The movie was equal parts political satire, exploration of religious extremes and a psychological profile of a crazy nun's hysteria. But there was more. Near the end of the film, I thought it was reminiscent of Braveheart... but with nuns, nudity, and a drag show in the beginning. I almost expected the priest to shout "... FREEDOM..." in the last few minutes of the movie.

The film was loosely based around the novel "The Devils of Loudon" by Aldous Huxley, which in turn was loosely based on actual events.

The story involves a priest who scoffs at the rigid rules of the 17th-century Catholic Church. There was a psychotic head nun and a group of repressed sisters susceptible to mass hysteria. Corrupt church leaders, corrupt politicians, inquisitioners... everything a good genre movie needs.

I thought at the beginning of the movie that it would be the priest taking advantage of the nuns, as in so many other movies like this. But it wasn't long before it became apparent that this wasn't like other movies. It was the nun that is the root of all the trouble. The nun became a pawn in a larger political game that involved the king of France, Cardinal Richelieu, the Inquisition, a battle of wills and a struggle for control of the country. To accomplish their ends, the Cardinal and his cronies needed a scapegoat in Loudon. Their scapegoat was the troublesome priest who also happened to be the focus of the psychotic nun's obsession. There were public exorcisms, orgies, some spectacular scenes of sacrilegious debauchery and a particular sequence showing the duality of the Church at that point in time.

I won't give away any more of the plot here because I think it is a movie that needs to be seen... a film that needs to be experienced. It is an excellent piece of cinematic history. It was almost banned by censors, it was cut, it was edited and certain scenes were feared lost. More than twenty years after its truncated theatrical release, the DVD release allows us to experience the movie closer to complete than ever before.

The Devils was excellently acted, excellently filmed, even the score was phenomenal. The music alone evoked feelings of discomfort during many of the scenes. The film was violent, outrageous, funny, horrible... all at the same time.

Rent it, buy it, borrow it, steal it... but see it.