'The Severed Sun' Review: Cults, Control, and the Shadows Cast by Faith
- Romey Norton
- 2 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By Romey Norton - May 11, 2025
The Severed Sun is an eerie, slow-burning folk nightmare set in rural England's damp, creeping wilderness. Directed and written by Dean Puckett, the film wraps classic horror motifs in a disturbingly modern package. The real terror isn’t just lurking in the woods, it's woven into belief systems, social hierarchies, and the lies we tell to keep order.
The film follows a young woman named Magpie, raised in a secluded religious commune where everything, from marriage to music to medicine, is controlled by a rigid doctrine and its all-seeing leader, her father, the pastor. When a man is murdered, terror rips through their insular world, and her belief starts to fail.. Whispers of something unnatural begin to surface. Is it divine punishment, or something far older? What is the strange ‘beast’ that lives in the forest - if there is one at all?
The Severed Sun isn’t about cheap scares or gory spectacle. Instead, it thrives on unease, with lingering silences, long shadows, and the creeping suspicion that nothing is as it seems. You feel this right from the opening credits, which are filled with eerie music leading to shots of the moon. Puckett draws on the tradition of British folk horror but adds a distinctly modern anxiety: what happens when the community that raised you might also destroy you?
Lead actress Emma Appleton gives a hauntingly restrained performance, pulling viewers deep into Magpie’s inner world without ever veering into melodrama. Her journey is gripping, painful, and quietly powerful. Emma does an excellent job as Magpie begins to question the strict rules that have defined her entire life. Her acting helps aid the blend between the psychological and supernatural.
The rest of the cast are just as compelling in their creepy, culty way. Everyone has a strong chemistry and drives the story along. To say the dialogue is simple, it’s intriguing and will keep you invested as a viewer. This level of intrigue helps the strong pace of the film - the 120 minutes flew by.
The cinematography is beautiful. The film is filled with captivating images of thick forests, long landscapes, and ritualistic imagery, and rural decay is captured in moody, mist-soaked frames. There’s a section of the film that is shot in infrared, which only adds to the creepiness of what is lurking in the woods.
The creature/beast in the woods isn’t anything too frightening visually, but mentally, what it represents is fighting against patriarchal control, oppression, and the desire for freedom.
At its core, The Severed Sun is a story of awakening. The horror is psychological as much as supernatural. This is a film about control; who has it, how they keep it, and what it takes to break free. With an ending that’s twisted and powerful, The Severed Sun will make you think and freak you out at the same time.
Fans of The Witch and The Village will feel right at home here, though “home” might not be the word you'd use after watching. There’s a thematic weight beneath the surface: how institutions use fear to maintain power, how isolation distorts truth, and how terrifying it is to step into the unknown, even when it means freedom. The Severed Sun is a gripping horror, you must watch it!
The Severed Sun releases in cinemas & on digital platforms May 16
Want more slow-burn horror and off-the-grid thrillers?
Head to Film Focus Online for reviews of the best indie and cult cinema, where the strange, the spooky, and the socially sharp all get their moment in the dark!
