The Devil’s Bath (Austria, 2024)

As I mentioned when I reviewed The Lodge earlier this month, I’ve been keen to see what Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala had done recently. There is a malevolent chilliness to their work that appeals to me even when the subject matter doesn’t. The little I’d heard about The Devil’s Bath made it sound more like my kind of thing than Goodnight Mummy/Ich seh, Ich seh, so I was keen to catch up with it.

While The Devil’s Bath is not precisely folk horror, its historical, rural setting means it’s at least folk horror-adjacent. A title card tells us that this film is “based on historical records”, and the closing titles explain those records in more detail. The history that it draws on is nightmarish and still horribly relevant.

Reading about the film afterwards, I learned that it was inspired by a non-fiction book called Suicide by Proxy in Early Modern Germany: Crime, Sin and Salvation by Kathy Stuart. That title alone tells you a lot about the film’s themes. The historical setting and woodland locations also echo those of “The Sinful Women of Hollfall”, the segment Franz and Fiala contributed to The Field Guide to Evil, although that was much lighter fare.

The Devil’s Bath is currently streaming on Shudder in the UK.

Synopsis

It is 1750 in Austria. A woman throws her baby over a waterfall, dashing it on the rocks, then surrenders herself to the church. She is tortured and executed for her crime, her body left on display as a warning to all.

A short while later, newlyweds Agnes and Wolf move into their new home in the forest, which Wolf has chosen without consulting Agnes. Their relationship is rocky from the outset, with Wolf turning away Agnes’s advances and flirting with his friend Lenz instead. Agnes is under pressure from the community to have children, and places the severed finger of the executed woman under her mattress as a charm to help her become pregnant.

Things only grow worse for Agnes and she becomes seriously depressed. Her already pious nature gradually turns obsessive. Wolf’s mother gradually takes over the running of their household, sidelining Agnes. Agnes withdraws from the world, taking to her bed, and further angering those around her.

When Lenz hangs himself, Agnes is given a chilling lesson in how the community views suicide. He is refused a funeral or any absolution, and his body is discarded in a midden. The attempts to treat Agnes for her depression become increasingly extreme and horrific, and Agnes grows desperate to end it all. But how can she escape this life and not be damned for all eternity?

General Thoughts

This is definitely a film where you’ll want to check content warnings, especially those relating to harm to children and animals, depictions of mental illness, and suicide. While The Devil’s Bath is not sensationalist in any respect, it does not shy away from graphic depictions of some pretty awful things.

While they’re not as gruesome as the executions and torture, the scenes of Agnes being treated by a barber-surgeon are stomach-churning. I’d never encountered the treatment that involves running a thread through the back of the neck to cause an infection, but it’s going to haunt me for some time.

As I mentioned in the introduction, The Devil’s Bath isn’t really a folk horror film, but it has the look and feel of one. Here, the horror is more psychological, rooted in societal repression. There is something almost pagan about Agnes and her connection to nature, but she is a very pious Christian. When she starts losing her bond to the material world, she creates her own altar in the cellar, but even this improvised worship is rooted in Catholicism.

The lighting in The Devil’s Bath is exceptional. When scenes take place indoors or at night, they are lit by firelight, and there seems to be no attempt to bolster this with artificial lights. This makes the darkness all the more oppressive and tangible.

It was interesting watching this in the same month as Sister Midnight. They both involve newlywed brides struggling with unsuitable husbands, seeking solace in long, solitary walks at night. Tonally, however, they could scarcely be more different. The Devil’s Bath is what happens when you take away the salve of humour.

Verdict

The Devil’s Bath is a film you absolutely need to be in the right mood for. It is ponderous, grim, and intensely depressing. While it is gory and violent in places, this isn’t the kind of horror that sets out to scare you, and it never lightens the tone or offers any release. The overall effect is one of attrition, wearing you down as Agnes trudges inexorably towards her doom.

Adding to its challenging nature, The Devil’s Bath explains very little. A number of key plot points are merely hinted at and we are left to infer much. This is a film that demands total concentration.

It is also one of the most visually appealing films I’ve seen this month. The countryside where the horrors take place is rich and vibrant, and almost every awful moment is surrounded by beauty. It is a lush, gorgeous piece of soul-crushing art.

I’m not sure who I’d recommend The Devil’s Bath to. While it is an exceptional work of horror, it is also one that will alienate many viewers. If you like like films that are slow, thoughtful, and utterly miserable, this may help you snuff out the last flames of hope this Halloween.

The October Horror Movie Challenge

Please do join in and share your own thoughts with us about this or any other films as the month goes on. You can usually find us on BlueSky, Reddit, Discord, or lurking in the dark corners of your home.

If you would like to play along at home, my provisional selections are:

Heretic (USA, 2024)
The Sadness (Taiwan, 2021)
The Uninvited (USA, 1944)
The Lodge (UK/USA, 2019)
WolfCop (Canada, 2014)
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (Czechoslovakia, 1970)
The Monkey (USA, 2025)
Sister Midnight (India/UK, 2024)
Roadgames (Australia, 1981)
Nightmare City (Italy, 1985)
Dangerous Animals (Australia, 2025)
Dead Talents Society (Taiwan, 2024)
Winterbeast (USA, 1992)
Byzantium (UK/Ireland, 2013)
The Ugly Stepsister (Norway, 2025)
A Page of Madness (Japan, 1926)
Heart Eyes (USA, 2025)
Grafted (New Zealand, 2024)
Arrebato (Spain, 1979)
Hatching (Finland, 2022)
Abigail (USA, 2024)
Ganja & Hess (USA, 1973)
The Devil’s Bath (Austria, 2025)
Pieces (Spain, 1982)
Infested (France, 2023)
Best Wishes to All (Japan, 2022)
A Cat in the Brain (Italy, 1990)
Enys Men (UK, 2022)
Creature From the Black Lagoon (USA, 1954)
Perewangan (Indonesia, 2024)
Bring Her Back (Australia, 2025)

A Final Note

If you have been enticed here by these posts, please do look around at some of our other film reviews. We also have a podcast, called The Good Friends of Jackson Elias, which occasionally covers horror films. If this appeals, you might want to check out some of the following episodes.