The Devonsville Terror Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by Ulli Lommel
USA 1983

Nearly 300 years ago, the residents of Devonsville tortured and murdered a trio of women suspected of witchcraft. However, as they burned, the condemned women swore vengeance from beyond the grave...

The Present: Jenny Scanlon has just moved to Devonsville to take up a job as a schoolteacher. While some in the community welcome her more progressive minded approach to education, the town’s older menfolk, all descendants of those responsible for the centuries old witch-hunts, become increasingly suspicious that Jenny, along with two other liberal young women are in fact agents of Satan who have returned from hell to take revenge on behalf of the executed witches. As unexplainable events involving Jenny begin to occur, old superstitions and paranoia run amok, leading to an ever increasing threat of violence... But is the long feared curse in fact coming true?

***

In the late eighteenth century, the New England village of Devonsville sentenced three suspected witches to death. Three hundred years later, the damned town's male populace has barely evolved. When new schoolteacher Jenny Scanlon (Suzanna Love, THE BOOGEY MAN) arrives in town, she becomes the object of attraction to shop owner Walter (CHEERS' Paul Willson) - a widower who has just murdered his ailing wife - and a pair of brothers: gentle Matthew (Robert Walker Jr., PROZZIE) and aggressive Ralph (Michael Accardo, THE DEMONS OF LUDLOW), sons of Aaron Pendleton (Bill Dexter, TWISTER'S REVENGE), direct descendants of the witches' persecutors. Pendleton and the town's other elders are wary about the influence on their children when Jenny makes the supposition in one of her lessons that God could be a woman and opens the discussion to comparative religion, but it is her rebuffing of the overtures of Ralph and Walter that puts her in the bitch category with the town's two other independent females - scientist Chris (Mary Walden, SEX AND THE SINGLE ALIEN) and radio DJ Monica (Deanna Haas) - and give the men of Devonsville a thirst for some old time religion. Set in New England but lensed in snowy Wisconson - around the same time as the similarly-themed but much hokier THE DEMONS OF LUDLOW from Bill Rebane (who served as associate producer here) which also featured Acardo, Dexter, Haas, and Walden - Ulli Lommel's THE DEVONSVILLE TERROR is a horror film with a refreshingly feminist stance, emphasizing the sadism of the witch hunters and the chauvinism of the town's contemporary males in the face of liberated female sexuality combined with the female trio's intellectual superiority. HALLOWEEN's Donald Pleasance picks up a paycheck as local Dr. Worley whose family line suffers from a worm curse that he hopes to cure by bringing the town's centuries old sins to light.

Eric Cotenas

Posters

Theatrical Release: October 1983 (USA)

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Anchor Bay Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC vs. 88 Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. Vinegar Syndrome - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Anchor Bay Entertainment DVD Screen Caps!

Box Covers
			BONUS CAPTURES:
Distribution	Anchor Bay Entertainment Region 0 - NTSC	88 Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray	Vinegar Syndrome - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:21:42	1:22:05.462	1:22:19.142
Video	1.67:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.9 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	Disc Size: 22,940,188,095 bytes Feature Size: 19,160,936,448 bytes Total Bitrate: 27.97 Mbps Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC	Disc Size: 45,163,217,645 bytes Feature Size: 23,996,390,016 bytes Total Bitrate: 34.88 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Bitrate: 88 Films Blu-ray
Bitrate: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray
Audio	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono	LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit	DTS-HD Master Audio English 2042 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2042 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	None	None	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterboxed - 1.67:1 Edition Details: • The Boogey Man on Side A DVD Release Date: 16 February 1999 Amaray Chapters 25	Release Information: Studio: 88 Films Disc Size: 22,940,188,095 bytes Feature Size: 19,160,936,448 bytes Total Bitrate: 27.97 Mbps Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC Edition Details: • Interview with director Ulli Lommel (7:06) • Trailer Reel (18:05) Blu-ray Release Date: December 26th. 2016 Black Blu-ray Cover Chapters 12	Release Information: Studio: Vinegar Syndrome Disc Size: 45,163,217,645 bytes Feature Size: 23,996,390,016 bytes Total Bitrate: 34.88 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG4 - AVC Edition Details: • “God is a Woman” - interview w/ co-writer/actress Suzanna Love (35:22) • It’s Melting Men!” - interview w/ Special effects artist Matthew W. Mungle (15:16) • “The Incredible Melting Man!” - interview w/ Paul Wilson (42:05) • Not Very Nice People (12:10) • Mind of a Chess Player (18:45) • Archival Interview with Ulli Lommel (7:16) • Trailer (1:55) • Behind-the-Scenes Stills Gallery (1:10) Blu-ray Release Date: March 28th, 2023 Transparent Blu-ray Cover inside slipcase Chapters 5

Comments

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Vinegar Syndrome - Region FREE- Blu-ray - March 23': Vinegar Syndrome have transferred Ulli Lommel's "The Devonsville Terror" to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Newly scanned & restored in 2K from its 35mm internegative". In 2016 we reviewed the 88 Films (UK) Region FREE Blu-ray and captures are compared below. The new Vinegar Syndrome 1080P transfer is a significant improvement. This shows in framing, detail, color balance, consistency of grain textures and contrast. It's really no contest. The Vinegar Syndrome can look saturated at times in the comparisons captures but it looked very pleasing on my system. Easily this is the definitive digital presentation of Ulli Lommel's film.

NOTE: We have added 66 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

For audio Vinegar Syndrome use a 24-bit DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track. There are some rudimentary audio, and video, effects (lightening, zapping eyes etc.) and a score credited to Ray Colcord (whose career was almost exclusively in television - over 700 TV shows!) and it does advance the film's supernatural aspects. There are inconsistencies in dialogue volume but I'd put that down to the production - not the transfer. Vinegar Syndrome offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

Vinegar Syndrome offer plenty of supplements. “God is a Woman” is a 35-minute interview with co-writer/actress Suzanna Love about what she remembers from details of the production, her contributions to the script etc. She retired form acting in 1991. "It’s Melting Men!” is a 1/4 hour interview with special effects artist Matthew W. Mungle (prosthetic designer on Ron Howard's Hillbilly Elegy, Scorsese's The Irishman (2019) and Sean Baker's Red Rocket) regarding the finale melting head sequences. “The Incredible Melting Man!” is a 3/4 hour interview with Paul Wilson (Walter Gibbs) known by many for the character of Paul Krapence in 10-years of the TV series Cheers. He discusses his extensive career and the film. Not Very Nice People is a dozen minute interview with make-up artist for the film, Erica Ueland (John Carpenter's The Fog) and Mind of a Chess Player spends just under 20-minute with Jürg V. Walther (who was the cinematographer on Alien Private Eye) the second unit camera operator (as Joerg Walther) on The Devonsville Terror. Lastly are a 7-minute archival interview with Ulli Lommel that was also on the 88 Films Blu-ray release, a trailer and a Behind-the-Scenes stills gallery.

Revisiting The Devonsville Terror I enjoyed it much more than my first exposure. Knowing the modest level of cheesy production quality of the film and the vastly improved a/v transfer spurred me to higher levels of appreciation. Ulli Lommel had some collaboration with Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Andy Warhol and made a few films with, his wife at the time, Suzanna Love (who co-wrote The Devonsville Terror) including Prozzie and The Boogey Man. Love is quite strong here as the passive, girl-next-door schoolteacher cum reincarnated 16th century, vengeful, witch plus the film is buoyed by brief performances from recognizable Donald Pleasence (Ernst Stavro Blofeld to Wake in Fright) and Robert Walker Jr. (everything from ToS to Easy Rider.) Yes, there are female empowerment themes - liberating the trio from past bondage, unjust accusations and... their murders. There is the supernatural and some gorehound-appealing scenes. It's not bad at all and I will definitely watch it again. Vinegar Syndrome do it again - with their strong transfers, impressive extras and cool packaging. Certainly recommended!

***

ADDITION: 88 Films - Region FREE- Blu-ray - March 17': The Blu-ray is cited as "Remastered 2K Transfer from Original Film Materials" and is in the correct 1.85:1 aspect ratio but is cropped on the top and bottom beside the 1999 DVD which shows less on the side edges (notably the left edge.) We presume the letterboxed SD it to be from an open matte print. The 1080P does not look stellar - it is so thick and almost seems like it might have been from 16mm. Colors warm but it has a blue-leaning that doesn't seem accurate.

88 Film use a linear PCM transfer for the audio and it still sounds a bit scattered and screechy - even in the score by Ray Colcord but some bass is exported. No subtitles on either release and that might have been a good idea. The 88 Films Blu-ray is region FREE.

Not much in the way of extras - a 7-minute interview with director Ulli Lommel and the usual 88 Films trailer reel.

I had trouble getting into The Devonsville Terror and my expectations, simply from the excellent title, weren't matched by my viewing. It can look quite amateurish at times - and in others it encourages interest. Bit of a mess, overall.

- Gary and Eric

Menus
(Anchor Bay Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. 88 Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT)

Vinegar Syndrome - Region FREE - Blu-ray

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Screen Captures

Subtitle Sample - Vinegar Syndrome - Region FREE - Blu-ray