Folk Frights Meet Family Trauma in Fréwaka

Filmmaker Aislinn Clarke, who became the first Northern Irish woman to direct a horror film with The Devil’s Doorway, reaches another milestone with Fréwaka, a dread-infused folk-horror narrative that’s one of the first Irish-language horror films. Memorable found-footage horror films are increasingly rare, but 2018’s The Devil’s Doorway remains a standout. It’s a 1960s-set tale of camera-toting priests investigating a miracle at a Magdalene laundry—but instead uncovering something much darker than even the cruel conditions weathered by the unwed pregnant women forced to dwell there. While Fréwaka is set in the present day, it draws on similar themes of religion being twisted to serve a sinister purpose, as well as the ways trauma can become a multi-generational affliction. It’s also inspired by Irish folklore, an oft-used source for Irish horror filmmakers, but it pivots away from offering yet another variation on the changeling myth. Trickster fairies—known for their baby-swapping ... Read full article.