The Sudbury Devil (2023) User Reviews

An Excellent Movie

[Bobby_Diesel · 8/10 · 18 September 2023]

Movies made by YouTubers are often horrible garbage. Most are made just to be a cash cows while a few others are made with genuine interest. Unfortunately for either case, they often times serve more to make an audience cringe than to entertain. However, Andrew Rakich's "The Sudbury Devil" completely flips this narrative.

This movie is excellent with great acting, cinematography, and directing. The dedication to historic period dress, dialogue, and setting must be praised as one of the best representations of the period. It is up there with the "The Witch." The special effects or practical effects are amazing with extremely realistic gore. It cannot be understated how amazing this movie is on such a low budget (according to the Indiegogo campaign, this movie had a budget of $4,453).

As for negatives, my major gripe is that this movie needs subtitles. Fans of his channel might be able to understand dialogue clearly but there is a language barrier in understanding 17th century English dialogue for the average viewer. Subtitles would help in this regard. Some other minor nitpicks are that the visual effects sometimes look out of place and poorly composited. Another issue is that some scenes sometimes last too long specifically ones of the erotic nature.

I should mention that this movie has explicit sex, nudity, and gore. If you are reviled by such bawdiness I would avoid this movie.

This movie is loaded with themes. Showcasing the disturbing Puritan ideology and the hypocrisy of its followers. The audience confronts the disturbing reality of how the colonization and creation of cities like Boston are built through the genocide and repression of indigenous people, racial minorities, and other so called "sinners." At least that is how I interpreted it.

In conclusion, this film is not without its flaws. However, it remains an excellent piece of media that shows that one does not need a lot to produce a great movie. It defies the typical expectations of so called "Youtuber Movies." I highly recommend especially for the Halloween season!

Highly crafted, suspenseful and scrupulously accurate

[nataliefulton-48666 · 9/10 · 18 September 2023]

The Sudbury Devil, written and directed by You Tube sensation Andrew Rakich, and now showing in select theaters worldwide, is a highly crafted and suspenseful film. At a tight run time of 90 minutes, it is perfectly timed for this spooky season. Though sexually explicit and gruesome in parts, overall the movie's supernatural mysteries and black comedy prevail. Don't miss this chance to feast your eyes on a scrupulously accurate portrayal of time and place, and your ears on the accents and speech patterns of the time. Listen as well for a primal scream that reverberates across the ages.

Set in 17th century Massachusetts, the film opens with the hapless Isaac Goodenow reporting to the authorities on what he's observed in the wilderness: there does indeed exist a devil. Artfully and comically portrayed by Matthew van Gessel, Isaac's experiences - his encounter with a rock, and his ultimate fate - remind the viewer that ever since the time of Moses, these sorts of things have not ended well.

Our Puritan investigators, John Fletcher (Benton Guinness) and Josiah Cutting (Josh Popa), are tasked with exposing the truth. As Goodenow leads them deeper into the dark of the wood, his experiences are recounted to the men. Flora, (Kendra Unique), is an enslaved woman from Barbados. Or is she? The camera work of directors Andrew Rakich and Eduardo Uruena uses a still, painterly approach to create juxtapositions and eruptions that jar the viewer. Flora may be a slave in chains, or she may be the spectralized other - all the men who gaze upon her want but cannot possess, all that is denied to them by their stations in life.

John Fletcher, (Benton Guinness), embodies another archetype, the wounded warrior. He struggles with both his present task; finding out if the Sudbury Devil exists; and his past job fighting as a mercenary in King Philip's War. Yet when he describes his war experiences - the unnecessary cruelty and the trauma - he is mocked as "Quakerish".

Mr. Gavett and his wife Patience (Andrew Rakich and Linnea Gregg) appear in the second half of the film. Though Fletcher and Cutting see Gavett as an ally, he creates more confusion. He is a trickster, both benign and malicious, cunning and guileless.

Patience, like Flora, is threateningly embodied anima. As the only beings able to truly give life, in this universe both women are stunted by design.

Though The Sudbury Devil shows a grim portent of the future, the archetypes invoked by the characters and the mythic nature of the action leave the viewer some room for hope.

IMDb calls the movie history/horror/thriller. I call it art.

A decent independent horror film

[maxscorpius · 9/10 · 21 December 2023]

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.

A fun and unsettling journey into 17th century New England

[thomaspkennedy-47126 · 10/10 · 18 September 2023]

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!

A Damning Account of America's Birth

[stevenjennings-93138 · 10/10 · 19 March 2024]

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.

Phenomenal

[rosebinis · 10/10 · 11 February 2024]

This movie was an absolute joy to watch! Every part felt well put together and kept me glued to the screen trying to put everything together as it played out. I found the acting and score especially enthralling, and the dedication to original pronunciation helped really strengthen the immersion. The low budget is barely if ever noticed in my opinion. This is an intensely political film that pulls no punches in talking about the white Puritan colonizers and their regime of violence, misogyny, and racism. The depiction of how the colonizers justify their horrific treatment of any and all non white Puritan males as "god's will" and all in the name of "stopping the devil" was very powerful, and ironically was the exact same thing that caused the devil to be birthed on earth. Seeing Reverend Russel completely shirk any blame for the brutality by dismissing reality as "Quaker talk" was a great depiction of the willful ignorance and cognitive dissonance of racists and colonizers the world over. It is also a very sexual film, using sex as both symbolism to show rejection of puritan values and following that as the vector to bring forth the devil. Overall an absolutely phenomenal experience, I would highly recommend this film to anyone interested in the time period, religious aspect, or just the vibes the trailer gives off, I highly doubt you'll be disappointed.

Not good

[jaco66 · 2/10 · 15 October 2023]

I'm guessing the high-star reviews of this film are from friends of the filmmakers. If there is a story hidden somewhere in this movie I couldn't find it. The acting is very good, I must say, but without a coherent (or interesting) plot it's all for naught. Other reviews here tout,or warn about, the sex and gore. There is very brief nudity, and any sex is between fully clothed people, so fear not. Most of the gore is during the laughable penultimate scene, and it is not realistic. If you can deal with the carnival blood in Kill Bill, then you'll cruise right through this. Perhaps I expected too much from this movie, but that would be because of the previous reviews I have read. Lesson learned.