Goodnight Mommy and The Lodge directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala are back with another harrowing tale, but this time hewing closer to real life than providing a genre twist. The Devil’s Bath, which premiered at Berlinale earlier this year, follows a woman in 1750s Austria who commits a horrible act to be freed from her isolated life. Starring Anja Plaschg, David Scheid, and Maria Hofstätter, the first trailer and poster have now arrived ahead of a U.S. release.
Here’s the synopsis: “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.”
Savina Petkova said in her review, “Early Modern times were messy: Europe was finding its footing in rationalism, seeking independence from the centuries-long spiritual yoke of Catholicism and Protestantism. Shedding the skin of the past seems, at least from our standpoint today, the best thing that could have happened to modern man. Preempting industrialization and a desire-fulfilling capitalist society, the journey towards Enlightenment positioned its preceding times as ‘The Dark Ages.’ But the freedom to live or die was certainly a luxury for many––especially women caught in the patriarchal webs of rural life. Ewa Lizlfellner was one such woman who didn’t want to live, but to die.”
See the trailer below.
The Devil’s Bath opens at IFC Center on July 21 and arrives on Shudder on July 28.