The Devils (1971) - Ken Russell | Moviedrome Redux - Cult Films Rediscovered

Ken Russell’s The Devils isn’t horror. It’s heresy.

Banned, censored, and condemned by the Vatican - this is the most dangerous film Britain ever produced.

And it is absolutely brilliant.

Shot on a monumental Derek Jarman set that was later bulldozed by Warner Bros, The Devils turns 17th-century hysteria into a modern political allegory about power, faith, and the machinery of control.

Oliver Reed delivers the performance of his life. Vanessa Redgrave burns with obsession. And fifty years on, the film still feels dangerous.

I filmed this piece standing before a lone church on a hill, with a flock of sheep beneath it. It's an image that perfectly mirrors Russell’s vision: the church on high, the obedient flock sitting in its shadow.

Once banned for blasphemy, now hailed as prophetic, The Devils remains too alive for the system that buried it.

Written, narrated and produced for MOVIEDROME REDUX.
Where cult cinema gets the analysis it deserves.

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