The Devil's Bath
Directed by Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala
In 1750 Austria, a deeply religious woman named Agnes has just married her beloved, but her mind and heart soon grow heavy as her life becomes a long list of chores and expectations. Day after day, she is increasingly trapped in a murky and lonely path leading to evil thoughts, until the possibility of committing a shocking act of violence seems like the only way out of her inner prison. Giving a voice to the invisible and unheard women of the rural past, THE DEVIL’S BATH is based on historical court records about a shocking, hitherto unexplored chapter of European history.
From the directors of Goodnight Mommy, comes a chilling psychological descent into the rural past.
Cast: Anja Plaschg, David Scheid, Maria Hofstätter, Natalija Baranova, Camilla Schielin, Lorenz Tröbinger, Claudia Martini, Agnes Lampl, Lukas Walcher, Reinhold Felsinger, Elias Schützenhofer
Member Reviews
Damn. It got better and better. Many unexpected shockers. Excellent flick from acting, score,
A cold and chilling movie that depicts how evil humans truly were, are, and possibly will always be. It's a slow burner, capable of transporting you to another time. I loved it, but it is one of those one time hits that I won't revisit because of how heavy a blow it delivered.
The past is full of evil and the need to go back to the 'good old days' is fiction. Do you know how twisted your belief system has to be to think suicide to be worse than murder?
Still thinking about this one months after watching it. It's a grim and gorgeously shot historical account of how gender, family structures and marriage, religion, rural economic hardship and isolation broke people down and pushed them to violence in search of relief. This movie really spoke to me about misunderstood neurodivergence, autism specifically, and depression. Being set in the 18th century, it obviously never explicitly mentions autism. But IYKYK. It's heartbreaking, but I also found it tragically validating and deeply moving.
the lead actress was incredible.