The Devonsville Terror: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 22:11, 21 March 2020
 | This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary. (May 2019) |
| The Devonsville Terror | |
|---|---|
 VTC video artwork | |
| Directed by | Ulli Lommel |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Ulli Lommel |
| Edited by | Richard S. Brummer |
| Music by | Ray Colcord |
| Distributed by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 82 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Devonsville Terror is a 1983 American horror film, directed by Ulli Lommel and starring Suzanna Love, Donald Pleasence, and Robert Walker. The plot focuses on three different women who arrive in a conservative New England town, one of whom is the reincarnation of a witch who was wrongfully executed along with two others (Morrigan Hurt and Barbara Cihlar) by the town's founding fathers in 1683.[2]
The Devonsville Terror was filmed primarily in Lincoln County, Wisconsin in 1983, and was intended for a theatrical release[3] but instead hit the home video circuit in 1984 through Embassy Home Entertainment. The most recent home video release for the film was in 1999, released on both VHS as well as a double billing DVD paired with Lommel's The Boogeyman (1980).
Plot
In November 1683 in Devonsville, Massachusetts, three women—Jessica Morley, Mary Pratt, and Rebecca Carson—are kidnapped by the townsfolk based on accusations of witchcraft. Jessica is disemboweled by hogs, and Mary is killed with a breaking wheel. Rebecca, the last to die, is burned at the stake. After Rebecca's execution, her apparition appears in the sky and a thunderstorm begins.
300 years later, Dr. Warley investigates the witches' purported curse on Devonsville; he meanwhile finds himself plagued by a bizarre illness in which worms crawl from his skin, linked to his ancestors' involvement in the inquisition. Meanwhile, three liberated, assertive women move to the town: Jenny Scanlon, the new schoolteacher; Chris, an environmental scientist; and Monica, a radio disc jockey. Their presence angers the bigoted town fathers, among them Walter Gibbs, a middle-aged store owner who has recently murdered his wife, Sarah, and gotten away with the crime. Jenny Scanlon, the town's new schoolteacher, arrives and is greeted by brothers Ralph and Matthew Pendleton, both of whom are friendly. Later that night in his store, Walter witnesses an apparition of a nude Jenny.
Jenny infuriates the local parents when she tells her class that God was considered a female in Babylonian times, and that God's representation as a father was introduced with Judaism. Walter becomes romantically obsessed with Jenny, but she turns down his advances at his store one night. He then has a nightmare in which Jenny reveals to him that she knows that he murdered Sarah, before drowning him in a bog. Jenny visits Dr. Warley for her insomnia, and Warley suspects Jenny is one of the three witches reincarnated. Under hypnosis, Jenny states she is a "messenger from the unknown," but not a witch.
Convinced that Jenny, Chris, and Monica are the witches reincarnated, Walter, Matthew, and others kidnap them one night and attempt to burn them at the stake, recreating the inquisition, but Jenny kills them all with witchcraft. The next morning, she boards a bus leaving Devonsville. A postscript intertitle from Dr. Warley's journal states that the curse has been lifted, and the Devonsville terror is over.
Cast
- Suzanna Love as Jennifer "Jenny" Scanlon
- Donald Pleasence as Dr. Warley
- Robert Walker Jr. (as Robert Walker) as Matthew Pendleton
- Paul Willson as Walter Gibbs
- Mary Walden as Chris
- Deanna Haas as Monica
- Michael Accardo as Ralph Pendleton
- Bill Dexter as Aaron Pendleton
- Priscilla Lowe as Myrtle Pendleton
- Angailica as Angel Pendleton
- Morrigan Hurt as Jessica Morley
- Barbara Cihlar as Mary Pratt
- Leslie Smith as Rebecca Carson
- Joanna Andruss as Sarah Louise
Production
The Devonsville Terror was written by Lommel and George T. Lindsey, and draws on numerous historical aspects of the witchcraft inquisition in the colonial era of the United States. Lommel stated that he had spent some time in Massachusetts and was inspired by the Salem Witch Trials.[3] Star Suzanna Love, Lommel's wife, also helped write the film. Filming primarily took place in Lincoln County, Wisconsin.[4]
Release
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The Devonsville Terror was given theatrical marketing through Motion Picture Marketing company (MPM) in 1983, though it never made it into theaters.[3]
Home media
Embassy Pictures released the film the following year on VHS. Anchor Bay Entertainment re-released the film on VHS in 1999, along with a double-billing DVD paired with Lommel's The Boogeyman (1980), which is now out of print.[5]
Reception
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2019) |
Brett H. from Oh the Horror criticized the film's lack of sense, dialogue, but ultimately stated that the film was "a bit of a mess, but it’s ultimately a very amusing mess."[6]
References
- ^ "The Devonsville Terror". Rotten Tomatoes. Amazon. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ Sipos 2010, p. 256.
- ^ a b c Bene, Jason (May 27, 2011). "Late Night Classics: The Devonsville Terror". Killer Film. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
- ^ End credits, The Devonsville Terror: "Special thanks to The People of Lincoln County, WI)
- ^ "The Boogeyman/The Devonsville Terror (1980)". Amazon.com. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
- ^ H., Brett. "Horror Reviews - Devonsville Terror, The (1983)". Oh the Horror.com. Brett H. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
Works cited
- Sipos, Thomas M. (2010). Horror Film Aesthetics: Creating the Visual Language of Fear. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-44972-9.
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External links
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