'The Severed Sun' review - folk horror tale offers timeless message [FF 2024]

Evil comes in many forms. In horror films, it’s often in the form of an inhuman creature or supernatural entity. With folk horror films, however, evil is often personified in people and their actions, seeing the sub-genre interrogate the dark nature of mankind. In The Severed Sun, writer/director Dean Puckett‘s feature debut, a creature may go on a killing spree, but it’s far from the film’s true evil.

In an isolated British community led by a strict pastor (Toby Stephens, Die Another Day), religion rules the land. When his daughter Magpie (Emma Appleton) gruesomely murders her abusive husband, she inadvertently (or deliberately?) conjures a woodland creature that begins targeting the evil men in the village. As the bodies start to fall, suspicions start to rise, with particular attention being paid to Magpie. The rebellious woman, along with her sons Daniel (Lewis Gribben, Get Duked!) and Sam (Zachary Tanner), must battle the village’s conservative ideals and elude accusations of witchcraft before the natives resort to violence.

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The Severed Sun is a solid entry in folk horror canon, with a clear message and some impressive effects work and a strong central performance. Pacing proves to be an issue, with Puckett struggling to fill a truncated runtime, but the sun certainly hasn’t set on this burgeoning filmmaker’s career.