This week on Broomsticks and Bloodshed, Cory and Rosśa head into the woods to confront The Wretched (2019), a pandemic-era horror hit about a child-eating bog witch hiding in plain sight. We break down the film’s folklore influences, skin-walking terror, and impressive sound design, while also calling out its continuity issues, rushed third act, and deeply divisive ending.

Is this an underrated folk horror gem or a stylish mess held together by vibes and drive-in timing? We dig into Appalachian myth adjacent witchcraft, Hollywood’s obsession with evil mothers, and whether this film earns its surprising box office success. Grab your salt, watch the treeline, and join us.

🧹 Rating: 2.5 broomsticks

In this episode of Broomsticks and Bloodshed, Cory and Rosśa close out 2025 by trekking deep into the haunted woods of The Ritual (2017), David Bruckner’s bleak and beautifully shot folk horror nightmare. What begins as a memorial hike for a fallen friend quickly turns into a descent into guilt, grief, and something ancient lurking among the trees. As tensions fracture the group, the forest itself becomes an active participant in their undoing.

We break down the film’s Norse mythology, rune symbolism, sacrificial cult practices, and the terrifying presence of Moder, a Jötunn-inspired entity born from fear and subjugation. Along the way, we unpack Luke’s trauma, survival guilt, and the film’s meditation on masculinity, mourning, and power. Is The Ritual a witchcraft film, or something older and darker? Join us as we explore folk magic, pagan horror, and why this underrated modern classic still cuts so deep.

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This week on Broomsticks and Bloodshed, Cory and Rossa descend into the gothic heart of 1970s Blaxploitation horror with The House on Skull Mountain. Set in an eerie Atlanta mansion and steeped in ancestral legacy, the film blends Catholic imagery, Vodou, Hoodoo, and gothic melodrama into a supernatural mystery where blood calls to blood and the dead refuse to stay silent.

We break down the film’s use of ritual magic, wangas, ancestral spirits, possession, and resurrection, separating cinematic exaggeration from real world Vodou and Hoodoo practices. Along the way, we explore the historical and cultural significance of the cast, many of whom were real life activists, artists, and civil rights leaders, and discuss how the film navigates race, lineage, power, and identity in ways that still spark conversation today.

From skull imagery and ritual drums to questions of ancestry and spiritual inheritance, this episode looks at why House on Skull Mountain stands apart from crime focused Blaxploitation films and why its portrayal of Black spiritual traditions deserves a closer, more thoughtful examination.