Häxan

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It starts off as a documentary on witchcraft. It then quickly moves into the weird: part documentary, part horror movie, this film is not just about the Devil, but about us as humans.
I mean, what differences are there between the leering devil and the fat slob of a monk stuffing his face? And the close-ups of the inquisitors look more like devils than holy men.

Yes, at the end of the day, this film is an indictment of religion, more than witches. Because the latter are created by the Devil. Who was created by religion. Which was created by man. So persecuting witches is a way to face, or rather run away from, our insecurities...

Old and ugly women look like witches, so they must be witches. If you're young and hot, you're a witch because you tempt men. Right. Makes sense. How about this:
If you cry, it means you're not a witch. But if you start crying when being 'interrogated,' it means you're a witch trying to trick men into believing you're not a witch.
It's hard not to think of the Monty Python scene with the witch, and it's kinda sad to realize reality was just as absurd.

In any case, the images are beautiful, the music is very haunting and you can definitely see how modern-day horror films (from 'The Exorcist' to 'Saw') owe something to this film. The scenes showing us the torture instruments is spooky. And even the Sabbath scenes are pretty unsettling.

Towards the end, the director parallels witchcraft with psychiatry: kleptomania, lust, etc... And he reminds us we're still very much superstitious.
And idiots.

And then 'The End' comes on screen, in the film's original language, which is: "Slut." How perfect.