The Devils

Screened at Festival Theaters Palm Springs, California

The Devils is 100% Pete Hegseth's christofascist wet dream, so this long-awaited restoration and re-release is amazingly timely, though definitely just a coincidence.

Despite the depressing story, it's a darn good film, and more important of a watch than I expected going into it. For some reason the horror community was embracing this re-release, perhaps because of the word "devil," but it's far from a horror film. There are plenty of horrific moments, but the film is very much a drama as it covers religious prosecution in a fundamentalist, authoritarian society.

I could understand wanting to skip this one for now, until times are better, but what got me through it is how beautiful it is. Not just in Ken Russell's direction, but the cinematography of David Watkins (Out of Africa, Chariots of Fire), and costume design from Shirley Russell (Reds, Hope and Glory) , wife of Ken. It's all topped off by a gorgeous restoration from Warner Bros.' new specialty film division and independent production label, Clockwork. For that and it's timeliness, it feels like a release of the modern era, not one from 50+ years ago. Recommended.