one of my absolute favorites!

just watch it!

An action-packed slog

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Devonsville grocery store owner Walter Gibbs kills his sick wife, thus invoking the spirits of three women who were executed as witches three hundred years earlier. When the town's newest arrivals - teacher Jenny (Suzanna Love), environmentalist Chris (Mary Walden) and DJ Monica (Deanna Haas) - upset the locals with their progressive feminist thinking, the superstitious menfolk begin to believe that the women are the reincarnations of the long-dead witches.Ulli Lommel is the man responsible for the atrocious Boogeyman II (1983), but his next film, The Devonsville Terror (also '83), is surprisingly fun. The premise is trite, and the slow-burn approach might be off-putting to some, but the film is atmospheric, well acted and actually makes sense. It also features a solid supporting turn from Donald Pleasence as the town's doctor, some gratuitous nudity, and is top and tailed by gnarly violence, starting with the three executions - the first woman is eaten alive by pigs, the second is rolled down a hill strapped to a flaming cartwheel, and the third is burnt at the stake - and ending with some satisfying splatter - an axe in the head, an exploding noggin, and a Raiders of the Lost Ark style melting face - all of which goes to make it a more than reasonable time-waster.6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

"The Devonsville Terror" focuses on a small town in New England where three women perceived to be witches were executed in 1683. 300 years later, a mysterious woman, Jenny (Suzanna Love) arrives in town as the new school teacher. She seems to be a student of the feminist movement, which doesn't sit well in these parts. Little has changed in Devonsville— the one room schoolhouse has a class of about 20 kids and still has a fireplace, and the people still seem to have retained a colonial mindset. The arrival of two other women (a scientist and a female sex radio host) gets the townsmen riled up and curious as to whether or not the witches have returned reincarnated. Meanwhile, a doctor (Donald Pleasance) spends all of his screen time pulling worms out of his arm and studying a curse bestowed on his family linked back to the executions.I'm not even going to get into Uli Lommel's filmography of the past decade because it truly is that bad, but I will stand up for him on two counts, because he did make two decent horror films in the '80s: this, and "The Boogeyman" (1980). "The Devonsville Terror" plays out like a Halloween TV movie of the week and draws from historical occurrences such as the Salem witch trials. Because of this, the script is actually pretty informed and intelligent in terms of logistics. It's a Lommel film, so some coherence has either been lost in editing or was never entirely present to begin with, but overall it's a mostly cohesive picture.It's obvious from the get-go that this film's thematics are rooted in feminism, and it acts as a reiteration of the modern issue of cultural progress vs. tradition, which, for a horror film, is a bit sophisticated. All three of the modern female characters who enter the town represent three things that much of conservative America fears: feminism, sexuality, and science. That alone sets this film apart for me and elevates it above most horror fodder. Thematically, this film is far elevated above what it need be.As for the horror— it's not scary. There are a few spooky shots and some really cool camera-work (the kaleidoscopic flashback shots of the witch executions are the things horror classics are made of), but I'd say it's more atmospheric than anything. It has the autumnal New England setting down to a tee, and is a perfect October/November watch. The opening scene in the film where the witches are executed is perhaps the best scene in the film, and really sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Not only is it well shot, but it's also well acted and actually still fairly shocking.The acting in the film is not great, but is good. Suzanna Love plays the vulnerable, educated schoolteacher and has a gentleness that juxtaposes nicely with the harsh, judgmental nature of the townsfolk who seem to be against her. Donald Pleasance has little screen time and spends all of it in a single setting pulling worms out of his arms (which is apparently the result of a curse by the witches tracing back through his paternal lineage), but he's a pleasure to watch as always.Overall, "The Devonsville Terror" is a shocker for those who thought Uli Lommel never made a decent film. This is not a bad movie. It's actually on par or even above average as far as '80s horror goes, and it is a thematically sophisticated genre film. Not only is it well made, but it's also plain fun to watch. Definitely not something just anyone would enjoy, but if you like your witches and ghouls served '80s TV movie style, then "The Devonsville Terror" is prime pickings. 7/10.

Weak, ponderous cheap-jack horror by Ulli Lommel that never really gets going and ends up with so many holes, unexplained details that only confuse and make things plod from one disconnected scene to another. So many questions, very little answers. The sloppy execution doesn't fair up any better, but the decent concept was never entirely realised and given minor treatment. Gladly there's an unpleasant side cooking up some hokey low-budget make-up FX with icky and over-the-top side-effects. Add a dash of gratuitous topless nudity too. There's an effectively bloody gore scene or two (and laser eyes?!) at the end, but it's all soon but forgotten with an uninspired ending. Watch as an memorizing Donald Pleasance slums about in a role, which he spends most of the time picking out maggots from his arm (due to a witch's curse) or hypnotizing patients to recall those good old times of witch-burning in Devonsville to hopefully rid him of this curse. The obscure superstitious framework manages to paint all shades of greys and help settle in a disquieting atmospheric tone. The rural country setting oozes organic creepiness and an ominously crawling score is another added addition. The alluring Suzanna Love is nothing more than sound and others such as Robert Walker and Paul Wilson are droningly okay. Far from terrible, just unwarrantably stilted modern-day (although there's reminiscent flashbacks of the past that we learn that there just might be a little more to the new teacher in town) witchcraft nonsense.

Three women are killed, by pigs, a burning wagon wheel, and a burning at the stake, for witchcraft. Whether they were really witches or not is not clear, though as I've read someone else point out: there is a curse on the Doctor's family that appears to be real.The Doctor, played by Donald Pleasance, has maggots poking out of his skin that he plucks out with tweezers. He continues to practice even though this doesn't seem very hygienic. He'd like to end the curse (understandably), but it's unclear what he does towards that end. He hypnotizes some people so that they remember their past lives, or their ancestors' lives, or maybe he's implanting suggestions.Three women arrive in town about simultaneously: a radio host, an environmentalist, and a school teacher. The townspeople mostly don't like them, and begin to think they are witches, partly misunderstanding the women, partly making up lies about them.There are some good scenes, and while a bit slow, its main fault seems to be holes in the story. There's a lot of information missing that is not of the sort that can be left as mysteries.There's a really terrible demon or devil face that appears a few times. It looks sort of like what Bill Paxton's character turns into in Weird Science. There's also some bad voice-over at the beginning and end that is evidently supposed to be by the Doctor (Donald Pleasance), but sounds more like Kiefer Sutherland (who is not in the movie).