Häxan (Benjamin Christensen, 1923, Denmark/Sweden)

A typical stroyline is almost non-existant in Haxan, it is divided into three major chapters, the first studies the appearence of demons and witches in medieval culture, the second is a series of shorts theatrically demonstrating medieval superstitions and beliefs concerning witchcraft, and the third is a long narrative about a woman accused of witchcraft by the family of a dying man where it shows the misunderstandings of mental illness as witchcraft.

It´s hard, or almost impossible to define Haxan as a certain type of film, except maybe avant-garde. Often labeled a documentary it uses various cinematic approaches to depict the nature of witchcraft and diabolism from ancient Persia through then-modern times while breaking and bending the laws of the documentary. In staged scenes where director Christensen shows the audience every frightening image he can find in the historical evidence he often blends fact and fantasy. And since the documentary was not clearly defined when Haxan was made it is even more vague in its genre.

But Haxan stands alone as a visually intimidating and stunning film where Christensen´s sence of the setting (mise en scéne) is haunting with eerie undertones in lighting, props and set design. Influences can be seen in films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) where props and background detail is used to create an atmosphere of potential violence and is as well a forerunner of devil-poession films like The Exorcist (1973).