historian Frank Lafond
• Un Tournage Litan – Archival Making-of Made for Antenne 2 (720p; 00:27:24)
• Jean-Pierre Mocky, Un Drôle D’Oiseau –1982 Episode of Temps X (1080p; 00:13:01)

Blood Tea and Red String

1.33:1 AVC 1080p

English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo

Subs: English SDH

Bonus Features:

• Introduction by Director Christiane Cegavske (1080i; 00:01:15)
• 2021 Indie Scream Online Film Festival Q&A with Christiane Cegavske (1080p; 00:27:00)
• Production Stills and Concept Illustrations (1080p; 00:04:27)
• Trailer (1080p; 00:01:36)
• Trailer for Seed in the Sand, Cegavske’s Work-in-Progress (1080p; 00:01:39)

Disc 11:

Nazareno Cruz and the Wolf

1.78:1 AVC 1080p

Spanish DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono

Subs: English

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary with Adrian Garcia Bogliano, Director of Here Comes the Devil, and Nicanor Loreti, Director of Punto Rojo
• Short Film:
  • Love from Mother Only (Spanish DD 5.1; 1.78:1; AVC 1080p; 00:21:04)
  • Audio Commentary for Love from Mother Only with Director Dennison Ramalho

Akelarre

1.66:1 AVC 1080p

Spanish DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono

Subs: English

Bonus Features:

• The Realistic Inquisition Interview with Director Pedro Olea (1080p; 00:14:09)
• Empowered Woman: Interview with Actress Silvia Munt (1080p; 00:22:39)
• Playing with the Villain: Interview with Actor Iñaki Miramón (1080p; 00:30:47)
• Invoking the Akelarre: Dr. Antonio Lázaro-Reboll, Author of Spanish Horror Film, on the Basque Witch Trials (1080p; 00:25:37)

Disc 12:

From the Old Earth

1.33:1 AVC 1080p

Welsh-Celtic DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono

Subs: English

Bonus Features:

• Introduction to From the Old Earth by Musician Gruff Rhys (720p; 00:02:37)
• Getting a Head in North Wales – Interview with Director Wil Aaron (1080p; 00:17:09)
• From the Old Earth by the Book – Welsh Folklore and O’r DDaer Hen (1080p; 00:17:30)
• A Sword in the Battle of Language – Welsh Film Scholar Dr. Kate Woodward on the Welsh Films Board (1080p; 00:20:45)
• Short Films:
  • Introduction to Blood on the Stars by Gruff Rhys (720p; 00:01:21)
  • Blood on the Stars (1080p; 1.33:1; 00:59:34)
  • Reunion Hotel – Blood on the Stars Cast Reunion from Gwesty Aduniad (1080p; 00:09:52)
  • The Wrym of Bwlch Pen Barras (1080p; 1.85:1; 00:18:06)

Disc 13:

The City of the Dead

1.66:1 AVC 1080p

English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono

Subs: English SDH

Bonus Features:

• Introduction by Kay Lynch, Director of the Salem Horror Fest (1080i; 00:05:44)
• Audio Commentary with Film Historians Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw
• Archival Audio Commentary with Film Historian Jonathan Rigby
• Archival Audio Commentary with Actor Christopher Lee
• Archival Audio Commentary with Director John Llewellyn Moxey
• Sir Christopher Lee Remembers The City of the Dead (1080p; 00:07:40)
• Archival Interview with John Llewellyn Moxey (1080i; 00:26:25)
• Archival Interview with Actress Venetia Stevenson (1080i; 00:19:30)
• Burn Witch, Burn! A Tribute to John Llewellyn Moxey – Video Essay by TV Historian Amanda Reyes and Filmmaker Chris O’Neill (1080p; 00:20:26)
• Trailer (1080p; 00:01:33)

The Final Assessment

All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror Volume Two is a treasure trove of not only horror and fantasy, but of diverse cultures around the globe. It gives us a peek into what people fear, hope, and what motivates them. We get to see the interplay of different filmmakers and the influence of films across cultural barriers and time. The inclusion of newly commissioned horror short stories gathered in a hardcover book makes this a truly premium set.

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All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror Volume Two is out November 19, 2024 from Severin Films

Purchase All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror Volume Two on Amazon.com

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• Studios & Distributors: Severin Films
• Number of Discs: 13
• Video Format: AVC 1080p
• Audio Format: DTS-HD MA 5.1 | DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo | DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono
• Subtitles: English | English SDH
• Aspect Ratio: Varied
• Street Date: 19 November 2024