Written by: Jase Marisglia
A stuffy, conservative Protestant pastor’s son named Stephen (Spencer Banks) questions his church’s insistence that Manichaeism—an old religious line of thinking that frames everything in a simplistic black-and-white, good-versus-evil duality—is heresy, all while struggling to come to terms with his closeted homosexuality and the incessant bullying he endures at the military school he attends.
Further complicating matters, he’s told on his eighteenth birthday that he’s adopted. Being the studious bookworm that he is, Stephen seeks answers to his growing disquiet in societal norms, military morals, familial pressures (and secrets), and, of course, the strict doctrines of the church. He turns to a nihilistic playwright (Ian Hogg), who “subverts” him just enough to question everything and consider ideas outside his original Christian framework, slowly chipping away at his once-concrete conservatism.
This leads to vivid nightmares filled with demons, gruesome pagan rituals, King Penda, and his hero, famed English composer Edward Elgar, whom he believes left coded messages in his music. Aired during the fourth series of Britain’s "Play for Today", Alan Clarke’s Penda’s Fen is less a traditional horror film about an adolescent’s emotional spiral and more a series of existential ideas brewing within a wayward kid who no longer knows where he comes from, or whether the beliefs instilled in him were ever truly his own.
Penda’s Fen (1974)
⭐⭐⭐
Existential Horror Over Traditional Fear
Stephen’s confusion manifests in terrifying, often metaphorical visions. The script by David Rudkin is packed with conversations that dive deep into religious and political theory, and Stephen—once a staunch, arrogant kid—begins to thaw and view life on his own terms.
Rarely seen since its original BBC broadcast, Penda’s Fen isn’t your typical folk horror film and plays out as a slow burn, but its ideas remain relevant and thought-provoking, anchored by a standout early performance from Banks, who handles the material with impressive balance.
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Featured on the 12th disc of Severin Films’ massive Limited Edition "All the Haunts Be Ours" box set, "Penda’s Fen" is presented in its original 1.33:1 fullscreen aspect ratio, mastered in HD by the British Film Institute.
It carries over a featurette titled "The Landscape of Feelings: The Road to Penda’s Fen" from BFI’s 2016 limited release, while adding "The Pledge", a short film by Digby Rumsey, along with a new audio commentary by James Machin and Matthew Hale, editors of "Of Mud & Flame: The Penda’s Fen Sourcebook."
All in all, it’s a solid collection of extras for a near-forgotten television film finally making its U.S. debut.
BITS ‘N’ PIECES
Traum-A-Meter:
1 out of 4.
There’s very little in terms of violence or gore, though a few sacrificial scenes involve crucifixion and severed hands. None of it is especially graphic.
Today’s Jam: The week Penda’s Fen aired on BBC television, Cher’s “Dark Lady” was sitting at the top of the radio charts.
THIS EPISODE’S MORAL:
Forcing beliefs on impressionable kids—no matter how well-intentioned—usually does more harm than good. Let kids be kids.
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