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Häxan

Turkish title: Cadılar

“But isn’t superstition still rampant among us?”

1922 · 1 h 45 min
Directed by Benjamin Christensen
DocumentaryFantasyHorror

Cast

Maren Pedersen Benjamin Christensen Clara Pontoppidan

Credits

Written by: Benjamin Christensen

Plot

Part documentary, part dramatised history, Benjamin Christensen's 1922 Swedish-Danish film is a lecture on witchcraft from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. Using woodcuts, staged scenes and elaborate costumes, it shows witches' sabbaths, demons, torture by inquisitors and the superstition behind the persecution of old women. The final section argues that many accused witches would today be seen as suffering from hysteria or mental illness. With its striking devils and grotesque imagery, the film was banned in several countries for its content and has become a cult classic.

Sinekatalog’s take

Benjamin Christensen's 1922 silent mixes documentary lecture with horrifying staged scenes of witchcraft. Bizarre, inventive and far ahead of its time, it remains a fascinating, creepy landmark of early cinema.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

Ratings

IMDb: 7.6 / 10 (19,649 votes)
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% (29 critic reviews)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset; Rotten Tomatoes snapshot from October 2026. Scores change over time.

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