Des Teufels Bad

A very brutal historical drama that revels in its naturalistic depiction of various strange rituals and superstitions of the time. I can't judge for myself how much of it is completely rooted in 18th century European reality, but really, what the hell going on here a few centuries ago? We meet the heroine, Agnes, on the supposed happiest day of her life, when she marries the affable fat man Wolf. But it soon becomes clear that her future life with him is not as rosy as she thought it would be. A dark cabin in the woods isn't exactly a Hilton hotel and fishing isn't exactly a dream job. And then there are the daily visits from her nagging mother-in-law, who also chides her for not getting pregnant, when the real reason for the absence of a pregnant belly is that her husband would much rather – if the social conventions of the time allowed it – devote himself to a guy from the village than to her. Growing frustration takes Agnes to a very dark place... I was a little worried that Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz would move away from the horror genre with this film, but my fears were misplaced. The Devil’s Bath may not be a straightforward genre film, but it offers plenty of horrific imagery and uncomfortable scenes. And it beautifully exposes the absurdities of the Christian mindset, for which it always gets a point in my book. (27.06.2024)

Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz may be among the best directors in Austria, but their work is very art/slowburn, so they rarely hit my taste and this time it was again only halfway. There's an interesting period setting in the 18th century where traditions, rituals and rules were quite cruel and harsh. As a period historical drama it works quite well, but there are very few characters and unfortunately it doesn't try to tell a more interesting story and occasionally the filmmakers spice it up with a slightly more unpleasant scene, but it never really packs a punch (they could have easily shown that rape!!), the pace drags, nothing much happens (the main first hour is exhausting), so the rating is definitely decided for me. I was most impressed with the final ritual, it was decently sick, but nothing memorable. 5.5/10. (05.07.2024)