It’s nothing new that women have to play by amorphous yet damning societal rules. Hell, that’s the plot of everything from the Regency-era-set Bridgerton to the modern-day Barbie, and now The Devil’s Bath. But where the first two candy-coat their patriarchal conflict with feminine fashion, pop bangers, and beguiling bursts of colors, the third is a haunting historical drama from the makers of Goodnight Mommy, and the only burst of color is spurting blood.
Ten years ago, Austrian writers/directors Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz broke through with the gruesome and great Goodnight Mommy, which focused on a pair of young twin boys convinced their mother had been replaced by a cruel imitator. The Austrian film proved such a hit with critics and horror fans that it got an English-language remake and the daring duo a star-studded English-language follow-up, the chilly Riley Keough–fronted psychological thriller, The Lodge. With their latest, Fiala and Franz channel their skills for crafting character-driven twisted tales into a drama that has the heady, unnerving atmosphere of religious horror.
But be warned. The Devil’s Bath is not for the faint of heart.
What’s The Devil’s Bath about?
Anja Plaschg and David Scheid in Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s “The Devil’s Bath.”
Credit: Ulrich Seid Film Produktion and Heimatfilm / Shudder
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