The Field Guide to Evil (2019), the new horror film from the producers of The ABC's of Death, Ant Timpson and Tim League, is a choral film that explores the darker side of folklore. Lasting two hours, this top-notch anthology is composed of eight segments directed by as many filmmakers from all over the world who have instilled myths, legends and folk beliefs from their own countries in their episode for an almost global view of the horror passed down through the centuries.
Characterized by different directorial styles, The Field Guide to Evil embraces the popular culture of various parts of the world by extracting from it the most rotten, perverse and dark side but, above all, it is an excellent example of an anthology film because of the individual beauty and particularity radiated by each episode.
Of undoubted charm, The Field Guide to Evil is an exemplary depiction of evil that continues to travel through time and is here eternalized with all its darkness, allure, and nefarious repercussions.
The eight episodes are directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala (Goodnight Mommy, The Lodge), Can Evrenol (Baskin - The Gateway to Hell, Housewife), Peter Strickland (Berberian Sound Studio), Katrin Gebbe (Nothing Bad Can Happen), Agnieszka Smoczynska (The Lure), Calvin Reeder (The Rambler), Ashim Ahluwalia (Miss Lovely) and Yannis Veslemes (Norway).
After the hypnotic opening credits, the frame episode opens in which a book with moving pages represents the choral film while the chapters that comprise it are actually the eight horror stories of The Field Guide to Evil.
AUSTRIA
With "The Sinful Women of Höllfall" Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, the authors of Goodnight Mommy, give a taste of Austrian folklore by presenting the "Trud" (a kind of evil elf with shape-shifting abilities), a supernatural being born of guilt and fear and who appears at night to steal the breath of life.
This is what the young protagonist will experience, guilty of letting herself go with her friend despite the fact that her mother, a very religious woman, warned her not to commit sin.
“The Sinful Women of Höllfall" is the episode that touches on such keys as religion and sexual repression in a women's community and decently opens the curtain on the horrors of folklore with a story that, slowly (but nonetheless incisively) takes the viewer toward an unthinkable ending.
Very impressive shots, scenery, and suspense-stimulating sound design.
In the cast: Marlene Hauser, Luzia Oppermann, Birgit Minichmayr and Karin Pauer.
The screenplay is by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz.
TURKEY
With "Haunted by Al Karisi - The Childbirth Djinn" horror moves to Turkey thanks to Can Evrenol, the director of Baskin - The Gateway to Hell..
The short film is dedicated to "Karisi", the demon of childbirth who comes in the form of a woman but also a cat or a goat.
"Haunted by Al Karisi - The Childbirth Djinn" is the story of a pregnant girl caring for her sick mother.
On the day of delivery she will notice the presence of a goat outside the house, which will be followed by gruesome events.
Can Evrenol approaches illness at birth and then concludes with death, but not before delighting the audience with cruel scenes of bloodshed that, well executed, verge on realism.
Very dark, this segment succeeds in conveying anxiety to the viewer by finally giving him a sad ending.
In the cast: Naz Sayiner, Sureyya Kucuk. The screenplay is edited by Can Evrenol.
POLAND
Polish director Agnieszka Smoczynska (The Lure) writes and directs "The Kindler and the Virgin", a short film about magic and the desire to obtain wisdom. According to Polish belief, however, an overly educated mind can be dangerous.
This is what happens to a man who is promised wisdom and powers once he consumes the hearts of three deceased people.
With "The Kindler and the Virgin"we test the ground of the macabre with a protagonist who becomes a grave robber and performs acts of cannibalism on corpses.
Remarkable photography (Kuba Kijowski) in bluish tones accentuates the bleak context in which lurks a luciferous figure (photo) capable of corrupting the human mind.
In the cast: Andrzej Konopka, Kordian Kadziela.
USA
Calvin Lee Reeder writes the screenplay and signs the direction of "Beware The Melonheads", a short film in which a couple of distracted parents will be punished. Indeed, it is said that the northern woods of the United States are home to the "Melonhead". These are very aggressive humanoids that have the appearance of children and are characterized by huge heads.
This segment on American folklore is laced with the typical stereotypes of most horror films with the classic family moving into a new home. The story, however, then piques the viewer's interest thanks to a good dose of underlying nastiness and brutality that climaxes with the encounter between the humans and the Melonheads (the fall of one of the parents and the throwing of a stone remain quite memorable as do the effective practical effects).
Also very welcome is the ruthless ending that nicely frames the heinousness of the "children."
In the cast: Kannon Hicks, Jilon VanOver, Sarah Navratil, Luca Flaim, Claude Duhamel, Paul J. Ford, Quentin Beibel, Tyler Skyndiel, Noah Dobson, Ben Garon, Jesse James Baldwin, and Zachary Read.
GREECE
With "What Ever Happened to Panagas the Pagan?" Yannis Veslemes (Norway) immerses us in Greek Christmas folklore by introducing the “kallikantzaros", a monstrous creature that, according to tradition, lives underground all year round until Christmas Day, when visits homes to inflict οll sorts of harassment on people.
"What Ever Happened to Panagas the Pagan?" is the most surreal segment of the anthology. Visionary and overwhelming, this episode blurs into fantasy, recalling in some ways Legend (1985), while still not neglecting the horror inherent in human nature.
Direction, cinematography (Christos Karamanis) and location make this metaphor for human bestiality (triggered by excessive drinking) a dark gem.
In the cast: Vangelis Mourikis, Vasilis Kamitsis, Antonis Tsiotsiopoulos, Nikos Ntalas, Kostas Laskos and Panagiotis Papadopoulos. Makeup special effects by Giorgos and Roulis Alahouzos.
Special effects: Michalis Samiotis.
Yannis Veslemes also handled the film's screenplay while the effective special effects were done by George Alahouzos, Roulis Alahouzos, Georgia Laladak and Michalis Samiotis.
INDIA
Written and directed by Ashim Ahluwalia"Palace of Horrors" is a black-and-white short film and deals with a decaying palace hidden from the eyes of the world. According to Indian belief, strange rituals take place in the place and there are monstrosities collected by a holy king.
In "Palace of Horrors" two foreigners reach the facility to visit it with the intention of acquiring some "curiosity" that lives hidden or locked up inside and then using it as an attraction for their show.
“Palace of Horrors" reconciles popular belief with exploitation, dreaming and madness. This is an effective segment that refers back to Freaks by Tod Browning for the characters (Lilliputians, bearded or four-legged women, men with deformed faces...) that populate it.
Sad and bitter, it sheds light on the diversity and wickedness of human beings.
In the cast: Mark O'Gleby, Henry Throop, Niharika Singh, Robin Das.
Horror FX: Jitendra Mhatre & Team
GERMANY
The story of "A Nocturnal Breath" (directed and screenplay by Katrin Gebbe) focuses on the "Drude" of German folklore.
The Drude is a malevolent spirit that leaves the body of the possessed person to spread disease. The person lies lifeless until the spirit returns to his body.
The protagonists of the story are two boys: a brother and sister who live with the constant terror of the Drude. In fact, the girl is possessed by the evil spirit and, together with her brother, helplessly watches the cattle die.
Thrown completely into an atmosphere of discomfort and suffering, "A Nocturnal Breath" is the most disturbing and powerful episode of The Field Guide to Evil. The particularity of the strange form of possession faced, combined with a cold photography make this story of pain even more distressing.
In the cast: Lili Epply, Thomas Schubert.
HUNGARY
With "The Cobblers' Lot" Peter Strickland elegantly concludes this murky and extraordinary horror anthology with an episode loosely inspired by the folk tale "The Princess's Curse" in which two brothers try to attract the attention of a princess.
Peter Strickland twists the aforementioned tale into a surprising silent film about jealousy.
In fact, the protagonists are two shoemaker brothers who love the same woman. Botond, the eldest, begins to be jealous of the relationship between the two and will not miss an opportunity to attempt an approach with the Princess using lies.
Visually bewitching, "The Cobblers' Lot" is a concentrate of beauty. In this homage to the cinema of the past in which faint echoes can be discerned in modern cinema (Tim Burton's cinema), love, rivalry, and lies turn the film into a resounding funereal manifesto thanks to extremely evocative and poetic images.
Cast: Fatma Mohamed, Károly Hajduk, Péter Jankovics, László Konter, Anna Balogh, Marina Gera, Vivien Koltai, and Justin Turner. DOP: Márk Gyõri.
The screenplay is by the director himself.
The poster created by Ghoulish Gary Pullin:
