The Dæmons [TV/1971.5.22 ~ 6.19]

★★★★☆

  Ah, now here's something for the folk horror nuts. Fans of The Wicker Man and Midsommar, rejoice -- before you send your hundredth email to the BBC begging for Dr. Who to try folk horror, it may be of interest for you to know that the show's done it once in the early 1970s (before The Wicker Man, in fact)... and it still stands the test of time as a brilliant serial.

  The Dæmons, starring Dæmons from the planet Dæmos, has all the hallmarks of good folk horror. You've got a sleepy English village hiding the deepest, darkest secrets imaginable, mysterious deaths and even more mysterious churches, villagers enacting rituals that end up being more deadly than one would normally think, the regulars' inability to escape the village due to their being trapped there by supernatural forces (or in this case, due to advanced technology) and a full blown devil at the very end, hooves and all. At this point, Who really proved itself limitless with the amount of genres and subgenres it could delve into, and it helps that this is such a well-made and fun serial to watch. Christopher Barry's direction brings the folk horror aspect alive with some impressive lighting and "supernatural" effects, the Doctor is given a near-death experience to ramp up the drama and tension, and the UNIT boys get to wear some civvies and do some investigating on their own. The monsters are great, the Master gets centre stage with a dominating presence, and everything from the effects to the atmosphere are realised so well -- how could you not slip into comfort watch mode with this one?

  I rate The Dæmons quite highly, and for what I consider to be the right reasons: a strong team of regulars, an equally commanding villain and a fascinating deep dive into the occult and ancient civilisations' relationship with alien visitors. There's no other Third Doctor serial quite like this one, and that makes this stand out even more. The Dæmons are great one-off monsters; I wonder how they got along with the Silence in the middle of their great machination of the human race all those years ago.