Celebrating it's 100th anniversary in 2022, Benjamin Christensen’s legendary 1922 film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages suffered the same hysteria as turn-of-the-century psychiatric patients. But the film itself is far from serious; instead it’s a witches’ brew of the scary, gross, and darkly humorous.

Featuring grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath, it was censored in many countries at that time for its graphic depictions of the occult, torture, nudity, and sexual perversion, as well as anti-clericalism.

The cult Swedish film (shot in Denmark), is partly based on Christensen's own study of the Malleus Maleficarum, a 15th-century German guide for inquisitors. Christensen's meticulous recreation of medieval scenes and its lengthy production period, the film was the most expensive Scandinavian silent film ever made.

In 1968, an abbreviated version of the film (77 minutes) was released. This version features an eclectic jazz score by Daniel Humair (played by a quintet including Jean-Luc Ponty on violin and Daniel Humair on percussion) and dramatic narration by William S. Burroughs.

The artwork features great stills from the film. Digitally remastered.

Sotpackan. Distributed in Europe by Cold Spring.