Devil Story
{{short description|1986 film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Devil Story
| image = Devil_Story_theatrical_poster.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| native_name = {{Infobox name module
| language = French
| title = Il était une fois... le diable
| nolink = 1
}}
| director = Bernard Launois
| producer =
| writer = Bernard Launois
| starring = Véronique Renaud
{{ill|Marcel Portier|fr|Marcel Portier}}
Pascal Simon
{{ill|Nicole Desailly|fr|Nicole Desailly|nl|Nicole Desailly}}
| music = {{ill|Paul Piot|fr|Paul Piot}}
Michel Roy
| cinematography = {{ill|Guy Maria|fr|Guy Maria}}
| editing = Raymonde Battini
| production_companies = Films Albatros
Condor Films
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|1986|11|26|France|df=y}}
| runtime = 75 minutes
| country = France
| language = French
}}
Devil Story ({{langx|fr|Il était une fois... le diable|lit=Once upon a time... the devil||italic=yes}}), is a 1986 French Nazisploitation{{cite book |title=Nazisploitation!: The Nazi Image in Low-Brow Cinema and Culture |editor-first1=Daniel H. |editor-last1=Magilow |editor-first2=Elizabeth |editor-last2=Bridges |editor-first3=Kristin T. |editor-last3=Vander Lugt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0frEG1unzaYC&pg=PA316 |page=316 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=9781441183590 |via=Google Books |year=2012 |access-date=27 February 2023 |archive-date=27 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227072632/https://books.google.com/books?id=0frEG1unzaYC&pg=PA316 |url-status=live }} horror film written and directed by Bernard Launois. It is his seventh and last feature film. An uneven mixture of the slasher and Euro-gothic genres, it was largely condemned by critics for its incoherent script and technical incompetence. It has since gained a cult following because of its reputation as one of the worst films in history.
Plot
A seemingly deranged murderer in a {{lang|de|Schutzstaffel}} uniform with a disfigured spine and pig-like{{cite book |title=The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1980s |first=Scott Aaron |last=Stine |page=113 |access-date=26 February 2023 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jzKSCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA113 |via=Google Books |isbn=9781476611327 |year=2015 |publisher=McFarland |archive-date=26 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226115735/https://books.google.com/books?id=jzKSCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA113 |url-status=live }} face terrorises a rural area of Normandy and slaughters whomever he encounters at random—first a couple of campers, then a man asking for directions to the nearest gas station.
A couple's car breaks down on the road, and they decide to stay at a nearby hotel until they can repair their car. The hotel is a modified old castle run by an elderly man and woman. The younger couple learn from their hosts that the place is cursed.
Reception
After initially released in 1986 in only a small number of theatres in French provinces, the film was shown in Paris as a double feature at {{ill|Le Brady|fr|Le Brady}}, under the title Il était une fois... le diable.
In Spinegrinder: The Movies Most Critics Won't Write About, author and critic Clive Davies described the film as "75 mins {{sic}} of near-catatonic nonsense" with "a dumb, circular ending".{{cite book |first= Clive |last= Davies |year= 2015 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Co5XDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT345 |title= Spinegrinder: The Movies Most Critics Won't Write About |publisher= Headpress |isbn= 9781909394063 |via= Google Books |access-date= 2023-02-25 |page= 345 |archive-date= 25 February 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230225064946/https://books.google.com/books?id=Co5XDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT345 |url-status= live }} Scott Aaron Stine wrote in his The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1980s: "Despite the charming contrivances, [Devil Story] is just one more reason why French cinema rarely ventures or strays into splatter territory". {{lang|de|{{ill|Lexikon des internationalen Films|de|Lexikon des internationalen Films|fr|Lexikon des internationalen Films}}}}, a German-language reference work on all theatrical films and many television films released in Germany since 1945, noted the film's homages to John Carpenter's 1980 film The Fog.{{cite web |url=https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/4472/devil-story |title=Devil Story |lang=de |quote=(...) dessen Orientierung an John Carpenters Kultfilm "The Fog - Nebel des Grauens" unübersehbar ist. |access-date=2023-04-25 |publisher=Filmdienst |work=Lexikon des internationalen Films |archive-date=24 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924062259/https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/4472/devil-story |url-status=live }}
Home media
The film was released on VHS by a French company called American Vidéo in the late 1980s.{{cite web |title=Bernard Launois |url=https://cinedweller.com/celebrity/bernard-launois |first=Frédéric |last=Mignard |website=CinéDweller.com |access-date=24 February 2023 |lang=fr |archive-date=20 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320201205/https://cinedweller.com/celebrity/bernard-launois/ |url-status=live }}
The film was restored in 4K resolution from its 35mm original camera negative and released on Blu-ray by Vinegar Syndrome, an American home video distribution company, in 2021.{{cite web |url=https://www.americangenrefilm.com/theatrical-film-catalog/devil-story |title=Devil Story |publisher=American Genre Film Archive |access-date=February 25, 2023 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203031101/https://www.americangenrefilm.com/theatrical-film-catalog/devil-story/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Devil Story (1986) Vinegar Syndrome Exclusive - Blu-ray Review |url=https://reelreviews.com/home-video/badsass-sinema-unearthed/devil-story-blu-ray-review |date=28 September 2021 |first=Loron |last=Hays |website=Reel Reviews |access-date=26 February 2023 |archive-date=26 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226173707/https://reelreviews.com/home-video/badsass-sinema-unearthed/devil-story-blu-ray-review |url-status=live }} This restored version was screened at the Fantastic Fest, an annual film festival in Austin, Texas, US, in September 2021.{{cite web |title=5 under-the-radar titles to check out at Fantastic Fest 2021 |url=https://www.avclub.com/5-under-the-radar-titles-to-check-out-at-fantastic-fest-1847741001 |first=Katie |last=Rife |date=25 September 2021 |access-date=26 February 2023 |website=The A.V. Club |archive-date=26 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226153743/https://www.avclub.com/5-under-the-radar-titles-to-check-out-at-fantastic-fest-1847741001 |url-status=live }}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{AlloCiné title | 178508 | Il était une fois le diable }}
- {{IMDb title|id=tt0233004|title=Il était une fois le diable}}
- [https://www.nanarland.com/chroniques/nanars-monstrueux/epouvante/devil-story-il-etait-une-fois-le-diable.html Devil Story: Il était une fois le diable] at {{ill|Nanarland|fr|Nanarland}} (in French)
Category:1980s French-language films
Category:French splatter films