Ten years ago, a small but really nasty horror film sneaked into the cinema. In I See, I See, two brothers don’t recognize their mother when she returns from the hospital after an operation. Who is the woman under the facial bandage? Through children’s eyes we experience a nightmare that the film world has never forgotten. Even a US remake called Goodnight Mommy has now been released.
The Austrian directing duo Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala are behind I see, I see. With the icy mystery horror The Lodge, the two made their English-language debut five years after their notable success. For their new Berlinale film, the historical psychological thriller Des Teufels Bad, they return to their homeland and immerse themselves in it dark chapter of Austrian history.
Horror at the Berlinale: The Devil’s Bath tells a terrible story in 18th century Austria
The Devil’s Bath takes us to the year 1750. We find ourselves in a remote region in Upper Austria, where the people in Poverty and fear life. Everyone is a strict believer and no one dares to break out of the social conventions of the time. Work determines life – and God. However, he doesn’t seem to be too nice. He primarily comes up with punishments.
The devil’s bath
Ulrich Seidl film production / local film
The worst thing a person can do in this world is to take one’s life. Even the murderer of a baby, whom we watch in the act in the first minutes of the film, is given the opportunity to be redeemed in the confessional. Only then is her head cut off. Anyone who commits suicide ends up straight in hell – the greatest fear among ordinary people who struggle through the dreary everyday life.
When the religious Agnes (Anja Plaschg) gets married, it looks for a moment as if there will be a small departure from this misery. In the end, however, exactly the opposite happens: marriage is for her to prison, both literally and figuratively. The new home already turns out to be a stony dungeon into which hardly any daylight penetrates. Here she is supposed to cook for her husband and give him a child.
But Agnes doesn’t fit into this world. The wedding day smile fades. The dominance of her mother-in-law (Maria Hofstätter) bothers her, as does the passive behavior of her husband (David Scheid). Agnes gets lost in loneliness and would like to disappear from the face of the earth. It quickly becomes clear where The Devil’s Bad is heading. The prologue with the infanticide sets out the path of suffering.
The Devil’s Bad: Comes for the unpleasant atmosphere and stays for Anja Plaschg’s strong performance
The Horror in the face of children’s eyes can definitely be identified at this point as the unifying motif of the horror stories that Franz and Fiala have brought to the cinema in recent years. Both I See, I See and The Lodge draw heavily on the uncomfortable atmosphere that arises when the lives of innocents are at stake and a great evil is brewing.
The devil’s bath
Ulrich Seidl film production / local film
For two hours, Franz and Fiala guide us through the forest in the guise of a bleak historical film as a labyrinth for the characters proves, especially Agnes. She often wanders around, gets lost and comes home too late. It’s damp and cold. Leaves rustle, branches crackle and an ominous fog hangs between the trees. Nobody gets out of here. The mood could hardly be more hopeless.
The Devil’s Bath thrives on its oppressive setting. The fact that the film works is primarily due to its fantastic leading actress. Anja Plaschg is best known as a musician. Under the name of Soap&Skin she has been providing engaging sounds since the late 2000s. She ventured in front of the camera with Still Life and The Dreamed Ones. Now she expresses Agnes’ suffering on the big screen.
What is actually remembered is less the obvious scenes of suffering than the grueling moments of uncertainty. Plaschg captures her character’s insecurity with subtle gestures and looks. Sometimes it seems as if she herself would disappear into the darkness of the stone house sparse light illuminates her facial features. However, the life in it dies out from minute to minute.
No wonder: the story behind The Devil’s Bath is deeply disturbing. Agnes represents the women who resorted to violence in the 18th century to end their lives – as Murderers whose sins are forgiven. Franz and Fiala use lonely images to show how someone can commit such a desperate act. The Devil’s Bath is an extremely devastating film.
The Devil’s Bath is in competition at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival. A German cinema release has not yet been determined.