Movie Review: The Devil’s Bath

Oftentimes, the monsters or killers in movies are a metaphor for some great social wrong, lending a feeling of gravitas to otherwise “popcorn” material. In the case of Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz’ historical horror film they have opted to instead show us the frightening reality of the way that women were treated in 18th century Austria (and presumably throughout much of the rest of the Western World), and the result is striking in its ability to viscerally upset the viewer and sear itself into their consciousness.

After first witnessing a woman driven by unknown causes to commit a shocking act of violence and then being punished for it, we are introduced to Agnes (Anja Plaschg). She is traveling with her mother and brother to a small town where she will be wed to Wolf (David Scheid). While everyone around her is overjoyed by the occasion, Agnes herself seems merely resigned to her future, feeling lost among the revelers. As she meanders through the party, she spies on a very intoxicated Wolf telling his best friend Lenz how handsome he is, and Lenz responding that he likes Wolf as well.

Wolf surprises Agnes with a house that he purchased, for which he put the couple into a large amount of debt, and though she is not what one would describe as ecstatic about this “gift”, she resolves herself to make the best of it as it’s relatively large size would be good for raising a family. Speaking of which, when she tries to get started on beginning one, as is expected of her, she is met with a dead bedroom and no indication of what she should do to enliven it.

Her mother-in-law (Maria Hofstätter) arrives at their home every day to inform Agnes about all the ways that she is running her house incorrectly and scolds her every time she expresses kindness to others or admires something beautiful. Unsurprisingly, Wolf is no help with his mother, not even speaking up about his own lack of enthusiasm in the bedroom when Agnes is accused of somehow being incapable of producing a child.

All of this builds and builds inside Agnes and she descends into a state of madness, alternately praying relentlessly at a makeshift altar or lying in bed in a nearly catatonic state, all while becoming obsessed with the story of the woman seen at the beginning of the film. Plaschg gives a stunning and heartbreaking performance as Agnes, capturing every nuance of her emotional state as she is slowly broken by her situation and she will likely move viewers to tears by the end of the film.

While the movie can sometimes feel like it might be heading somewhere supernatural, there is no evil force lurking in the shadows here. The fear comes from the very real way that society at the time mistreated its female members. Everything that goes wrong in her life and household is immediately blamed on Agnes, with no one ever offering any real support or stopping to question if maybe her husband might play some part in it. Certainly no one in their social class had an easy life in that era, but he could at least drink and carouse with his friends while she was made to feel more isolated and alone at every turn.

Cinematographer Martin Gschlacht exhibits a painterly eye as he captures some truly stunning shots of the Austrian forests and star Anja Plaschg contributes a score that smartly blends traditional instruments of the time with ominous synths to intensify the eerie mood. There is little else of beauty here though, as the genre is used to powerful effect in deromanticizing the usual cinematic view of the era and showing it for how truly difficult it must have been, especially for women. And while females certainly have things better now, it’s hard not to notice the ways in which some of these attitudes towards them still remain in modern society.

The best movies linger with the viewer long afterwards, leaving them reimagining and pondering over various moments within them and The Devil’s Bath, based on historical records documented by Kathy Stuart, certainly does that. When it comes full circle to end with another tragedy followed by another, more disturbing celebration, most will be utterly devastated. This is a brilliant but profoundly upsetting movie, anchored by one of the year’s most committed and memorable performances, that uses the past to speak loudly to our world today. ★★★★★