Monday, March 15, 2004
The Devils
By Mujer Del Diablo
Hi. I'm the devil. And if you haven't guessed yet, I'm also a woman. Same thing, right? Welcome to the pleasuredome I call hell. And thanks to the boys at Masked Movie Snobs for being nice enough to make some room for a little lady like me. As the newest member to the site, I'd like to say thanks in advance to those checking in on my reviews, and reading up on the movies that I hate, love, loathe and admire.
For a couple of weeks now, I've been flipping through the bubbling lava of my mind to come up with an appropriate movie to review for my maiden voyage into the cyberworld of movie reviews. And while taking a long, steamy shower the other day, I remembered a scene from a movie that was itself steamy, disgusting, out-of-control-weird, and most of all, appropriately named: The Devils
Also known as: The Devils of Loudon
1971
Directed by Ken Russell
Starring Vanessa Redgrave & Oliver Reed
Runtime: 111 min
Country: UK
Sex. Sin. The plague. Witchcraft. A cult of nuns sexually obsessed with a nasty priest. The Catholic Church...and a hunchback!!! Banned in Finland & Italy. Does this movie sound great or what?
Based on a true story of events occurring in 1634 Loudon, France, The Devils follows the exploits of Urbain Grandier, (played perfectly by ever-so-evil-and-creepy Oliver Reed) a Catholic priest who simply can't help but to stick his penis in every female he comes across (Catholics, you can breathe a sigh of relief, as this movie does not show him with any little boys, yay for you!). Vanessa Redgrave plays the horny hunchback cloister nun who, along with her other "sisters", gradually work themselves up in a sexual frenzy, accusing Father Grandier of visiting their convent and serving up a gang-bang platter. And they all come crashing down.
Add to the mix barfing and bubbling bodies dying slowly from the plague, an invading outside army coming to destroy the city of Loudon, and the bizarre Salem-esque witchtrial of the nuns and you've got yourself a nice cross between Caligula, The Crucible and 28 Days Later.
Both Reeve and Redgrave pull off the best sweaty, breathy performances as tortured sinners, simultaneously trapped and turned on by the constrictive world of the Cloth. Ken Russell's ability to transform a movie set into a surreal portrayal of putrid 17th century France blends well with the gradual madness that eats at his central characters, rotating outward until the entire village has contracted the social, spiritual and sexual virus that can't be cured.
Some people may watch this movie and think that it's just trash, and I have to say...well, I agree. It is trash. It's like Jerry Springer, but set in France...in 1643. But unlike Springer, The Devils is based on a true story, which is more than I can say about the buck-toothed ghetto queens you'll see on channel 2 at 11 am. And for those of you who appreciate trash like I do, I think you'll feel that extra special tingle when you're done watching this movie. Right where it counts the most.
