This emblematic horror film has been prohibited for almost a decade in the United States

Films are prohibited worldwide for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes this is due to the fact that their stars align with divisor political causes and overwhelming governments – which occurred with the controversial “Snow White” remake when it was prohibited in Lebanon. Other times, it is because a film is so disturbing and horrible that the censors consider unfit for public consumption, like all prohibited horror films that found a house in the United States after turning the rest of the world.

That said, the United States has not always been indulgent on horror films. In 1922, “Haxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages” by Danish director Benjamin Christensen was published for positive reviews of criticism, but some of the biggest supporters of the film thought that he was too scary for the public. “Haxan” was prohibited in the United States – and several other countries – shortly after his release, mainly because of his so -called blasphemous, satanic and disturbing images. The documentary / fantasy explores the subject of hunts with witches in the Middle Ages, detailing all the injustices faced by women who have been wrongly accused of being wicks with the devil. However, he also portrays real witches flying on brooms and committing atrocities, and some of these scenes have really rubbed the censors in the wrong direction.

“Haxan” was finally Canon without Canon in 1929, but he continued to shock and to build viewers over the years. 103 years passed the shock of Christensen first launched his fatal fate, but the disturbing power of the film and the bewitching charms remain intact. Since the film is quite frightening compared to modern standards, it is understandable why it panicked people in 1922.

Benjamin Christensen made “Haxan: witchcraft through the ages” in order to shed light on the injustices of history, and he did not hold back with regard to horror. For the inspiration, the filmmaker turned to the member of the pastor and the text of “Malleus maleficorum” of the inquisitor Henrich Kramer, who was written in order to help regular and fearing people to identify the witches. However, the film is also a bewitching work of dark and horrible fantasy, with scenes that pushed the borders, then some at the time.

“Haxan” is full of nudity and violence, with this last transgression applying to men, women and children. In what is undoubtedly the most disturbing scene in the film, a witch holds a dead baby just after having bled the child for ritual purposes, so calling the full film is an understatement. Elsewhere, people are boiled alive and demons torture their victims of forks, so do not go into it if you are easily delicate.

A film like “Haxan” was always going to be banned in 1922, but at least it’s easy to see today. In addition, Christensen’s film has proven to be influential, because Robert Eggers quotes it as a major influence on his 2016 masterpiece “The Witch” – another film which was informed by ancient texts on witchcraft. Witch films do not come much better or more controversial than “Haxan”, even if some censors prefer to have it withdrawn from public consumption.