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The Evolution of Horror

OCCULT Pt 3: Häxan (1922) & The Black Cat (1934)

The Evolution of Horror

Mike Muncer

Tv & Film, Film History

4.81.7K Ratings

🗓️ 8 November 2019

⏱️ 106 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week Mike is joined by actor and master of the macabre, James Swanton, to discuss the first two feature films of the occult series, Haxan, and THe Black Cat, in spoilerific detail. 

Check out both films for free, here: 

Haxan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkXlXc0lA9c

The Black Cat: https://archive.org/details/UniversalStudiosMonsters1934TheBlackCat

Music by Jack Whitney

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Mike Muncer is a producer, podcaster and film journalist and can be found on TWITTER

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

You're not going to be. During the 1920s horror was slowly beginning to evolve into a genre of cinema. In the tales of the Macabre from the cabinet of Dr. Caligari and the Phantom of the Opera

0:35.4

to F. W. Murnau's Faust and Los Veratu. Moving into the birth of talking

0:41.0

pictures in 1930s however, horror solidified itself as a bona fide genre

0:46.6

thanks to Universal Studios in Hollywood and their hugely popular monster movies such as

0:52.0

Frankenstein,

0:53.0

Dracula, and the mummy.

0:55.0

But despite horror growing in popularity,

0:58.0

there were very few movies that concern themselves

1:00.0

with subjects as dark or evil, as Satanism or the occult.

1:05.0

However, two movies stuck out from the pack as being particularly shocking and controversial for the time.

1:12.0

One was a Swedish silent movie from

1:14.6

1922 which delved into the history of witchcraft and contained scenes of torture

1:20.3

and the sacrifice of a newborn baby. The other was a universal horror movie

1:25.8

starring two huge horror icons but featured no monsters or ghouls and instead

1:31.9

contain scenes of torture, flaying, incest and necrophilia.

1:37.0

Join me as we continue exploring the evolution of the occult and we delve into two

1:46.8

shocking satanic classics, 1922's Haxan and 1934's The Black Cat.

1:59.0

Did you ever hear of Satanism, the worship of the devil of evil.

2:04.0

Welcome back to the evolution of horror.

2:05.5

My name is Mike and as ever I am your host.

2:08.3

If you're tuning in for the first time then welcome.

2:10.7

On this podcast we explore and dissect the evolution of the horror genre by looking at particular sub-jomras one season at a time.

...

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