From the steaming, arsenic-laced craters of New Zealand to the silent, suffocating bedrooms of 18th-century Austria, The Devil’s Bath is a concept that bridges the physical and the psychological. It is a place of corrosion, despair, and transformation.
Whether it is a sign warning tourists to keep back, a historical footnote in a witch trial transcript, or the title of a terrifying art film, the phrase forces us to look into the abyss. Sometimes, the abyss is a 200-degree acid pool. And sometimes, the abyss is a sunny afternoon where you feel nothing at all.
The devil may be bathing. But you don’t have to join him.
If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of depression or suicidal ideation, please contact your local mental health support hotline. In the US, dial 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
This write-up covers the 2024 film The Devil’s Bath (Des Teufels Bad), a haunting period psychodrama directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. Overview
The Devil’s Bath is a bleak, atmospheric horror film set in 1750 rural Austria. It explores the devastating intersection of religion, mental illness, and gender expectations through a historical phenomenon known as "suicide by proxy". The title itself is a 17th-century term for depression, often referred to at the time as "the melancholy disease". Plot Summary
The Struggle of Agnes: The story follows Agnes (Anja Plaschg), a sensitive young woman who marries a farmer named Wolf (David Scheid). Despite her hopes for a happy life and motherhood, she finds herself trapped in a cold, loveless marriage and a demanding life of grueling labor.
A Spiraling Mind: Isolated and constantly criticized by her mother-in-law, Agnes falls into a deep, religious-fueled depression.
The Theological Loophole: In this society, suicide is a mortal sin that leads to eternal damnation. To escape her misery while still securing salvation, Agnes discovers a terrifying "loophole": committing a capital crime (such as murder) and then confessing before her execution to ensure she dies in a state of grace. Historical Context
True Accounts: The filmmakers drew heavily from the research of historian Kathy Stuart, who documented hundreds of cases of ritualistic child killings in Central Europe and Scandinavia during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Suicide by Proxy: This practice involved depressed individuals—primarily women—murdering innocent children (who were believed to be guaranteed a place in heaven) so they themselves could be executed after confessing. Critical Themes & Style
Directed by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz (Goodnight Mommy), this film is a haunting historical psychodrama set in 1750. It explores a "dark footnote" in European history involving deeply religious women driven to extreme acts.
Plot & Themes: Agnes, a newlywed, struggles with the rigid societal and religious expectations of her rural Austrian village. The "Devil's Bath" is a period-specific term for melancholy or clinical depression.
Historical Context: The film is based on true historical records of people who committed capital crimes (like murder) to receive a death sentence, believing that regular suicide was an unforgivable sin that led to eternal damnation.
Where to Watch: The film is available to stream on Shudder and AMC+. 2. Natural Landmarks
If you are looking for a physical "Devil's Bath" or "Devil's Bathtub," there are several notable locations: Devil's Bathtub hike in Fort Blackmore, VA - Facebook
The Devil’s Bath is a name that evokes a sense of mystery, danger, and the supernatural. Across the globe, several geological wonders bear this ominous title, but the most famous is the surreal, neon-green volcanic crater lake located in New Zealand’s Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland.
Whether you are a photography enthusiast, a nature lover, or a fan of the macabre, the Devil’s Bath offers a visual experience unlike anything else on Earth. What is the Devil’s Bath?
Located near Rotorua on the North Island of New Zealand, the Devil’s Bath is a stagnant, acidic pool sitting within a jagged depression. It is part of the larger Wai-O-Tapu geothermal area, which has been active for thousands of years.
The pool is world-renowned for its color. Depending on the light and the concentration of minerals, it ranges from a pale, milky chartreuse to a vibrant, almost radioactive-looking neon green. Why is it So Green?
The "toxic" appearance of the water isn't just for show—it is a direct result of the intense geothermal activity beneath the earth's crust.
Sulfur Deposits: Huge amounts of sulfur rise to the surface and float in the water.
Ferrous Salts: When iron salts from the surrounding rocks mix with the sulfur, they create a chemical reaction that produces the bright green hue.
Depth and Light: The concentration of these minerals, combined with the way sunlight reflects off the suspended particles, determines how "glow-in-the-dark" the water appears on any given day. 🧪 Quick Facts Location: Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, New Zealand.
Acidity: The water is highly acidic, capable of causing severe chemical burns.
Smell: Expect a heavy scent of rotten eggs (hydrogen sulfide).
Access: Viewed via a boardwalk; the water itself is strictly off-limits. Other Notable "Devil’s Baths"
While the New Zealand site is the most famous, the name is popular for other unique natural formations: The Florida Panhandle, USA the devils bath
In Florida, "The Devil’s Bath" refers to a massive limestone sinkhole filled with crystal-clear spring water. It is a popular spot for advanced cave divers exploring the underwater aquifer system. Bath, Pennsylvania, USA
There is a historic swimming hole and rock formation known as the Devil’s Bathing Hole, often associated with local folklore and ghost stories from the early settler colonial era. Hells Canyon, Idaho/Oregon
Deep within the deepest river gorge in North America, certain swirling eddies and deep pools in the Snake River have historically been nicknamed the Devil’s Bath by rafters and explorers. Visiting the New Zealand Icon
If you are planning to see the neon-green wonder in person, keep these tips in mind:
Check the weather: The green color is most intense on clear, sunny days when the sun is directly overhead (around noon).
Combine your trip: Don't miss the Lady Knox Geyser, which erupts daily at 10:15 AM, or the Champagne Pool nearby.
Prepare for the scent: Geothermal areas smell strongly of sulfur. If you are sensitive to smells, bring a bandana or mask.
Stay on the path: The ground in thermal parks is often a thin crust over boiling mud or acidic water. Always stick to the marked boardwalks.
The Devil’s Bath remains one of the most photographed natural sites in the Southern Hemisphere. It serves as a vivid reminder of the raw, chemical power bubbling just beneath the surface of our planet.
The Devil’s Bath (2024), directed by the Austrian duo Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala (Goodnight Mommy, The Lodge), is a harrowing historical psychodrama that explores a dark, often forgotten chapter of 18th-century European history. Rather than relying on supernatural tropes, the film finds its horror in the stifling reality of religious dogma and the "suicide by proxy" phenomenon. 🎞️ The Historical "Loophole"
In 18th-century Upper Austria, suicide was considered an unpardonable sin that led to eternal damnation. However, those suffering from profound depression—historically referred to as being in the "Devil’s Bath"—found a grisly legal and religious loophole:
The Act: Commit a capital crime (often the murder of an innocent child). The Goal: Be sentenced to death by the state.
The Result: Receive a final confession and absolution before execution, thereby securing a place in heaven while ending an unbearable life. 🌲 Plot and Setting
Set in 1750, the film follows Agnes (played by Anja Plaschg, also known as the musician Soap&Skin), a young woman who moves to a remote village after marrying her husband, Wolf.
Domestic Isolation: Agnes struggles with the rigid expectations of her mother-in-law and the emotional distance of her husband.
Descent into Melancholia: The lush but oppressive Styrian woods mirror her internal state as her inability to conceive and the crushing monotony of peasant life drive her toward madness.
The Breaking Point: Finding no solace in prayer, Agnes chooses the only "sinless" path out of her misery—a choice that leads to a shattering climax. 🕯️ Key Cinematic Elements
The film is noted for its meticulous attention to historical detail and atmospheric dread:
Visuals: Shot on 35mm film by cinematographer Martin Gschlacht, the movie uses natural light and dark, earthy tones to evoke a sense of "rotten" beauty and decay.
Performances: Anja Plaschg’s performance is widely praised as "powerhouse," capturing the physical and mental weight of clinical depression in a time before modern medicine.
Authenticity: The script is based on extensive research by historian Kathy Stuart, using real court records of women who committed these "suicides by proxy". 🎬 Critical Reception
Reviewers have categorized it as "folk horror," though it avoids the "jump scares" common to the genre:
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics describe it as an "unblinking portrait of inhumanity and festered faith".
Tone: It is frequently described as "bleak," "grueling," and "disturbing," making it a difficult but essential watch for fans of elevated horror like The Witch. ℹ️ Watching Information Director: Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala Cast: Anja Plaschg, David Scheid, Maria Hofstätter Streaming: Currently available on Shudder and AMC+. If you'd like to dive deeper into this, A comparison to the directors' other films like The Lodge. Streaming links or availability in your specific region.
The Devil's Bath Film Review (Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala)
**Review Title: A Haunting Descent into Despair – The Devil’s Bath (2024)
Rating: ★★★★½
Verdict: The Devil’s Bath is not a horror film for the faint of heart, nor is it for those seeking jump scares or gore for the sake of spectacle. Instead, directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala (the duo behind Goodnight Mommy and The Lodge) have crafted a harrowing, atmospheric period piece that crawls under your skin and refuses to leave. It is a masterclass in existential dread.
The Premise Set in 18th-century Austria, the film follows Agnes, a young woman deeply religious and excited for her future as a wife and mother. However, when she moves into her husband’s remote home, she finds herself trapped in a suffocating environment of domestic drudgery, a cold mother-in-law, and a husband who shows no interest in her. As her desire for a child becomes an obsession and her mental state unravels, Agnes turns to a grim, historical method of "salvation."
The Atmosphere The film is drenched in oppressive atmosphere. The cinematography is stunning yet bleak, utilizing natural light and candlelight to create a world that feels tangible and claustrophobic. The dense, shadowy forests and the stark, grey interiors of the home mirror Agnes’s internal collapse. The sound design is equally effective—the silence of the house is deafening, punctuated only by the sounds of chores, insects, and the ominous tolling of church bells.
The Horror The horror here is psychological and deeply disturbing. It touches on themes of religious mania, postpartum depression (or the historical equivalent), and the crushing weight of isolation. The film does an excellent job of placing the viewer in Agnes’s shoes—we feel her desperation, her confusion, and her eventual, terrifying descent into a twisted version of piety. It serves as a grim historical document regarding how society (and the church) failed women who did not fit the mold.
The Performances Anja Plaschg delivers a powerhouse performance as Agnes. Her transformation from a hopeful bride to a hollow, tormented soul is heartbreaking to watch. It is a raw, physical performance that anchors the film’s more abstract moments. The supporting cast is equally strong, portraying the community not as evil villains, but as products of their time—indifferent, superstitious, and deeply unhelpful.
The Narrative Structure The film moves at a deliberate, slow-burn pace. This is not a plot-driven thriller but a character study. Some viewers may find the middle act meandering, but this slow pace is essential to conveying the monotony and dragging sensation of Agnes’s daily life. The third act, however, delivers a gut-punch of a conclusion that is shocking in its matter-of-fact brutality.
Conclusion The Devil’s Bath is a bleak, beautiful, and deeply unsettling film. It is a historical horror that uses its setting to explore themes that are still tragically relevant today. While it may be too slow for some and too depressing for others, it is a must-watch for fans of intelligent, atmospheric horror that lingers long after the credits roll.
Pros:
Cons:
Recommended for fans of: The Witch, Saint Maud, The Nightingale, and Luzifer.
In the geothermal wonderland of Wai-O-Tapu near Rotorua, New Zealand, the Devil's Bath (Māori: Roto Karikitea) is a world-renowned natural attraction.
Surreal Appearance: The pool is famous for its striking neon-green colour, which can shift from soft lime to a vivid "radioactive" yellow depending on the sunlight and cloud cover.
Scientific Origin: The unusual hue is caused by deposits of sulphur and ferrous (iron) salts that rise to the surface and reflect light. The water is highly acidic, with a pH of approximately 2, and emits a pungent "rotten egg" smell due to hydrogen sulphide gases.
Safety Warning: Despite the name "bath," swimming is strictly prohibited. The water is chemically potent enough to cause severe skin irritation or burns.
2. The Historical Metaphor: "Melancholy is the Devil's Bath"
Historically, "The Devil's Bath" was a vernacular expression used in the 17th and 18th centuries to describe profound melancholy (what we now call clinical depression).
Religious Interpretation: In early modern Europe, theologians and laypeople believed that the devil took delight in "washing" in the unnecessary tears of the sorrowful.
A "Loophole" for Sin: This state of mind was considered dangerous because it made individuals vulnerable to "evil thoughts" and despair, which the Church viewed as a spiritual failing rather than a medical condition. 3. The 2024 Film: The Devil's Bath (Des Teufels Bad)
Depending on whether you're looking for a review of the haunting 2024 film or information on the geological feature, here are two draft options for your post: Option 1: The Film Review (Horror/Drama) Best for: Social media (Instagram/Letterboxd/Facebook) Caption:Just finished The Devil’s Bath (2024) and I’m still staring at the wall. 🫥
Directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala (the duo behind Goodnight Mommy and The Lodge), this isn’t your typical jump-scare horror. It’s a harrowing, gut-wrenching look at 18th-century Austria and a dark chapter of history I never knew about. The term " The Devil's Bath
" was actually a contemporary way to describe deep, paralyzing depression. The film follows Agnes, a young woman who feels increasingly trapped by the severe religious and social expectations of her time. Why you should watch:
Visuals: Stunning but bleak cinematography of the Austrian woodlands.
Performance: Anja Plaschg is absolutely magnetic and devastating as Agnes.
Atmosphere: It’s a "folk horror" that feels terrifying because it’s grounded in historical reality rather than ghosts.
Fair warning: it is unbelievably grim and heavy. If you’re a fan of The Witch or The Lighthouse, this is a must-see on Shudder.
Hashtags: #TheDevilsBath #FolkHorror #Shudder #AustrianCinema #HorrorMovies2024 #PsychologicalHorror Option 2: The Travel/Nature Spotlight Best for: Travel blogs or photography pages Caption:Nature’s "Devil's Bath" 🛁🌲
There’s something both beautiful and eerie about places named after the "Devil." Whether you're visiting the neon-green geothermal pool in New Zealand or the unique rock formations in Vancouver Island, these spots always feel like they belong in another world. Devil's Bath From the steaming, arsenic-laced craters of New Zealand
" at Waiotapu, New Zealand, is famous for its surreal lime-green color—a result of excess sulfur and ferrous salts. It’s a vivid reminder of how strange and spectacular our planet's chemistry can be. 🧪✨ Quick Facts: Location: Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, NZ.
Why the color? The hue changes based on the angle of the sun and the concentration of minerals [internal knowledge].
Hashtags: #DevilsBath #Waiotapu #NewZealandTravel #NaturePhotography #Geothermal #BucketList 'The Devil's Bath' Review: Madwoman in the Cottage
The Devil's Bath is a 2024 Austrian folk-horror film exploring 18th-century "suicide by proxy" cases, where individuals committed murder to be executed rather than face damnation for suicide. Directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, the bleak period piece was selected as the Austrian entry for the Oscars and streams on Shudder.
Title: The Ecology of Despair: Ritual, Repression, and the Feminine Grotesque in The Devil’s Bath
Abstract Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s The Devil’s Bath (2024) operates at a liminal crossroads: it is at once a stark work of social realism, a folk horror meditation, and a feminist historiography of melancholy. Set in 18th-century Upper Austria, the film dramatizes the true-crime phenomenon of “mercy killing” leading to execution—a specific legal and theological loophole where women, crushed by domestic and existential despair, would murder a child to be executed, thereby cleansing their souls of suicidal sin. This paper argues that The Devil’s Bath dismantles the romanticized notion of pre-modern rural life, instead presenting an “ecology of despair” where the natural, social, and supernatural worlds conspire to trap the female protagonist, Agnes. Through close analysis of mise-en-scène, sound design, and narrative structure, I contend that the film redefines horror not as jump scares or monsters, but as the slow, meticulous grinding down of a sensitive soul by a community that offers no vocabulary for mental illness. Ultimately, the film positions the “devil’s bath” (a local term for a suicidal melancholy) as a pathological product of patriarchal religious logic.
Introduction: The Folklore of the Unspeakable The horror genre has long used historical settings to explore contemporary anxieties. The Devil’s Bath distinguishes itself by refusing allegory in favor of grim literalism. The film is based on actual parish records and court transcripts from Austria and Germany, documenting cases where women committed “indirect suicide” via murder (Kindesmord). To understand the film, one must first understand the theology: the Catholic Church of the 1700s taught that suicide was an unforgivable sin, damning the soul to eternal hell. However, if one committed a capital crime (such as infanticide), confessed, and received last rites before execution, one could die “penitent” and save one’s soul. The film’s horror, therefore, is theological mathematics—a perverse system that incentivizes murder as a route to salvation.
I. The Architecture of Confinement: Domestic Space as Womb-Tomb Franz and Fiala, known for Goodnight Mommy (2014) and The Lodge (2019), excel at creating claustrophobic interiors. The Devil’s Bath extends this into the pastoral. The opening shots of lush Austrian forests and waterfalls quickly give way to the dark, low-ceilinged kitchen of a remote millhouse. The protagonist, Agnes (an extraordinary performance by Anja Plaschg, aka musician Soap&Skin), moves through this space like a ghost already dead.
The film meticulously documents the cyclical labor of pre-industrial womanhood: hauling water, scrubbing laundry in cold lye, scraping animal entrails, tending to a dismissive husband (Wolf), and enduring the passive-aggressive cruelty of her mother-in-law (Gänglin). Each chore is shot in real-time or near-real-time, creating a sensory immersion in drudgery. The house itself becomes a grotesque womb—dark, damp, and organic. Molds bloom on walls; meat rots in the pantry. This is not the quaint “cottagecore” aesthetic but a biopolitical prison. Agnes’s failure to produce a child (she suffers repeated miscarriages and stillbirths) marks her as useless in this economy of reproduction. The film implies that her depression is not merely chemical but systemic: she has no role, no voice, and no escape.
II. The Absent Language of Despair: Melancholy as Possession Crucially, the film’s historical accuracy extends to its diagnostic framework. No one in The Devil’s Bath says, “I am depressed.” Instead, Agnes’s listlessness, sleeplessness, and detachment are read by her community as laziness, pride, or demonic influence. The film’s title refers to a local term, Des Teufels Bad—a state of oppressive melancholy believed to be a “bath” or soaking in the devil’s sweat.
In one devastating sequence, Agnes visits a local “wise woman” (not a witch, but a folk healer) who recognizes her sorrow but can only offer charms and prayers. The parish priest, when confessed to, interprets her suicidal ideation as a test from God. No one possesses the psychological vocabulary to say: You are ill, and you need rest. Instead, the community doubles down on religious and social demands. The film thus argues that pre-modern rural life was not idyllic but anomic in its own way—a society with robust rituals for sin but none for sorrow.
III. The Grotesque as Spiritual Logic: The Murder and the Execution Spoilers are necessary here to discuss the film’s philosophical core. After a slow, agonizing descent—including self-harm, animal cruelty (killing her husband’s prized horse in a trance), and social ostracism—Agnes commits the act that will save her soul. She befriends a young boy from the village, leads him into the forest, and drowns him in a shallow stream. The murder is not depicted as a violent explosion but as a quiet, dissociative ritual. She then walks calmly to the authorities, confesses, and requests last rites.
The final third of the film inverts traditional horror structure. The execution is not the climax of terror but the climax of release. Agnes is sentenced to be broken on the wheel (a brutal death) and then beheaded. Yet the film portrays her in the dungeon as serene, almost euphoric. She prays, she receives communion, she smiles. At the moment of her execution—seen unflinchingly, though not gratuitously—the film cuts to a final shot of her face: peaceful. This is the film’s most disturbing thesis: that a patriarchal religious system has made death the only accessible form of agency. The “happy ending” for Agnes is her own public, torturous death.
IV. Sound and Silence: The Acoustic Horror of Nature Anja Plaschg’s background as a musician (Soap&Skin) is central to the film’s affective power. The sound design alternates between overwhelming natural ambience (birds, wind, the grinding of the mill wheel) and profound silence. There is no non-diegetic orchestral score for the first hour. Instead, we hear the wetness of Agnes’s breath, the scratch of her wool dress, the drip of water in the cellar. When music does appear—usually Plaschg’s own dissonant, vocal-heavy compositions—it erupts like a psychotic break: shrieking strings, distorted hymns, and layered whispers.
This soundscape creates what I term “acoustic dissociation.” Agnes hears the world too keenly: the buzzing of flies on a carcass, the crunch of frost under boots, the rhythmic thud of the loom. The film suggests that her depression amplifies sensory input into torture. The “devil’s bath” is not a hallucination but a hyper-reality that she cannot filter out.
V. Comparative Context: Folk Horror and the Female Gothic The Devil’s Bath can be read alongside recent films like The Witch (2015), Hagazussa (2017), and You Won’t Be Alone (2022). However, unlike The Witch, which ultimately offers supernatural escape (Thomasin joins the coven in a moment of dark liberation), Franz and Fiala offer no such catharsis. There is no devil in the forest, no pact, no transformation. The only supernatural element is the belief system itself—the devil exists only insofar as the villagers believe he causes melancholy. This makes The Devil’s Bath more radical: it is a horror film without a monster, only a system.
The film also differs from the traditional Female Gothic, where heroines often escape abusive domesticity through madness or flight. Agnes cannot flee—the forest is just another workplace (gathering wood, foraging), and the nearest town is hours away. Her only “flight” is into sin and then into the executioner’s hands.
VI. Conclusion: The Bath Remains The final image of the film is not Agnes’s death but a return to the millhouse. Her husband and mother-in-law sit at the same table, eating the same bread, the same fire sputtering. A new young woman (presumably a new bride) enters, carrying water. The cycle begins again. The title card notes that in the region, over 300 women were executed for “mercy killing” of children under similar circumstances in the 18th century.
The Devil’s Bath is thus a work of historiographic horror. It argues that these women were not monsters or hysterics but logical actors within an illogical system. By making the viewer endure the same slow, suffocating despair as Agnes, the film refuses to let us look away. The devil’s bath is not a place; it is the structure of a life in which suicide is a sin, murder is a sacrament, and peace is only found at the edge of an axe. In the end, the film asks a question that reverberates beyond its 18th-century setting: How many systems today force the desperate into impossible choices, then call them evil for choosing?
Works Cited (Selected)
In 18th-century Austria, "the devil's bath" was a colloquial term for the soul-crushing weight of clinical depression . The following story is based on the historical research of Kathy Stuart
regarding a dark chapter of European history known as "suicide by proxy". The Story of Agnes In 1750, a deeply religious young woman named married into a rural farming community
. She arrived with a heart full of hope, but the world she entered was cold and unforgiving, defined by endless labor, social isolation, and the watchful eyes of a critical mother-in-law. Day after day, found herself trapped in an "inner prison"
. She longed for a child to fill the void, but her husband remained distant and uninterested. As her "melancholy" deepened, she sought relief through the era's brutal medical practices—including having horse hair threaded through the back of her neck to "let the sadness seep out"—but nothing worked.
Desperate for an end to her suffering but paralyzed by the religious belief that suicide led to eternal damnation, found a terrifying loophole
The film’s power lies in its historical accuracy. Franz and Fiala based the script on court records of 18th-century Austria, where a phenomenon known as "Besessenheitsmord" (obsession murder) or suicide-by-execution occurred. Women, trapped in clinical depression with no vocabulary for mental health, would kill a child (often their own) specifically to be executed. In their logic, a beheading by a merciful executioner was kinder than an eternity of hellfire for self-harm.
The Devil’s Bath is a highlight of New Zealand’s Rotorua region. It offers a surreal, almost alien landscape that feels like a scene from a science fiction movie. It stands as a testament to the country’s position on the Pacific Ring of Fire—a place where the ground is alive, the water glows, and the earth’s inner workings are laid bare. If you or someone you know is struggling