JP Nunez
I’ve been on a bit of a folk horror kick lately. Soon after Severin Films announced a second volume of their acclaimed folk horror box set All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror, I decided to finally pull the trigger on volume one. I watched all 20 movies in the span of about a week, and I absolutely loved them. Ever since then, I’ve been on the lookout for even more folksy frights, so from the minute I heard about The Severed Sun, I knew I had to check this film out. It promised to be a great new entry in the folk horror subgenre, and it instantly became one of my most anticipated movies at Fantastic Fest.
The Severed Sun was written and directed by Dean Puckett, and it stars Toby Stephens, Emma Appleton, Jodhi May, Barney Harris, and Lewis Gribben. The film takes place deep in the British countryside, and it follows a strict separatist community led by an unyielding pastor. He rules these people with somewhat of an iron fist, but now, his daughter Magpie is about to rebel. Her husband is a cruel, abusive man, and she intends to kill him.
The plan goes off without a hitch, but it sends shockwaves of controversy through the small sect. Magpie says the guy’s death was the result of an accident, but not everybody believes her. What’s more, a demonic-looking creature soon starts to wreak havoc among her neighbors, and some of them eventually become convinced that she summoned it to punish her enemies.
Almost from the opening frame, The Severed Sun has just about everything fans love about England’s venerable folk horror tradition. For starters, the rural setting here is gorgeous, and cinematographer Ian Forbes captures this lush landscape in a way that immediately catches your eye. If nothing else, this movie is beautiful to look at, but thankfully, that’s not the only thing The Severed Sun has going for it.
The acting is also top-notch, so it’s easy to believe that you’re getting a little peek into the life of an idiosyncratic, quasi-Christian splinter group. But as usual, there are a couple of standouts that deserve special mention. Let’s start with Toby Stephens. He plays the pastor, and he’s pitch-perfect in the role.
He doesn’t have the smooth, deceptive demeanor we often associate with cult leaders, but he exhibits the kind of strong, willful personality that can easily overpower people vulnerable to this kind of manipulation. Surprisingly though, that’s not the worst thing about the guy. This pastor has a truly sinister side as well, and when he lets it shine through his caring facade, Toby Stephens is genuinely horrifying.
Equally captivating is Emma Appleton, the actress who plays Magpie. When The Severed Sun begins, she’s visibly terrified, both of her abusive husband and the consequences of botching her planned murder. But once the deed is done and she’s off scot-free, the woman does a complete 180.
Just about every time her character is harassed or hounded by her neighbors, she shows a nearly tangible inner strength. Magpie stands firm in her resolve and doesn’t let anything or anyone get under her skin, and Appleton portrays that indomitable spirit so convincingly it’s almost inspiring.
Last but not least, we have to talk about the horror in The Severed Sun. Much like the beautiful cinematography, there’s an awesome atmosphere of dread right from the get-go. To be fair, it’s not quite A24 level, but it’s close enough that it’ll hook you and draw you into the story in no time.
On top of that, this film also features a truly spine-tingling monster. As I said before, it’s somewhat demonic-looking, but that’s just part of its chilling design. It has somewhat of a foresty, almost swampy vibe as well, so it’s almost like the bastard child of the devil and Swamp Thing.
What’s more, this creature is black as night, so you can’t make out much detail on it. Pretty much all you see is its outline, and in my opinion, that’s a brilliant choice. It adds to the diabolical mystique of the thing, and it allows writer/director Dean Puckett to inject his daytime horror shots with the kind of dark, shadowy feel we typically only get in nighttime frights.
And for all the gorehounds reading this review, The Severed Sun has something for you as well. Admittedly, there aren’t a ton of blood-soaked scenes, but the few we do get are super fun. We see limbs cut off, guts ripped out, and blood splattered on walls, so if you like your horror movies to come with a side of gory carnage, this one will be right up your alley.
All of that–the atmosphere, the monster, and the gore–leads to a riveting finale that’s perfect for this subgenre, so I’m happy to report that I walked away from The Severed Sun a happy man. This is an excellent story about the horrors of religious fanaticism untethered to anything but the whims of a false prophet, and it’s brought to life with excellent performances, beautiful cinematography, and fun scares. In a word, it’s a worthy new addition to the folk horror canon, so I highly suggest checking it out when it becomes available to a wider audience.
The Severed Sun had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 22.
