Horror Movie Review: The Severed Sun (2024)

Directed by Dean Puckett (his feature debut), who wrote the screenplay and based it (loosely) on his 2018 short The Sermon. The Severed Sun stars Emma Appleton, Toby Stephens and Lewis Gribben.

A slow-burn, narrative-driven British folk horror can go one of two ways. We can get something iconic like The Wicker Man, or we can get something hilariously bad like The Wicker Tree. Often, sadly, it’s the latter that we get but every once in a while, we get something like The Severed Sun. A compelling watch with an interesting set of characters and a story that stands out.

It’s a good film. One that just needed to be a bit braver regarding certain religious aspects (and its ending) to really be special.

The film is set on an isolated island amongst a small religious community where the Pastor (Toby Stephens) rules with a bit of an iron fist by simply using the word of God to strike fear into the hearts of his folk. One person isn’t as convinced as she was and that’s his daughter, Magpie (Emma Appleton). Not only losing her faith in God, but her faith in her father. Something made easier by the fact that he arranged her marriage to an abusive husband.

Retribution eventually comes for her husband when Magpie snaps and in an effort to save her son, kills the man. Along with her stepson, David (Lewis Gribben), she is able to make it look like a drunken accident, but not everyone is convinced. A situation made worse when other men wind up dead and whispers of a devilish beast in the woods grow in volume.

Will the Pastor be able to control his folk? Will he be forced to make an example of his daughter? Or has God abandoned them all and left them to the Devil’s whims?

The Severed Sun plays coy with a lot of this stuff and is actually better for it as we get a ton of atmosphere, and the payoffs are almost always worth it. Magpie is a very sympathetic character (Emma Appleton is great) and her defiance in the face of unwavering belief is something I can get behind, yet the film cleverly keeps us guessing as to her true motivations and her relationship with ‘the beast’. You’ll find yourself wondering just how real everything actually is, and credit to all involved for making it both feel and look authentic.

I particularly liked the story around the Pastor, who, slowly but surely, realises that his daughter is beyond saving and to keep his flock in line, he will have to do something extreme. Especially as his character is layered and Toby Stevens does a great job in the role.

It’s not all story and character work though and as a horror film, The Severed Sun also works, thanks to moments of gore and violence that, even when used sparingly, stand out. Alongside solid creature design, the strong sense of isolation that the location offers, and a sense that there’s something just out of sight, helps make it feel like a horror. It’s not going to scare anyone, and the focus is still mostly on atmospheric drama, but it helps make the film more enjoyable as a whole.

Which it is. A modern British folk horror that isn’t rubbish. What a nice surprise.