The Sudbury Devil

Don't let the fact that the movie was made by a Youtuber on a shoestring budget fool you. Most of the special effects are practical and they look good, acting and soundtrack are amazing.

Visually the movie mostly resembles Ravenous (there is even a small Easter egg reference to Ravenous in one scene, so you can tell it was a huge influence), while thematically the first thoughts come to The Witch with a sprinkle of Lords Of Salem on top.

There are a few digital effects that mostly gave me Mandy vibes, and only one looked out of place for me. Other than that, everything else is practical and shot in camera.

If you are a horror fan and if you like the movies I mentioned, you will probably like this one as well. It gets a bit trippy at times, but this fits the story just fine and doesn't feel pretentious or forced.

The movie does have some gore, but again, don't think of something extreme, but if the gore in Ravenous is something you're ok with, this will be just perfect (no cannibalism though, don't go into it expecting that).

You can expect historical depth at the same level of The Witch, from costumes to the accents, which are really well played and preformed. Same can be said for the movie soundtrack, it fits the tone perfectly.

The movie basically has only one location, the whole story is set in the forest, however, this is no Blair Witch, it is way better than that.

If you're wondering if you should watch this movie the answer is an emphatic yes!

The Sudbury Devil is a wild experience that waste no time immersing you into the world of late 17th century New England. Writer/Director Andrew Rakich's deep knowledge of this period is evident in every frame, for me his commitment to the setting alone makes it worth the watch. That being said, I came for the history but the story and performances had me gripped to the screen. The Sudbury Devil delves deep into New England lore to craft a narrative filled with complicated characters and has you watch as they come to reckon with their own personal convictions. Fed by stellar performances and an amazing score, The Sudbury Devil will take you on a disturbing little trip into the world of Puritan New England.

I sincerely recommend you check it out!

If a history is grotesque, so too should be its depictive art. The Sudbury Devil is a visually and auditorily striking ride from start to finish.

Writer/Director Andrew Rakich draws on his knowledge of the history of the American colonies, their fears, their hangups, their desires and their treatment of the indigenous peoples of this continent to tell a story of the birth of a monster. His attention to detail is evident, and for those that catch everything that he does right, this film is a feast of historical context done right.

Dillon DeRosa's work on the score is simply immaculate. Subtle, communicative, and as otherworldly as the forces at work within the visual narrative. Music is a language that speaks to the quiet and pattern-reading parts of our mind, and DeRosa has written us something wonderful and eerie.

The cast in this movie is relatively small, but every performance is given with delightful fervor. In particular, the work done by actors Benton Guinness, and Matthew Van Gessel stood out to me personally for their roles as John Fletcher and Isaac Goodenow, respectively. (Bonus points to actress Linnea Gregg however, for speaking the truth and message of the movie most plainly, in certain lines.)

All in all, I enjoyed this movie immensely. It is worth pointing out that it will *not* be to everyone's tastes. It follows a reasonably straightforward narrative, but watcher beware, strangeness abounds. There are many parts of this movie which are undeniably surreal, and markedly uncomfortable to watch. This, I believe, is by design. It's not a movie's obligation to keep a watcher comfortable, and given the subject matter at hand, that caveat applies doubly.

From me, ten stars. It's not the most approachable film, but it is a FANTASTIC religious/historical horror experience. Do not watch it with your parents.

...then you need to brush up on your American history or your media analysis. This is a fun movie and while history nerds like myself can find many small details to appreciate, I watched it with a large group of friends who had never even heard of King Phillips War before watching this who enjoyed dissecting the meaning and appreciated the plot of this film.

Not a friend of the creator or even knew about his youtube presence before watching this. Learned about it when looking for more movies like The Witch.

Are there some flaws? Sure. But this movie didn't have millions in budget so idk what you were looking for but there are no technical or stylist choices so bad you can't watch it like some low budget films.

Once again, highly recommend!

This has nothing to do with likeability or hatred, this is just the blunt and hard fact of the reality of the world.

This film won in all aspects and spectrums.

There is no witch, no devil and no horror.

It's just a parody to colonial and imperial power.

We chewed that enough ain't we?

Not it's time to discharge it all!

In all it's honesty, the fact of the calamity of this planet, is presented in all it's brutality!

The validation of trying to debunked it, is majestically fictional. So true, one may need to swallow one own vomit in despising the blunt denial.

So perfectly done in its own timing, when the shift of the power are currently present!