Hail Satan and Holy Blasphemy: An Olympian Watchlist
Monday, July 29, 2024 at 10:30PM 
Christian conservatives worldwide seem to have had their outrage activated by the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony. The French Revolution pageantry has been decried as satanic, but even more religious nuts are losing their mind over a tableau starring drag queens in a pose that could remind one of Da Vinci's Last Supper. According to the ceremony's artistic director, Thomas Jolly, the image was in reference to and reverence of a painting. But it was no piece of Catholic iconography, rather The Feast of the Gods by Jan van Bijlert, a depiction of the Olympians with Bacchus in the front.
Still, even if Jolly had re-imagined the Last Supper with queer performers, why would that be an insult instead of a celebration? Appeals to religious decorum are mere smokescreens, hiding hatred and trying to give it a justification. In response to such culture war odiousness, I can think of no better response than a provocation in the form of a list – here at TFE, we are known list-o-maniacs, after all. If you yearn to be offended by blasphemous media, satanic sensations, and some glorious filth, here are thirteen flicks to scratch that itch…
HÄXAN (1922) Benjamin Christensen
Reasons to Watch: Between documentary and pagan pageantry, this Scandinavian silent movie tries to engage with the history of witchcraft through a proto-feministic lens. And yet, empathy doesn't stop the picture from indulging in the grotesque possibilities of its subject. A cannibalized baby here, a feast of naked flesh there, the fire and brimstone splendor of Häxan can't be denied, and neither can its power to unnerve. At times, the filmmakers seem as excited to horrify religious nuts as to show the error in their ways. Always perverse, a tad prescriptive, never perfunctory.
Blasphemy Bonus: Christensen himself plays the Devil, giving his whole directorial effort a sweet satanic edge.
Where to Watch: Max, the Criterion Channel, Classix, Apple TV+, Tubi, Kanopy, Plex, Amazon Prime Video, and Fandango at Home.
VIRIDIANA (1961) Luis Buñuel
Reasons to Watch: A great master of Spanish cinema had thrived in exile for years, taking Mexican and French cinema by storm before an irresistible offer drew him back to Franco's Spain. Rather than play nice with the fascists, Luis Buñuel remained faithful to the political beliefs that had guided his work in past provocations – L'Age d'Or, for example. Yet, Viridiana does more than match the iconoclast's early creations. It goes further, indicting the Catholic church for its role in abetting far-right extremism, tracing the connective tissue between religion, the aristocracy, and the evils of the world. Hell, the movie's first act reaches its climax when an unconscious novitiate is molested by her nobleman uncle.
Blasphemy Bonus: If the drag queen lineup offended Christian conservatives, what would they make of this film's overt parody of The Last Supper? Tramps overwhelm and overtake the aristocratic home to partake in a stolen feast full of debauchery and not an ounce of shame.
Where to Watch: The Criterion Channel, Apple TV+, Kanopy, and Amazon Prime Video.
INVOCATION OF MY DEMON BROTHER (1969) Kenneth Anger
Reasons to Watch: Self-identifying as a pagan rather than a Satanist, Kenneth Anger was one of the great voices in American experimental cinema. His influence is impossible to overstate, but unlike other such artists, the man's work still feels risky today. Invocation of My Demon Brother is a miracle of editing and homoerotic imagery, proposing a ritualistic cinema whose frames feel charged with black magic. Sensual and malevolent, this 12-minute mass is an inimitable triumph.
Blasphemy Bonus: If you needed proof that twinks are ontologically evil, Anger's got the goods. If Invocation of My Demon Brother doesn't do it for you, try Lucifer Rising or The Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome.
Where to Watch: YouTube and Vimeo.
THE DEVILS (1971) Ken Russell
Reasons to Watch: There will never be another director like Ken Russell. The British visionary created a series of mad movies whose lunacy defies a common man's imaginings, often dabbling in the occult, downright heresy, Christian morality blown to smithereens. Such pictures as Crimes of Passion and The Lair of the White Worm deserve mention, but The Devils trumps them all. It's the filmmaker's supreme masterpiece, a Baroque nightmare encased within a Derek Jarman-designed fortress where nuns burst with sexual repression, Vanessa Redgrave delivers the performance of a lifetime, and Oliver Reed dons Jesus cosplay for a madwoman's wet dream.
Blasphemy Bonus: The nun orgy that was cut after the film's original release remains a curious artifact. Depending on the version you've seen, it might have parts of it restored. Whatever the case, it's an incredible piece of profane filmmaking.
Where to Watch: On physical media, Blu-Ray and DVD.
THE CANTERBURY TALES (1972) Pier Paolo Pasolini
Reasons to Watch: Not only did Pasolini make the best film about Christ's life, he also created a series of works whose carnal pleasures are in direct opposition to Christian morality. Every entry in the "Trilogy of Life" is a hit of purified hedonism, made more visceral through its handmade materiality. The Decameron has the horny nuns and Arabian Nights rejects Western mores altogether. Still, it's The Canterbury Tales that most openly defies the precepts of those who think themselves too holy to sin. A celebration of human ugliness and the paradoxical beauty herein, the film is the joyous inverse of what was to be the director's "Trilogy of Death." Only Salo was made for that planned project, as Pasolini was murdered before he could finish his great work.
Blasphemy Bonus: The entire finale is a hoot, like a Bosch painting given life by a troupe of clowns on acid. The camera's anal fixation is the cherry on top, resulting in some of the most sacrilegious fart jokes in film history.
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Fubo TV, MGM+, and Apple TV+.
BELLADONNA OF SADNESS (1973) Eiichi Yamamoto
Reasons to Watch: For years, Eiichi Yamamoto had been exploring the erotic possibilities of anime, making parodic sex tales full of humor, absurdity, bad taste galore. Belladonna of Sadness is a deviation from that model. In some ways, it's an evolution, the boundary-pushing ethos taken in a new direction, more brutal but also more ravishing. Oscillating between still painting and bursts of expressionist motion, sexual violence cascading over the feminine body, the film almost seems better classified as a visual experiment than a traditional animation project. Beware of its monstrosity, but know that it may be one of the most beautiful movies ever made.
Blasphemy Bonus: Amid the gorgeous New Age psychedelia, the demonic presence is a flurry of movement and cheeky design. How does one visualize the Devil? Well, as a phantasm cock, of course.
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll, Fandango at Home, and the Microsoft Store.
THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK (1987) George Miller
Reasons to Watch: Who knew cavorting with the Devil made you hotter than the sun while also giving you a rockin' 80s perm? It often seems that's the central message of The Witches of Eastwick. Or maybe the movie's motto is that there's nothing quite like superstar actressing to elevate a farce. Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer are glorious here, but so is Veronica Cartwright in a diabolical mockery of Christian zealotry. They are a spectacle unto themselves, their charisma so blinding it practically blasts Jack Nicholson off the screen. At the end of the day, they didn't even need witchcraft rites to get rid of their lothario Beelzebub.
Blasphemy Bonus: Free from morals or decency, the ending hints at the Devil's progeny winning out, absent father notwithstanding. Isn't that amazing for such a Hollywood dream? Ave Satani!
Where to Watch: Apple TV+, Fandango at Home, Amazon Prime Video, and the Microsoft Store.
THIRST (2009) Park Chan-wook
Reasons to Watch: Zola is re-imagined as a vampire tryst of epic Gothic romance proportion. Park Chan-wook takes the tale of Thérèse Raquin and sets it within a new South Korean milieu, in a contemporaneity teeming with vampiric possibility. It manifests as a disease, a plague that first infects a priest until the man becomes a monster. Only the blood-sucker is pious in comparison to his lover, for whom the dark gift is a blessing from down below. An animalistic Kim Ok-bin and guilt-ridden Song Kang-ho lead the way, surrendering to the piece's essential perversion without contradicting its formalistic stylization.
Blasphemy Bonus: Before Fleabag made the internet go gaga for hot priests, director Park had already presented the world with a cornucopia of graphic sex scenes featuring the vampiric holy man breaking his vows.
Where to Watch: Apple TV+, Fandango at Home, Amazon Prime Video, and the Microsoft Store.
THE VVITCH: A NEW-ENGLAND FOLKTALE (2015) Robert Eggers
Reasons to Watch: Though some would lump Eggers with the other "elevated horror" folk and the A24 craze, he's something of an outlier. Not just in the realm of horror, but the whole mainstream Hollywood apparatus. That's never more evident than in The Witch, an experiment in archeological dramaturgy that takes the beliefs of 17th-century Puritans and presents them as genuine, justified, even vindicated. Horrifyingly so, to the point that the natural world seems to be a womb for evils beyond compare, corruption hiding in every corner. But, in the end, evil is salvation, for faith is naught but a trap that punishes the innocent until they have no resource other than submission to Satan.
Blasphemy Bonus: "Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?"
Where to Watch: Max, Cinemax, Apple TV+, Kanopy, Amazon Prime Video, Fandango at Home, and the Microsoft Store.
THE LOVE WITCH (2016) Anna Biller
Reasons to Watch: Even for a director who has built a career in pastiche, The Love Witch is an impressive bit of throwback madness. Biller looks to the dying days of Technicolor melodrama, the indie trashterpieces lurking in the underbelly of New Hollywood, not to mention the paperback absurdism of low-rent pulp. She combines it all with the magic of twisted nostalgia, casting a spell of her own until a hallucination of feminine liberation possesses the screen. It's ridiculous, for sure, but that is precisely the point. And at the heart of it all lies a fundamental truth – happiness is never out of reach if you're willing to shed enough blood.
Blasphemy Bonus: This entire movie is home décor goals. The main abode is a masterpiece of kitschy design from stained glass to pentagram rug. It's the perfect setting for a blood ritual or two.
Where to Watch: Peacock, MUBI, Fandor, NightFlight Plus, Midnight Pulp, Apple TV+, Tubi, Kanopy, Popcorn Flix, Pluto TV, Plex, Amazon Prime Video, Fandango at Home, and the Microsoft Store.
THE ORNITHOLOGIST (2016) João Pedro Rodrigues
Reasons to Watch: The internationally renowned Portuguese auteur has never been more solipsistic than in The Ornithologist. Verging on self-portraiture, the riverside odyssey touches on Ancient mythology and bird-watching reverie, meta-cinema, political commentary, and even folklore tradition upheld with a Baptism of piss. Moreover, it's queer as fuck, basking in orgasmic euphoria, like some cum-stained religious monument atop the altar to an oversexed divinity. Mayhap, it's indecipherable to some. However, this isn't the kind of film you should try to solve, puzzle-like. Allow yourself to taste the ambrosia and the mystery, feel the heat of its flaming desire.
Blasphemy Bonus: Pagan traditions and Sebastian imagery aside, there's no bigger provocation in the entire film than its erotic interlude with a shepherd named Jesus. If you weren't already outraged over the bedded messiah, just you wait until you see the figure's ultimate fate. Poor guy.
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Strand Releasing.
HAIL SATAN? (2019) Penny Lane
Reasons to Watch: One would hope this documentary on the forcefulness of Christian dogma in the public sphere wasn't still so relevant. With the way things are going, its heathen messages will only become more important going forward, as will its arguments for freedom above one creed's hegemony. Dispelling notions of the Church of Satan as an evil cult, Lane considers it as a political organization whose fight often takes the form of provocation. Full of humor and a licentious spirit, this work of non-fiction feels vital even in moments where its journalistic intentions override the piece's value as cinema. If nothing else, it'll piss off all the right people.
Blasphemy Bonus: I don't know about you, but I know that the Baphomet sculpture is a delightful public monument. Wouldn't it look great on a town square near you? I think so.
Where to Watch: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, the Roku Channel, Hoopla, Tubi, Flix Fling, and the Microsoft Store.
BENEDETTA (2021) Paul Verhoeven
Reasons to Watch: A scholar on Christ and one of the most devious filmmakers in recent Hollywood history, Paul Verhoeven was the only person who could ever create something like Benedetta. Dancing between genres and tones, the historical drama is also an erotic fantasy and a farce, testing the limits of faith and self-delusion. At times, it posits the two are the same. Virginie Efira is at the center of everything, willing to embody a fanatic and a lesbian con artist, a believer and cynical political player, all of it, all at once. A polysemic miracle fit for the Kingdom of Hell, her characterization deserves adoration. Somehow, Charlotte Rampling is even better in a supporting role, rotting with plague, choking on self-righteousness.
Blasphemy Bonus: In my book, the Marian dildo is already one of the best props in 21st-century cinema. Also, it would make a perfect Christmas present.
Where to Watch: Hulu, Apple TV+, Fandango at Home, and the Microsoft Store.
What about you, dear reader? Are you ready to indulge and have a sinful good time?
Reader Comments (23)
Don't be a douchebag.
Being offended by something that is offensive is a natural thing and this whole ridiculous section of the opening ceremony was offensive. You don't need to attack Christian people on this site also (and I don't speak about the movies from this list - some of them are great - but about your text that is rude and boorish).
This is such disingenuous bullshit Claudio. People have every right to be offended by the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony. I am not religious but it's very telling that White Christians are being told to tolerate blatant disrespect. Yet make fun of Judaism or Islam and you're as good as dead? Also, you conveniently left out the fact that Thomas Jolly is Jewish. This was subversion and it's a massive deal. As we've seen with the events of October 7th, Jews are above reproach in Western media and if you criticize a single one of them, you're irredeemably deemed antisemitic? Massive double standard here.
As to your list of movies, they are simply just that:movies. Movies confined to the cinematic discourse and none were without controversy. To compare subversive art in cinema to what happened at the Olympics is lying. Not when France and most other European countries have to deal with their unique culture being erased and disrespected right in front of them. It was not an accident.
And as a gay man, I'm actually getting really sick of the deification of all that is 'queer'. It has caused more backlash against us than anything.
And one more thing Claudio, this is not mere 'culture war odiousness'.
Great article as usual, Claudio. I just found the ceremony boring. People get offended by everything these days. It's ridiculous. When Cameron Bure is leading the charge, you know it's stupid.
Back to the good stuff, my favorite "devil" movie is "The Devil's Advocate." Charlize deserved an Oscar nom and Keanu looked like he was having the time of his life. Few actors can chew scenery like Pacino and this role was a buffet.
The Witches of Eastwick is a comfort film of mine,all 3 lead actresses are superb and Cartwright steals the film,where was her Oscar nom,Nicholson is fine in his own Jack way.
My fave devil movie is Rosemary's Baby,endlessly rewatchable with a never better Mia and Ruth Gordon's perfect Oscar winning role,the dice seen is the sort of stuff that creeps me out.
To the idiots being offended by this: Well, I am offended by Christians shoving their blood-thirsty religion down my throat since I was born. A few drag queens during the opening ceremony of the olympics is NOTHING compared to what people have done and do in the name of God.
So, in the words of Regan: Let Jesus fuck you.
Wish I could critize the ceremony for being under-rehearsed but bigots are being impossible so well done, I guess.
You have to be really sad if you have so much hatred in you, Sad Man. :(
I'm gay but I was also offended by this show. Sorry, but showing gay people as morons that have no respect for other people's values and culture is really disgusting.
@Davus
Thank God someone else gets it.
@Sad Man
Take that same energy and apply it to Muslims and Jews. Both demonstrably bloodthirsty in their zealotry. In case you've forgotten, Western nations were founded on Christianity, as much as I don't like to admit it, it's true.
If you cannot see the clear mocking of Marie Antoinette, a highly misunderstood historical figure, as a violent threat to French citizens then perhaps I suggest you shut off CNN and MSNBC (or any American media station) and wake the fuck up.
@Aaron: I've only seen Christians offended by this nonesense so far. But since you bring it up, I have 0 respect for any religion. They are all blood thirsty, mind control, legal cults. I think it's embarrassing that Christians are crying more over this than the actual war that's going on right now.
As for Marie Antoinette, she's already known for being mocked. That's how she became such a famous figure over time.
I don't watch CNN or MSNBC and I'm not American.
You are all giving this silly ceremony way too much power. No one cares but you.
@Davus: Yes, I am sad. I'm sad that still to this day we are abused, beat up and murdered because we don't follow THEIR rules. So why are you? Why are you offended in their name? Why should I respect them if they don't respect me? Not only that, they want me dead.
You see it as gays not having any respect. I see it as being punk, rebels. Which is what gays are and have always been.
"No one cares but you"
Well, then, I'm flattered that Claudio wrote an entire article dedicated to only my outrage.
Christians are complaining about the war right now, where the fuck are you looking?
"Marie Antoinette is already known for being mocked"
Is this reasoning meant to be serious?
So this makes it OK to perpetuate untruths about historical figures because, what, its cool?
The entire French Revolution is nothing more than the proliferation of mob mentality. It is absolutely not acceptable to encourage it, which is precisely what her "mocking" perpetuates. This was the reason for her inclusion by the Jewish art director.
I'm not religious or Christian either but I don't want entire groups pf people mocked by a bunch of subversive 'artists' with a clear political agenda.
I'm not American either, so I would assume that yourself as a non American would have a broader more nuanced understanding than your original comment would suggest. Clearly not.
@Sad Man
"I see it as being punk, rebels. Which is what gays are and have always been"
The gays that get thrown off of buildings in Muslim countries might disagree with you. So take your anti Christian hatred and direct it at places where homophobia actually matters.
Where is the Christian outrage for the 35,000 deaths (and counting) of innocent lives in Gaza.
Where is the Christian outrage for the 6 million deaths (and counting) for the decades long conflict in the Congo
Where is the Christian outrage when it's been determined that there have been 216,000 victims of sexual abuse carried out by the French Catholic Church’s clergy between 1950 and 2020.
The Olympic opening ceremony is for entertainment purposes. Get upset and create change where it matters.
@MM
I have no idea how to respond to this. Every single sane minded White person who has decried these atrocities, especially those perpetuated by Isreal, are speaking up. If you need the Pope to denounce all of this well then I have sad news for you.
I'm genuinely curious, where are you people getting your information from? We've already seen the Hollywood backlash against anyone that supports Palestine. Maybe it's time you all to extrapolate whats happening there and look further.
It was so much fun to watch,over the top kitsch, etc.
I'm from Peru, some people get offended for this and not for war?
Great article and great list.
The devils is my favorite Russell movie.
I thought the fashion show was really tacky. You expect some kind of elevated, French haute couture moment (or some moment where the French just rub in the fact that they're classier than us) and it felt like the kind of trashy carnival we'd think up in the U.S.
My mother thought it was offensive but she's Catholic. I don't think it's a big deal and honestly, fuck Christianity and evangelicalism. All they are is "if you want to show your love of God-ah, you must put a dollar in the box-ah!" That's all it is.
I've seen a few of those films and they're awesome. Obviously those who are offended by the Olympics ceremony hadn't seen Viridiana which was way more offensive for all of the right reasons. "Oh, what about the children?" Fuck them kids.
I'm just happy that Gojira got their moment in the spotlight and Celine reached GOD status with her performance.
Great article Claudio. Never yield. You haven’t called anyone names, yet those offended are calling you names. You have responded through art, spoken through the same spirit as the opening ceremony itself.
I thought the opening ceremony was thrilling. I watched all 4 hours and went though all the emotions. What a sublime display of art, history, sportsmanship and celebration of democracy. I lived war in Lebanon as a child, I’ve seen every bit of religious Influence and conflict consume my rights and safety, now I live in Canada, and I went to a French Lycee school. I understood a fair number ofreferences in the artistic displays because the French education system is steeped with knowledge in history, literature, science and arts. Thank God. No pun-intended. This opening ceremony reminded the world of why France is truly the country of the revolution and hard-earned freedoms away from systems of oppression. If you watched this opening ceremony and your Christian Catholic sensibilities were offended, believe me, you have a lot to learn about your own religion. Cheers.
@G.Shaq
Nobody called Claudio names not once on this entire page.
@Aaron
Welllllll....
I'm surprised The Last Temptation of Christ wasn't on the list. It is one of the most controversial films in modern history- even if the movie itself isn't that controversial upon watching.
I would also add Black Narcissus. I grew up religious and that film SHOCKED me when I watched it about 10 years ago. I couldn't believe that film was made in the 40's! This film showed that even people who take holy vows are... well, people with fears and hopes and desires- some of them sexual. That scene where Deborah Kerr barges into the room with the woman in the red dress made me gasp out loud.
I'm surprised The Last Temptation of Christ wasn't on the list. It is one of the most controversial films in modern history- even if the movie itself isn't that controversial upon watching.
I would also add Black Narcissus. I grew up religious and that film SHOCKED me when I watched it about 10 years ago. I couldn't believe that film was made in the 40's! This film showed that even people who take holy vows are... well, people with fears and hopes and desires- some of them sexual. That scene where Deborah Kerr barges into the room with the woman in the red dress made me gasp out loud.