Editorials
[Butcher Block] Ken Russell’s Controversial ‘The Devils’ Is a Holy Trinity of Violence, Sex, and Religion
Butcher Block is a weekly series celebrating horror’s most extreme films and the minds behind them. Dedicated to graphic gore and splatter, each week will explore the dark, the disturbed, and the depraved in horror, and the blood and guts involved. For the films that use special effects of gore as an art form, and the fans that revel in the carnage, this series is for you.
Anytime a horror movie is touted to be “based on true events,” it’s usually met with some level of skepticism. Sometimes it’s an adaptation in the loosest sense, borrowing from actual people and events to launch an exaggerated fictional account, and sometimes the truth just really is stranger than fiction. Surely a film as notorious and sensationalized as the controversial Ken Russell 1971 film The Devils falls into the former category, right? Not so much. Sure, there’s a dreamlike (more like nightmarish) quality to The Devils, and Russell went for the religious jugular, but the events in the film are based on history and the film has its fingers on the pulse of truth. All of which lent to the creation of one of cinema’s most controversial banned films of all time.
Based on Aldous Huxley’s 1952 non-fiction novel The Devils of Loudun and its 1961 stageplay adaptation, The Devils is set in 17th century Loudun, France. According to history, Loudun was a town divided over those in favor of tearing down its surrounding walls and those who wanted the walls to remain. That division was exacerbated by a plague outbreak in 1632. Tensions and anxiety at an all-time high, hysteria spreads through the town when an entire convent of Ursuline nuns, led by prioress Jeanne des Anges, said they had been visited and possessed by demons. Their increasingly bizarre behavior of shouting, swearing, and barking in public drew enough attention that Cardinal Richelieu opted to intervene. The Cardinal, who wanted the walls down, found himself the perfect fall guy in Urbain Grandeur, a good-looking priest with an unsavory reputation and a public opposer of Richelieu. It kicked off the notorious witchcraft trial in 1634 that resulted in Grandeur’s being burned at the stake after being found guilty of being in league with the devil and seducing the entire convent of nuns.
So, plot-wise, Russell’s film adaption is pretty faithful. Oliver Reed stars as Grandeur, complete with the sex appeal that has all of Loudun’s ladies swooning, including the hunchbacked Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave). Jeanne is extremely lustful of Grandeur, which pushes over into wrathful jealousy when she learns of his relationship to the young and stunning Madeleine (Gemma Jones). Cue the demonic seduction accusations, and hysteria and chaos ensue.
In terms of violence, Russell doesn’t hold back on the torture inflicted upon Grandeur. Needles skewer his tongue, his bones are broken, and his excruciating death at the stake is unflinching. But then Russell doubles down with the brazen sexuality. Scenes that drew the most ire involved Sister Jeanne masturbating with Grandeur’s charred tibia, and the infamous “Rape of Christ” sequence that had the nuns devolve into a naked orgy that culminated in acting out their sexual desires with the statue of Christ. Shocking no one; The Devils ruffled a lot of feathers. The movie was deemed blasphemous and banned in many countries. It received an X-rating only after Russell cut out the most controversial scenes. The studio also trimmed scenes prior to submission to the British Board of Film Censors. Which explains why it’s a film considered tough to track down; there are various cuts in existence and some of the material removed now thought to be permanently lost.
The Devils was always intended to be incendiary. Russell had referred to this as his sole political film. The impact of the film tends to be the same no matter the version, because the corruptive collision of politics and religion and the wielding of hysteria as a weapon at the center proves horrific with or without the most infamous sequences. There’s a timelessness to that that shook critics and the Catholic Church upon release, and it’s still effective. It’s bolstered by a fully committed, immeasurably talented cast, Russell’s distinct style, and a stunning production design. Horror at its most depraved and sadistic tends to make casual viewers uncomfortable, and The Devils takes it to a whole new squeamish level with its nightmarish visuals steeped in historical accuracy.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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