The Devil’s bath – A child for the devil: a chilling psychological drama (review)

ByLeila September 30, 2024September 30, 2024

Portrait of a woman trapped in the throes of depression, in the Austrian countryside, circa 1750. Austere? Yes, but above all very captivating.

The Devil’s Bath: the title is that of a horror film but The Devil’s Bathnew feature from the duo Veronika Franz-Severin Fiala (directors of Goodnight Mommywho also worked with Shyamalan on the series Servant), does not quite fall into the horror genre. Not in the strict sense, at least. The whole film nevertheless feels haunted, shot through with morbid images, immersed in a lugubrious, heavy and neo-Bergmanian atmosphere, which evokes a little the existential darkness in which the The Witch by Robert Eggers. Here too, as with Eggers, it is a question of working to make people feel the reality of a distant and vanished universe, a harsh world where traditions and superstitions gave everyday life an unreal and threatening tone.

This world is Upper Austria in the middle of the 18th century, where the young Alice, shortly after her marriage, sinks into the throes of depression and melancholy – the “devil’s bath”, as they said SO. The film, based on the research of historian Kathy Stuart around the phenomenon of “suicide by proxy”, is carried by a kind of ethnological suspense, slowly revealing the rules which governed the cultural and social universe of the time, explaining little by little his enigmatic incipit: “Unable to live any longer, I decided to commit murder”. Confusing, original, quite haunting, crossed by a heady impression of desolation, The Devil’s Bath confirms that when we say of an Austrian film that it is “chilling”, it is indeed a pleonasm.

By Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. With Anja Plaschg, David Scheid, Maria Hofstätter… Duration 2h01. Released October 2, 2024

Leila

Leila is the editor-in-chief at DTmovies, leading the charge with her team to deliver engaging cinema and series content. With a keen eye for emerging trends and a passion for the stories behind the screen, she is the creative backbone that drives the site’s editorial excellence. Her expertise and dedication have established DTmovies as a go-to source for film and series enthusiasts.