Had Robert Eggers’ The Witch (2015) not existed, The Sudbury Devil could have come off as something refreshingly original, at least on a conceptual level. That doesn’t mean I am alleging Andrew Rakich’s movie of cribbing off Eggers’ modern-day masterpiece. The inspiration is clearly visible, but Rakich’s folk horror is majorly Lynchian in nature as well. That obviously means the narrative, although there is one, is the secondary component in this movie. The movie understandably grows bizarre with every passing minute and ends at a point where you feel very confused (most likely). However, if you’re well-versed in American history, especially that of New England, then you can figure out what this movie is really about, underneath all the craziness. Of course, I’m going to try to break it down in this article as well.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens in the Movie?
At Sudbury, Massachusetts, a pair of magistrates, Josh Cutting and John Fletcher, are warmly received by this man, Thomas Russell. They are here for a rather grave matter, though. It’s Russell’s boss, Isaac Goodnow, who has invited them. Apparently, Isaac has recently been possessed by evil in the woods of Sudbury, and he feels guilt over the sins he’s committed. What he basically wants is the magistrates investigating the matter and taking care of the devil in the woods nearby, if there is indeed one. So they go into the woods, and it doesn’t take long for Isaac to start acting a little weird. When everyone sleeps at night, you see this Native woman, appearing out of nowhere, place her two fingers on Fletcher’s lips (while he is asleep), and it does seem a lot like she’s taking some of his saliva and then putting it inside her mouth. They soon come across a very distinct-looking stone in the middle of the jungle, which, according to Isaac, is the source of anything terrible. That night, Fletcher is horrified to find Isaac gratifying himself with the stone. Isaac blames it on the devil and allows himself to be chained to a tree. Soon, a Black woman appears out of nowhere and behaves erratically. The magistrates find her offensive, and like Isaac, they chain her to another tree as well. Isaac happens to know this woman, named Flora. She used to be the housemaid of one of the settlers, Cavett (who’s now dead). Apparently, his widow, Patience (the same woman who came the other night), and Flora are now conjuring all the evils of Sudbury.
What really is the devil?
The answer to the question lies in how you perceive the movie. You might consider every single spooky thing happening from the point of Flora’s arrival as a manifestation of guilt and PTSD symptoms of Fletcher (it’s his point of view from which we see the entire story). There are flashbacks from which it is evident that Fletcher has played an important role in the colonization of America, including torturing the natives and taking over their land barbarically. Of course, he thinks of himself as the good guy here, who swears by his Christian faith and considers himself a Puritan. Not that the movie says anything about it directly, but witchcraft has been known to be a survival mechanism of the weak—here, the Native Americans in this context (both Indians and black people). For men like Fletcher and Cutting, these people’s sole purpose in life is nothing but serving them, the superior race. Anything other than that is seen as sin by them and classified as an act of the Devil.
Alternatively, we might as well embrace everything supernatural that we see as things that are actually happening. But no matter how you see the story, things turn out the same either way. Fletcher and Cutting are paying for their sins. The Devil (let’s just use the term for the sake of simplification) corrupts Fletcher first, when he is unable to control his physical desire for Flora (who seems to be very willing) and ends up fornicating. Isaac, still tied to the tree, can’t help but get off while Fletcher and Flora are at it. Of course, when he returns to his senses, Fletcher is mortified for his shameful act and apologizes to Cutting. In case you are wondering, sex with non-white people is labeled as a shameful act for the Puritan magistrate. Quite naturally, Cutting is not okay with Fletcher’s debauchery and promises to punish him when the time comes. Sadly for him, Patience finally appears and takes control of the situation, as does Fletcher, who switches sides in no time. It takes a while to mold him, but Patience seems like a woman who can’t be contained by anyone.
Things go as per the Devil’s wishes, until Flora dies while trying to deliver Fletcher’s baby. Patience seems to lose it after that, and Isaac appears to completely submit himself to her—so much so that he wouldn’t hesitate slitting his own neck and bleeding out to death, following her orders. However, Fletcher does manage to break free of the spell and escape. Outside the woods, he comes across Russell and another man, who claims to be Mr. Cavett, aka Patience’s husband. Were you surprised when Fletcher found out that Patience was dead? Probably not, I suppose.
Do Fletcher and Patience kill each other?
One thing that I’m pretty certain about with The Sudbury Devil is that this movie is not about your good versus evil. The story here is a reminder of the ugly history of colonization in America. Fletcher, Cutting, Russell, Isaac, and Mr. Cavett are all part of that group of Englishmen who are committing the sin and then paying for it. There is an obvious gender hierarchy here, which is a given considering the time period this story is set in. Speaking of time period, you must have noticed the very random modern-day building and the very noticeable sound of an ambulance during the climax, which might feel confusing to you. I thought that was a great touch by the director, as it practically tells the audience that the sins of past America have never left America.
As far as the ending goes, a bloody confrontation between Fletcher and Patience was on the cards, and both violently killing each other in the most grotesque manner you can imagine is only natural given the circumstances. What probably isn’t is these two also going at it while killing each other. However, sexual desire is a powerful tool in this narrative. Fletcher, as we’ve already seen before, was riddled with guilt and eventually gave into Florence’s advances. On the other hand, Patience’s husband was cruel to her and didn’t give her the kind of love she deserved or wanted. So in her final moment, she went for a thing that she never got to have—fulfillment of sexual desire—and Fletcher, despite being the enemy, appeared as the right choice. I might be reading too much, but that’s all that can be done here, as I don’t think the director had any intention to provide us with a climax that has a definitive answer.
