Screening - Haxan - 1922 Silent Doc on Witchcraft

Sunday, October 18
7:30 PM
The Guild Theater
2828 35th St (corner of 35th & Broadway), Sacramento
Admission: $5.00

Haxan (1922)

This essentially documentary film from Denmark has been censored and banned in various countries throughout the years. Ostensibly an overview of witchcraft and satanism, it is ultimately more a condemnation of the church and in many ways advocates for basic human rights.

Consisting of several parts, the film begins with a series of woodcuts and engravings to explain the medieval scientific view of the world and Hell. The film then shifts to a series of vignettes illustrating various visions of evil, satanism and witchcraft, although dramatic recreations of various acts. This then transitions to a section recreating a vicious interrogation of a witch, and finally culminates in an admittedly somewhat weak and outdated psychological analysis based on the science of the early 1920s (primarily, Freud).

Much of the imagery throughout is fascinating, chilling and controversial - it was at the time of its initial release, and for some viewers, still is today - weirdness abounds in the vignette section: demons, satan, nudity, possessed nuns and even demonic urine tossing!