Witch Curses and the Origins of Finnish Horror

Completed in 1927 The Witch's Curse is one of the earliest works of Finnish horror cinema and is often cited as Finland’s first horror film. Directed and written by Teuvo Puro, this silent film is based on Väinö Kataja’s novel of the same name, which was published in 1914.

The film’s story begins with an ancient act of violence. Ancient Finnish settlers kill a Sámi shaman, who manages to cast a curse on Utuniemi before his death. Years later, the curse befalls a young married couple, Simo and Selma. The horror does not stem from monsters or bloody jump scares, but from a sense of grim fate, crime, guilt, and forgiveness.

The Witch's Curse stands out from many Finnish films of its time in that its story consistently revolves around horror and curses. There is no lighthearted comedy or distracting melodramatic digressions to distract from the main plot. The film is a silent drama, but its imagery and setting clearly lean toward the horror genre.

The film is set in Lapland, but it wasn’t shot there. The winter exterior scenes were filmed mainly in Korpilahti, Central Finland, and the home scenes were shot in Munkkiniemi, Helsinki. This early Finnish horror film thus relied heavily on imagery, set design, and changes in scenery.

The Witch's Curse premiered in September 1927. Although it does not strike modern viewers with the same sense of horror as later films in the genre, its status is exceptional: it introduced curses, supernatural threats, and dark folklore to the early days of Finnish feature-length cinema.

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