A Classic Horror Story: Southern Gothic but this film is set in the South of Italy and the Gothic shades into Folk Horror. There are elements of pastiche here as several tropes are mixed - a group of people who are car pooling get involved in a crash, when they come to they are in their camper van but it's in a forest clearing. Nearby is a deserted house, in it they find pictures of a Pagan cult and evidence of savage rituals. Then the fun begins, hordes of cultists wearing bark masks and animal masks act out the ritual. Some very disturbing scenes of mutilation and murder ensue. There are influences here from the Wicker Man, Midsommar and a 1975 film Race With The Devil but ACHS has it's own strengths and puts it's own stamp on things. The film takes a strange turn and their are plot twists which sends the narrative off in an even more bizarre direction as we get into the territory of Meta-Horror. While this might not be a classic it's well worth watching. Co-Directed/Co-Written by Roberto De Feo and Paolo Strippoli. On Netflix. 7/10.
Review of A Classic Horror Story
