So, I've finally gotten round to seeing this debut feature from Youtuber Andy Rakich aka Atun-Shei Films. It's a horror film set in 17th century New England. The story follows two magistrates being led into the woods to investigate supernatural sightings and the possibility of witchcraft.
It's a low-budget indie film and it shows in certain respects: mainly the limited locations and somewhat awkward CG elements. However, these don't detract too much and on the whole it's a pretty impressive production. The period costumes are very good and the make-up and practical VFX are excellent. There are some parts which have some of the most realistic looking blood I think I've seen on film.
The cinematography is solid and at times even quite beautiful. The music, while feeling derivative of Robert Eggers' The Witch, is very polished and well done. There are other elements of the film which are also very clearly drawing on Ben Wheatley's A Field In England - the psychedelic touches and some moments of static character shots which seem like less artificial and stylised versions of the weird tableaux that appeared in that film. The story overall doesn't do anything unexpected, which I don't have a problem with; I think the fixation on plot novelty and unexpected twists that so many people have is kind of dumb and tedious. I'm a firm believer that the art and style of the story-telling is far more important than the plot, and in the case of The Sudbury Devil, the story is engagingly told. The narrative maybe gets a bit woolly in the middle when the protagonists are captured and Fletcher's motives get a bit cloudy. The passage of time in this section of the film gets a bit unclear as it feels like it's supposed to be a few days yet seems to contain the entirety of Floria's pregnancy...? I think this is one part of the film where the budget and location restraints show, as Cutting, the second magistrate (played by Josh Popa) seems to have plenty of opportunity to escape but presumably it's supposed to be the being trapped in the wilderness that is keeping him pinned down, but the film doesn't really convey a sense of isolation. The bulk of the film feels like it's no more than a mile out of town. Perhaps some drone shots of a large forest might have helped establish the location better.
One thing that did really impress me about this film was the actors' performances which were fully committed and believable. Matthew Van Gessel, playing Goodenow was particularly impressive. They all handled the period accent in a way that felt very natural, and Andy's script is also solid (the scene where Fletcher (played by Benton Guinness) talks about King Phillip's War was a particular stand-out moment for me: I was reminded of the famous monologue from “Jaws”.). It may just be a result having having seen his Witchfinder General character, but Andy's performance as Gavett felt a little cartoonish and off-tone at times.
Overall though I'd definitely recommend seeing it. It's a well-done and properly gnarly horror film with some sweet authentic history nerd touches and some excellent performances. It's actually kind of inspiring for me.