The Devils (1971) #Banned #Horror

Several countries banned The Devils (1971) for many years because of its content; not sure why, besides it was the 1970s. It appears that the version on Shudder is missing two minutes of the original 111-minute film, which could be compression, I guess. Another thing of great interest behind this film is that it originally had an X rating; you can imagine my expectations.

Sexy AF Oliver Reed takes the lead role of Father Urbain Grandier and Vanessa Redgrave as Sister Jeanne des Anges. Both take on the historical roles amazingly, though neither have ever disappointed me.

With 59 minutes left, I’m still waiting for the extremeness that caused all the hubbub back in the day. That’s not to say that I’m not enjoying The Devils because I am. The strangeness of each scene is off the charts. The visions, the mockery, and all the other stuff are extraordinary, reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange (1971) in styling. The set reminds me of something too, with its sterileness, that I still can’t put my finger on; maybe 2001: A Space Odessy (1968).

The Devils is a dark and strange film; though not frightening, it does have some great thrills. I see how the Catholic Church was offended by this production, though I still don’t understand the X rating it received or why they banned it for so long (maybe, that was in the missing 2 minutes).

If you have Shudder (an excellent reason to use the free trial if you don’t), put this at the top of your watch list. I enjoyed this film and gave it 5 out of 5 Stars.