Devil Story, also known as Il était une fois... le diable (lit. 'Once upon a time... the devil'), is a 1986 French Nazisploitation[1] horror film written and directed by Bernard Launois. It is his seventh and last feature film.[2] An uneven mixture of the slasher and Euro-gothic genres, it was largely condemned by critics for its incoherent script and technical incompetence.[3] It has since gained a cult following because of its reputation as one of the worst films in history.[2][4]
| Devil Story | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| French | Il était une fois... le diable |
| Directed by | Bernard Launois |
| Written by | Bernard Launois |
| Starring | Véronique Renaud Marcel Portier Pascal Simon Nicole Desailly |
| Cinematography | Guy Maria |
| Edited by | Raymonde Battini |
| Music by | Paul Piot Michel Roy |
Production companies | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
Plot
editA seemingly deranged murderer in a Schutzstaffel uniform with a disfigured spine and pig-like[3] face terrorises a rural area of Normandy (or Florida) 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
editAfter 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 Le Brady, under the title Il était une fois... le diable.[2]
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".[5] 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".[3] 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.[6]
Home media
editThe film was released on VHS by a French company called American Vidéo in the late 1980s.[2]
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.[4][7] This restored version was screened at the Fantastic Fest, an annual film festival in Austin, Texas, US, in September 2021.[8]
References
edit- ^ Magilow, Daniel H.; Bridges, Elizabeth; Vander Lugt, Kristin T., eds. (2012). Nazisploitation!: The Nazi Image in Low-Brow Cinema and Culture. A&C Black. p. 316. ISBN 9781441183590. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d Mignard, Frédéric. "Bernard Launois". CinéDweller.com (in French). Archived from the original on 20 March 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ a b c Stine, Scott Aaron (2015). The Gorehound's Guide to Splatter Films of the 1980s. McFarland. p. 113. ISBN 9781476611327. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Devil Story". American Genre Film Archive. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ Davies, Clive (2015). Spinegrinder: The Movies Most Critics Won't Write About. Headpress. p. 345. ISBN 9781909394063. Archived from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Devil Story". Lexikon des internationalen Films (in German). Filmdienst. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
(...) dessen Orientierung an John Carpenters Kultfilm "The Fog - Nebel des Grauens" unübersehbar ist.
- ^ Hays, Loron (28 September 2021). "Devil Story (1986) Vinegar Syndrome Exclusive - Blu-ray Review". Reel Reviews. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ Rife, Katie (25 September 2021). "5 under-the-radar titles to check out at Fantastic Fest 2021". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
External links
edit- Il était une fois le diable at AlloCiné (in French)
- Il était une fois le diable at IMDb
- Devil Story: Il était une fois le diable at Nanarland (in French)