One of the Most Controversial Films Ever Made is Back on Streaming, and It’s a Must-See
Horror films and controversy have always gone hand in hand, but some entries in the genre rise to a different level of infamy. Extreme gore and sexual content are one thing, and extreme thematic content is another. Combine the two, and you get a recipe for something truly notorious that, however briefly, rocks the cinema world.
If you’re like me, you’re the kind of horror fan who finds it important to seek these films out. It’s fascinating to know where the boundaries are in film at any given time, and then find the movies that push past them. Now, one of the most famous examples of that kind of horror is back on streaming, and it’s a must-watch.
As part of its September lineup, The Criterion Channel has launched a new “nunsploitation” collection of genre films, headlined by Ken Russell’s The Devils. Released in 1971, it’s a combination of historical drama and psychosexual horror all colliding with Catholicism. The result is a film condemned by the Vatican, lambasted by critics, and heavily censored by film boards. It’s also a masterpiece of provocative horror.
Set in 17th century France, the film follows a corrupt priest named Grandier (Oliver Reed) and the local abbess, Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave) who’s obsessed with him. Through a tangled web of politics, religion, love, sex, and deceit, Grandier is accused of bewitching the nuns and possessing them with demons, leading to a mass-exorcism that rocks the whole of France. The film is based on real accounts of possession and witchcraft in Loudun, France in the 17th century, and both Reed and Redgrave are playing versions of real people.
When The Devils was released, it ranked as one of the most controversial films of its era. The Vatican called it “an insult to cinema” and called on exhibitors to refuse to show it. One sequence, involving sex acts with a crucifix, was cut from the film entirely by censors and wasn’t rediscovered until decades later. An uncut, X-rated version was eventually re-released. Roger Ebert lambasted the film in a sarcastic review, which took Russell to task for what he saw as the surface-level depiction of real-life atrocities as some kind of metaphor for modern life.
But controversy alone is not enough to make a film endure, at least not in the way that The Devils has. Yes, horror fans like me will seek out the darkest films possible just to say that we did, but there’s something else at work here. Through its design, its performances, and its unflinching commitment, The Devils rises above simple infamy to become something special, arguably the best nunsploitation movie ever made. If you’re looking for 70s horror or religious horror essentials, it’s a must-see.
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