#Elith Pio

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Chris: This silent film about the history of witchcraft offers a bunch of strong, spooky imagery that is fitting for Halloween, can run it to spooky music and it’s a blast, creatively inspirational imagery, Watch: On Subscription Service.

Richie: The first half is better the second half, it’s good but it starts to wear out it’s welcome with the longer runtime, Watch: On Subscription Service.

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Häxan (Benjamin Christensen, 1922).

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Astrid Holm-Elith Pio “Haxan” 1922, de Benjamin Christensen.

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Films Watched in 2018:

76. Häxan (1922) - Dir. Benjamin Christensen

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Häxan (1922)

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7.6.18 (3)

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Part 44/86 of my Female Rogues of Gotham City series

Gotham Academy has a unique relationship with the criminal element of the city.  Some of the students are the children of rogues, a few escapees such as Killer Croc and the Joker’s Susie have sought refuge there, and some of the professors are reformed rogues themselves, including Edgar Heed, Alexander Scarlet, and Kirk Langstrom.  And on one memorable occasion, the very last professor one might expect was driven down the path of wrongdoing.

Elith Pio—Haxan—was happy as the beginning English professor at Gotham Academy, but her interest in the occult and the history of witchcraft, especially in Gotham City itself began to eclipse her academic interests until it became a singleminded obsession.  When she learned of the Book of Olde Gotham’s existence and that Professor Scarlet, once known as the Bookworm, was trying to beat her to it, she drafted her favorite students to burn the library and try to drive him away, all while under a hypnotic trance.  Eventually Haxan was defeated and exposed as a dangerous, deluded madwoman by Scarlet and the members of Team Detective, and she was taken ranting and screaming to face justice from Headmaster Hammer as her students were freed from her spell.

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Häxan (1922) - Episode 79 - Decades of Horror: The Classic Era

“Here, young maiden, take a potion of cat feces and dove hearts, boiled during the full moon. A drop of this in a man's drink will soften his heart at once.” Yummy, yummy, yummy. I’ve got love in my tummy. Join this episode’s Grue-Crew - Whitney Collazo, Chad Hunt, Jeff Mohr and special guest host Ralph Miller - as they learn about witchcraft through the ages with Benjamin Christensen’s innovative silent film, Häxan (1922).

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 79 – Häxan (1922)

Part history lesson followed by re-enactments with actors, this film depicts the history of witchcraft from its earliest days through to the present day (in this case, 1922 or thereabouts). The result is a documentary-like film that must be among the first to use re-enactments as a visual and narrative tool. From pagan worship to satanic rites to hysteria, the film takes you on a journey through the ages with highly effective visual sequences.

IMDb

  Writer/Director: Benjamin Christensen

Cinematography: Johan Ankerstjerne

Selected Cast:

Benjamin Christensen as the Devil

Ella la Cour as Sorceress Karna

Emmy Schønfeld as Karna's Assistant

Kate Fabian as the Old Maid

Oscar Stribolt as the Fat Monk

Wilhelmine Henriksen as Apelone

Astrid Holm as Anna

Elisabeth Christensen as Anna's Mother

Karen Winther as Anna's Sister

Maren Pedersen as the Witch

Johannes Andersen as Pater Henrik, Witch Judge

Elith Pio as Johannes, Witch Judge

Aage Hertel as Witch Judge

Ib Schønberg as Witch Judge

Holst Jørgensen as Peter Titta (in Denmark called Ole Kighul)

Clara Pontoppidan as Sister Cecilia, Nun

Elsa Vermehren as Flagellating Nun

Alice O'Fredericks as Nun

Gerda Madsen as Nun

Karina Bell as Nun

Tora Teje as the Hysterical Woman

Poul Reumert as the Jeweller

H.C. Nilsen as the Jeweller's Assistant

Albrecht Schmidt as the Psychiatrist

Knud Rassow as the Anatomist

Your Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Grue-Crew takes a deeper dive than usual into Häxan. As an innovative, seminal film, it demands the added attention. Crewmate Joseph Perry is unable to join the Grue-Crew for this episode but special effects artist Ralph Miller is an eager and more than able guest host. 

Ralph considers Häxan to be quite an ambitious film, especially for the time, with its imagery of witches and the devil. Whitney is stunned by the beautiful yet very strange artistry of Häxan, which is unlike anything she’s ever seen. The images that played out in the film were startling to Chad, but what really grabbed him is how superstition and mental illness led to women experiencing accusations of witchcraft, persecution, suffering, and death. 

If you haven’t seen Häxan, you need to remedy that condition immediately. If you haven’t seen it for a while, it’s time to watch it again. The film is readily available to stream from various sources and on a stunning Criterion Blu-ray.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era puts out a new episode every two weeks. The next episode in their very flexible schedule will be War of the Colossal Beast (1958), chosen by Chad.

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com

To each of you from each of us, “Thank you so much for listening!”

Check out this episode!