Belladonna of Sadness (1973) 2016

In the rustic hamlet of medieval France, newlyweds Jeanne (character name) and Jean (character name) are met with a brutal initiation into married life as Jeanne is subjected to a barbarous gang-rape by the local baron and his courtiers on her wedding night. The traumatic event leaves Jeanne shattered, and she returns to their humble abode in a state of utter despair. In an attempt to console her, Jean tries to restart their lives from that moment forward, but his words are hollow as he later becomes consumed by shame and flees the scene.

That fateful night, Jeanne begins to experience vivid visions of a grotesque, phallic-headed entity that promises to grant her untold power. The malevolent spirit claims to have heard her cries for help and offers to grow in strength and magnitude according to her desires. As a result, the couple’s fortunes begin to rise despite the ravages of famine, which besets the village, while the baron increases taxes to fund his military endeavors. Jean is elevated to the role of tax collector, but his newfound status is short-lived as he becomes the target of punishment when he fails to extract sufficient funds from the villagers, leaving him miserable and debauched.

The spirit returns to visit Jeanne once more, now grown in size and malevolent intent. It forces itself upon her, demanding further riches in exchange for its favors. Though she submits to her physical desires, Jeanne asserts that her soul remains dedicated to Jean and the divine. Soon after, Jeanne takes out a substantial loan from a usurer and sets herself up as a rival entrepreneur, eventually becoming the true power broker in the village.

As the baron returns victorious from his wars, his wife, consumed by envy of the adoration showered upon Jeanne, labels her a witch and turns the villagers against her. Fleeing the mob, Jeanne tries to return to her home and Jean, but he refuses to open the door, leaving her vulnerable to assault.

That evening, when soldiers come to arrest her, Jeanne flees into the nearby forest, where she finally forms an unholy pact with the malevolent entity, revealing himself as the Devil. She is granted extraordinary powers, which she uses to create a cure for the bubonic plague that has infected the village. The villagers, desperate for aid, flock to her, and Jeanne seizes the opportunity to preside over orgiastic rituals among them, cementing her position of authority.

As the page’s desperation for romance with the baron’s wife reaches a fever pitch, he turns to Jeanne in a last-ditch effort to win her favor. The cunning sorceress obliges, concocting a potent love potion that swiftly awakens the baron’s wife to the page’s amorous advances. However, their illicit tryst is short-lived, as the baron catches his wife in flagrante and exacts a brutal revenge upon both lovers.

The consequences of Jeanne’s meddling soon come full circle, as the baron summons her to a private meeting, clearly perturbed by her power to manipulate the desires of others. Despite their earlier animosity, Jeanne accepts the invitation, and the couple reconciles in a tense but calculated display of diplomacy. In a surprising turn, the baron offers to elevate Jeanne to the position of second-highest noble in the land, contingent upon her sharing her secret cure for the plague that has ravaged the countryside. However, Jeanne’s ambition is not so easily satiated, and she declines the offer, expressing a desire to dominate the world rather than simply a portion of it.

Enraged by her refusal, the baron orders Jeanne to be burned at the stake, a punishment meted out with ruthless efficiency. The subsequent killing of Jean, who attempts to intervene on his lover’s behalf, only serves to further inflame the already volatile emotions of the villagers. As Jeanne meets her fiery demise, a chilling prophecy is fulfilled: the faces of the female villagers begin to transform into Jeanne’s, a morbid manifestation of the priest’s earlier warning that if a witch is burned while her pride remains intact, her malevolent spirit will survive and spread its influence far and wide.

Centuries would pass before the dark legacy of Jeanne’s spirit finally coalesces, giving rise to the tumultuous French Revolution that would forever alter the course of history.