The Devils (film) The Devils (film) The Devils is a 1971 British historical drama horror film directed by Ken Russell and starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave. Russell's screenplay is based partly on the 1952 book "The Devils of Loudun" by Aldous Huxley, and partly on the 1960 play "The Devils" by John Whiting, also based on Huxley's book. The film is a dramatised historical account of the rise and fall of Urbain Grandier, a 17th-century Roman Catholic priest executed for witchcraft following the supposed possessions in Loudun, France. Reed plays Grandier in the film and Vanessa Redgrave plays a hunchbacked sexually repressed
Vanessa Ives distraught over the loss of their friend and daughter, respectively, but bond over their grief. Vanessa seeks out a priest and asks for a formal exorcism. Once the priest asks her if she truly wants to be normal, however, she apparently changes her mind and refuses. Vanessa and Ethan are beset upon Nightcomers, witches in service to Lucifer. Vanessa becomes paranoid, and the group goes to great lengths to protect her. During this time, she also befriends John Clare, a homeless man who she does not recognize as the reanimated orderly from her imprisonment in the Banning Clinic. After fleeing