Possessed nuns and sexual deviance: the history behind Ken Russell’s highly-censored film The Devils
The 1971 film is soon to be re-released as a full director’s cut – its controversial lost scenes finally revealed.
In 17th century Loudon, western France, a convent of nuns experienced alleged demonic possessions, which led to the tragic story depicted in Ken Russell's 1971 film The Devils. The film, a dramatization of this historical event, focuses on the religious fanaticism that consumed the town and the central figure, Urbain Grandier, a Catholic priest charged with witchcraft and burned at the stake.
Upon its release, The Devils faced significant censorship, with several countries banning it or heavily editing it. The most notorious cut was the "rape of Christ" sequence, where possessed nuns defile a life-sized effigy of Christ during a frenzied orgy. This sequence, despite its shocking nature, is integral to the film's critique of institutional religion and its union with the state, as well as its scathing attack on the Catholic Church.
British filmmaker Ken Russell, known for his boundary-pushing works, created The Devils as a Christian film about the degradation of religious principles and the corruption he perceived within the church and state. The film won Best Foreign Film at the Venice Film Festival in 1971 and was named best director by the US National Board of Review. However, Vatican City denounced it as an insult to cinema, while London Standard critic Alexander Walker labeled it as the "masturbatory fantasies of a Roman Catholic Schoolboy."
The real-life Loudon possessions of the 1630s were among the most famous demonic episodes of all time, involving the alleged mass possession of an Ursuline convent and the execution of local priest Urbain Grandier. The possessions coincided with a plague outbreak, institutional infighting, and tensions between local Catholics and Protestants, creating an ideal environment for such events. Grandier, known for his erudition, rabble-rousing, and a bit of a ladies' man, was ultimately burned at the stake in 1634.
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