Here's A Health To The Barley Mow.We are very lucky here in the British Isles to have a folk cultural tradition that isn't just ancient and rich in pageantry, it's also incredibly spooky.
There are bits of this collection of 44 films about strange rural customs and traditions that seem more suited to horror films. You could easily picture the grainy footage of men wandering around country lanes wielding antlers as something off a haunted VHS in a Ring movie. While there's plenty that's familiar, such as Morris Men and sword dancing, there's much that's specific to one area. Events such as the Shrovetide football match in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, where both the upper and lower halves of the town collide en masse around a ball, or the ancient sport of dwile flonking from the Norfolk/Suffolk area, which is half-custom/half-drinking game and was recently banned under health and safety regulations. We meet mummers, hobby horses, tups and all kinds of other fascinating festivities. A lot of the films are old, which only adds to the fun, making footage of customs where local men wear gaudy skirts for a day appear to be something far darker and primal. Still, who cares what they do as long as it makes the crops come in on time? It's a peek into a world hidden in plain sight, where young girls can perform precision dance routines with swords, under the watchful eye of a man dressed as a woman. A world that's often a lot like The Wicker Man, only far creepier.
Liam Neeson carves out a Euro thriller niche for himself with this superior Berlin-set paranoia adventure.
DVD & Blu-ray, Optimum
Historical action movie about the siege of Rochester castle, with a movie-stealing turn by Paul Giamatti as the king.
DVD & Blu-ray, Warners
Jerzy Skolimowski's unusual 1970 UK drama, best known for the amazing track Mother Sky by Can.
DVD & Blu-ray, BFI
Underrated Elmore Leonard-based backwoods crime show about lawman Timothy Olyphant and full of bone-dry humour.
DVD, Sony
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