The Devils

The Devils (1971)

Runtime: The version on Shudder is 109 minutes long

Directed by: My non-relative Ken Russell

Starring: Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave, Dudley Sutton, Max Adrian, Gemma Jones

From: Warner Brothers released this in the United States; if you've seen this, you'll be amazed at how a major studio would release the wildest s--- back in the day.

Wow, what a movie this was. I mean that as a compliment, as you'll see below:

A few weeks ago, there was a big deal about this movie suddenly showing up on the Shudder streaming service; while not quite the “uncut” version they said it was, the fact of the matter is... since 1971 this movie has almost been impossible to track down and watch so any version should be acceptable to horror fans. I understand this is basically the version released to the United States back in 1971; there were longer versions which had some REALLY explicit moments... what is on Shudder still has plenty of shocking scenes and bits.

As the director was Ken Russell-no relation-it was pretty likely that this would be pretty weird. Boy was I correct. The setting is early 17th century France and it's actually (loosely) based on a real life story. A lascivious priest played by Oliver Reed not only has to deal with Vanessa Redgrave's depraved hunchbacked nun character (no, really) but also the threats of Louis XIII-portrayed here as a fey fop-to take over the town. I won't say much about all the unexpected moments you'll get to see, except that such things as a stuffed crocodile are involved. As you can tell already, it's not the type of look at religion you'd normally expect when you hear that a priest and a nun are involved; believe me, it isn't.

Even in 2017 the movie is shocking and audacious; I can only imagine what it was like seeing something like this then Clockwork Orange in a short amount of time. It is more than just something made to shock and offend. It's an audacious tale which is still enthralling as it's an interesting tale which always left me enraptured. Mr. Russell is certainly a talented director so it's well-shot and there's also an appropriate score from Peter Maxwell Davies. But it is the performances from the two leads which are excellent and they help make me rate this as I do. Redgrave has been in plenty of prestigious work but it's a shame that Reed had such a legendary love for the bottle that it had such a negative effect on his life and he starred in plenty of crappy low-budget films which weren't worthy of a man who had such talents; he nailed some of the over the top moments this film had.

One reason I decided to see this movie was to tell everyone they can see it, at least if they have an account with Shudder. Turns out, I am glad I watched this motion picture; it was something I'll never forget. What a ride it was.