The Devonsville Terror

The Devonsville Terror

Year: 1983

Runtime: 82 mins

Language: English

Director: Ulli Lommel

HorrorHorror the undead and monster classicsTerrifying haunted and supernatural horrorCreepy chilling and terrifying horrorGory gruesome and slasher horror

Centuries after being burned as a witch, the vengeful spirit returns to Devonsville. Dr. Worley delves into the 300‑year‑old curse haunting the New England town. Three independent, outspoken women settle there, provoking the town’s patriarchal leaders. One of them is the witch’s reincarnation, and she exacts brutal revenge on the community.

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Timeline & Setting – The Devonsville Terror (1983)

Explore the full timeline and setting of The Devonsville Terror (1983). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

1683; 1980s

The narrative toggles between the colonial-era 1683 witch trials in Devonsville and a contemporary era roughly three centuries later. The 17th-century sequences evoke communal paranoia and brutal executions, while the present-day setting centers on a small town dealing with the lingering curse and the clash between science and superstition.

Location

Devonsville, Massachusetts

Devonsville is a small, traditionally conservative farming town in rural Massachusetts. The town's history is marked by the Devonsville Inquisition, when three women were executed as witches, an event that casts a long shadow over the present. In the modern era, Devonsville remains insular and suspicious of outsiders, yet its vulnerabilities to superstition fuel the plot's supernatural threat.

❄️ Small-town 🏛️ History 🕯️ Supernatural

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:43

Main Characters – The Devonsville Terror (1983)

Meet the key characters of The Devonsville Terror (1983), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Dr. Warley (Donald Pleasence)

The town's physician who leads the inquiry into the so-called witch curse. He becomes personally afflicted by a worm-infested illness linked to his ancestors' role in the historic inquisition, blurring science with superstition. His hypnosis sessions probe suspects and reveal the deeper connections between past and present.

⚕️ Doctor 🧭 Investigator 🕯️ Supernatural

Jenny Scanlon (Suzanna Love)

A new schoolteacher whose arrival stirs the town’s prejudices. She champions progressive ideas and challenges conservative norms, while receiving eerie manifestations that hint at reincarnated witchcraft. Jenny asserts agency and ultimately channels unknown powers to confront the conspiracy.

👩‍🏫 Teacher 🗣️ Activist 🔮 Witchcraft

Chris (Mary Walden)

An environmental scientist investigating pollution at a lake that feeds into Devonsville. Her work threatens the town’s complacent authorities, making her a target of hostility. Chris embodies rational inquiry clashing with superstition and social control.

🌊 Scientist 🧪 Researcher ♻️ Environment

Monica (Deanna Haas)

A radio DJ who often dispenses advice to women, challenging traditional gender roles. Her progressive voice angers male townspeople who fear losing control. Monica becomes a focal point in the community’s struggle between modernity and patriarchal authority.

🎙️ Radio 👩‍💼 Activist 🚺 Feminism

Walter Gibbs (Paul Willson)

A shopowner and domineering patriarch who murders his sick wife for an insurance payout and fixates on Jenny. His abuse and obsession reflect the town’s patriarchy and willingness to destroy those who threaten it. His arc ends in the nightmare of being consumed by the witchcraft he helped to unleash.

👔 Patriarch 🔪 Violence 💰 Insurance

Ralph Pendleton (Michael Accardo)

A friendly town member whose lineage ties him to the inquisition—his ancestor accused Jessica Morley. He becomes complicit in the plan against the three women, illustrating how family history feeds present-day bigotry.

👨‍👦 Family 🧭 Investigator 🔍 Inquisition

Matthew Pendleton (Robert Walker Jr.)

A member of the local group who kidnaps the women to reenact the original inquisition. His actions show how community members can become instruments of historical cruelty when stirred by fear and power.

🤝 Accomplice 🗡️ Violence 🧭 Conspiracy

Witch I (Morrigan Hurt)

One of the three witches executed in 1683, her memory resurfaces as part of the curse. The portrayal anchors the film’s supernatural thread and the victims’ ancestral guilt.

🪄 Witchcraft 📜 History 👁️ Memory

Witch II (Barbara Cihlar)

The second of the 1683 witches whose death fuels the town’s modern terror. Her story reinforces the cycle of persecution and revenge that repeats across centuries.

🪄 Witchcraft 📜 History 👁️ Memory

Witch III (Leslie Smith)

The third witch whose apparition forecasts the danger looming over Devonsville. Her fate is tied to the future generations who must confront the past.

🪄 Witchcraft 📜 History 👁️ Memory

Executioner (Paul Bentzen)

The enforcer of the original inquisition who oversaw the brutal executions. In the present, the tale revisits that legacy through the town’s revived fear and its repercussions.

⚔️ Violence 🧭 History 🕯️ Supernatural

Priest (Wally Flaherty)

The town priest who embodies religious authority and contributes to the atmosphere of moral panic. He represents the church’s complicity in the community’s prejudice and fear.

⛪ Priest 🗣️ Authority ⚖️ Morality

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:43

Major Themes – The Devonsville Terror (1983)

Explore the central themes of The Devonsville Terror (1983), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🪄 Witchcraft

The film treats witchcraft as a traumatic, hereditary force that can be revived through belief and fear. The witches' curses are not just magical acts but manifestations of historical guilt carried by descendants. Reincarnation and bloodlines blur the line between myth and present danger, driving the plot as past sins demand reckoning.

👭 Feminism

Three women challenge a patriarchal town culture, asserting independence in work, education, and media. Their presence provokes hostility from male town leaders who want to preserve traditional authority. The narrative centers on female solidarity and resistance against misogynistic control, culminating in the eruption of witchcraft as a weapon.

🕰️ Legacy

The Devonsville Inquisition's crimes echo across generations, shaping distrust, violence, and communal paranoia. The modern townspeople's actions reveal how inherited guilt can mirror the brutality of the past. Only by confronting this legacy can the current community hope to break the cycle of terror.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 13:43

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The Devonsville Terror Summary

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The Devonsville Terror Summary

The Devonsville Terror Timeline

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The Devonsville Terror Timeline

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