Lommel's Slow Burn Feminist Folk Horror
"German filmmaker Ulli Lommel gets a lot of flak from cult film fans. That's in part because of the, to put it mildly, diminishing quality of his films in later years, specifically his 21st century forays into cheap serial killer biopics. The other reason is that Lommel is a bit of an odd duck even when he was at the height of his powers. His sensibilities are European (he was mentored by Fassbinder) and we was influenced by both the punk scene & its DIY ethos as well as Andy Warhol's Factory. His thematic obsessions often presage the concerns of grief/trauma horror popular today and he often takes a slow-burning approach. As such fans of straight 80s slasher focused mainly on T&A or gore may find Lommel isn't there cup of tea. I believe, however, that Lommel can be very rewarding for a certain type of film fan. Case in point with THE DEVONSVILLE TERROR. This is Lommel's take on the witch hunt folk horror genre and it certainly fits the bill of slowburn. It also deals with the aforementioned themes often dealt with in so-called "elevated horror" of today: trauma, the sins of the past, patriarchy, and the like. In many ways, DEVONSVILLE TERROR is Lommel's stab at feminist horror. And, like THE BOOGEYMAN, it features hypnotism tropes to deal with its themes, this time around with Donald Pleasence rather than John Carradine. All of which is to say that THE DEVONSVILLE TERROR is an interesting effort from Lommel that should be watched by people who enjoy oddball cinema. But hey, even if you're not into Lommel's sensibilities you also get a pretty crazy climax with a moment straight out of INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. I find Lommel's weirdly European meets trash aesthetic and an obsession with psychology sensibility to be quite up my alley. But your mileage may very."