A depraved spectacle of power and sacrilege. Maybe accidentally the most Catholic movie ever, I can't think of anything else that is as committed to mirroring the suffering of Christ in defiance of corrupt leaders. Also captures the torturous double bind of love and damnation that is trying to live knowing you are born a sinner.
Everyone is acting (read: screaming) their asses off, with Michael Gothard being particularly terrifying as the witch hunter priest (I hate how hot this evil, evil character is, lord rid me of these impure thoughts). The set designs are fascinating in how untethered they feel from any specific time or place. Every object and building is caught between a baroque past and the blunted future to come, leading to amazing environments like the subway tunnels of the convent or the concentric tower Grandier calls home.
Having seen Benedetta first I was familiar with the basic premise, but was surprised how The Devils is primarily a political farce moreso than an interpersonal one like Verhoeven's version. I am not too interested in reading this as a libertarian small government warning (though it's definitely there), but even detached from any particular politics the depiction of an unscrupulous power hungry state is among the most damning I've ever seen. Have not hated fictional characters this much in a long time. Especially appreciated the degree to which it's evident the siezing of Loudun is in defiance of its populace rather than just a single man (though I wish it was emphasized a bit more). Everyone will be suffocated under the boot of nationalist expansion.
No idea how Bunsen and Beaker got cast in this as plague doctors. Gruesome stuff.
Content warnings: torture, medical assault, death by fire, suicide attempt, gaslighting, mass graves