The Devil's Bath

As the curtain opens on a young boy's innocent playtime, his tender moment with a distraught infant is abruptly interrupted by the call of home, leaving the crying child alone in its cradle. Unbeknownst to the outside world, an enigmatic woman takes matters into her own hands, shouldering the weight of responsibility as she embarks on a solemn journey up a majestic mountain. As she ascends, the infant's cries subside, and she tenderly removes her rosary, draping it around the child's neck like a symbol of hope. Atop a breathtaking waterfall, she stands in stoic silence, only to be met with the infant's wails once more. With a heavy heart, she makes the ultimate sacrifice, sending the child plummeting down the falls, and then, with a solemn gesture, crosses herself. The gravity of her actions is underscored as she approaches a church-prison tower, knocking on the door with an air of trepidation, only to confess to the person who answers that she has committed a heinous crime.

As night descends, the camera pans up to reveal the decapitated body of the unnamed woman, suspended in a chair like a macabre work of art. The corpse bears the scars of violence, its fingers and toes brutally amputated, as an unseen hand deftly severs one final finger, wrapping it in a cloth like a morbid souvenir.

The next day, Agnes (Anja Plaschg) is seen frolicking in the forest, her carefree spirit evident as she sings, plays with insects, and collects flowers and berries to adorn her hair. Her mother and brother's voices carry through the trees, reminding her that time is running short for her impending nuptials. As Agnes returns home, her family busies themselves stacking a cart with the symbols of her dowry, preparing her for life with Wolf (David Scheid).

The trio sets out on a long journey through the woods, eventually arriving in town where Agnes and Wolf are wed in a joyous celebration. The villagers lift Agnes above their heads as she laughs, her happiness infectious. However, this serenity is short-lived, as the men of the village engage in a gruesome game, blindingfolded contestants attempting to slaughter roosters with oversized staffs.

As the townspeople revel and dance, Wolf takes Agnes aside, revealing his intention to show her something special. He leads her away from the festivities, blindfolding her before guiding her to a mysterious house, which he proudly declares is their wedding gift. Agnes's initial excitement soon turns to dismay as she realizes they are far from her family and uncomfortably close to Wolf's mother. The couple's financial woes become apparent as well, with Agnes wondering how they will repay the loan Wolf took out to purchase their new home. However, Wolf reassures her that he plans to settle the debt by harvesting lumber, leaving Agnes to ponder the uncertain future ahead.

That fateful night, Agnes wandered through the revelry of drunken partygoers in town, where she chanced upon Wolf, slurring his words to his best friend Lenz. As they stood there, Lenz confessed that he harbored a secret admiration for Wolf, prompting Wolf's mother to intervene and steer her son away from further indulgence. Meanwhile, Agnes sought permission from Wolf's mother to help with the cleaning, but was met with a resolute "not on my wedding night." Her own family, preparing to depart, handed her a mysterious gift - the severed finger of the dead woman that had been shrouded in mystery at the film's inception. Back at her humble abode, Agnes paid homage to the finger by planting it beneath her mattress, hoping it would grant her the blessing of motherhood.

Later that night, Wolf stumbled back into town, his intoxication unabated as he collapsed onto Agnes' bed, where he spent the remainder of the evening in a drunken haze. The following morning found Agnes alone and disheveled, prompting her to set out on a quest to locate Wolf. Her journey took her to the doorstep of a kindly woman and her two children, who agreed to guide her to the pond where Wolf plied his trade as a fisherman. As they traversed the woodland path, however, they vanished into thin air, leaving Agnes lost and disoriented.

Undeterred, she stumbled upon a cryptic drawing tacked to a tree branch, revealing a gruesome tale of maternal despair and brutal execution. A few paces away, she discovered the lifeless form of the woman, seated upright on a makeshift altar. The tableau was eerily reminiscent of the film's opening sequence.

Later that day, Agnes chanced upon Wolf, his mother, and their fellow townsfolk engaged in the laborious task of dredging the pond for fish. Wolf's mother proved to be a demanding taskmaster, criticizing Agnes' lack of proficiency as she struggled to keep up with the physical demands of the work. As the church bells tolled, Agnes felt compelled to pause and offer a silent prayer, earning her a stern rebuke from Wolf's mother.

At lunchtime, Agnes was tasked with distributing bread to the workers, only to be chastised by Wolf's mother for exceeding her instructions. Wolf himself intervened, guiding Agnes back home and allowing her to collect a bounty of shimmering fish scales as they walked through the forest. As Agnes prepared dinner that evening, Wolf's mother offered her a lesson in culinary efficiency, demonstrating how to store food and cookware with military precision.

Despite her best efforts, Agnes found herself at odds with Wolf's mother once again when she attempted to reorganize the storage areas to suit her own preferences. Later that night, as Wolf slept soundly beside her, Agnes turned to the finger for solace, planting it beneath her mattress in a futile bid to conceive. Her advances were once again rebuffed by Wolf, leaving her feeling frustrated and alone.

The following day at church, a somber Agnes (Agnes) beseeches a wax effigy of baby Jesus for the gift of motherhood, her desperation palpable as she seeks solace in the divine. As she departs, her attention is drawn to an obscure trapdoor hidden beneath the floorboards, which opens onto a dimly lit crypt below. Meanwhile, the village women congregate at the nearby stream, their collective energy focused on the task of washing linens.

As Agnes joins the group, Wolf's mother (Wolf's mother) exercises her sharp tongue, leveling scathing criticism at a young expectant woman who is seen doing her laundry alongside Agnes. The latter notices the young woman's hair comb and is gifted it as a token of goodwill. Later that evening, Agnes falls prey to exhaustion in the woods, only to return home to find Wolf (Wolf) and his mother sharing a meal together. When Agnes attempts to lend a hand, Mother Gänglin's displeasure is plain, prompting her to ask where Agnes has been. In response, Agnes fabricates a story about attending church services, a lie that goes unnoticed. Following Mother Gänglin's departure, Agnes turns to Wolf with a query: will his mother be present every day? Wolf's reassuring reply is tempered by the revelation that his mother had previously gifted them fish heads. For the third consecutive evening, Wolf refuses to oblige Agnes' advances.

The following morning, Agnes rises early and makes her way to the pond in the hopes of supplementing their meal with a fresh catch. However, she soon finds herself mired in the mud, unable to extricate herself from the quagmire. When Wolf and the other laborers arrive on the scene, he chides her for her reckless behavior, cautioning that she could have met with a fatal outcome. That evening, an urgent knock at their door interrupts the peace, bringing news of a crisis involving Lenz (Lenz). Wolf springs into action, hastening to respond to the emergency alongside Agnes, who follows unseen. Upon arrival, they find a group of men struggling to open the doors of a barn, whereupon they reveal the tragic discovery: Lenz has taken his own life by hanging himself, and his mother is imploring them to permit her to bury him. The stunned Wolf seizes the cart, and the other men load the body onto it, escorting it away amidst a backdrop of sorrow and despair.

As the sun rises on the small town, the priest delivers a scathing sermon, condemning Lenz to eternal damnation for taking his own life. The priest's words are laced with venom as he deems the act worse than murder, citing the example of the woman who threw her baby down the waterfall, but was at least granted forgiveness before meeting her maker. Meanwhile, Agnes is forced to confront the harsh reality of Lenz's fate, lying in a refuse heap, his body left to decompose like so much garbage.

The days blend together as Agnes becomes increasingly withdrawn, her spirits dampened by the onset of menstruation and the cruel taunts of the pregnant washer woman. Her refusal to provide an extra loaf of bread serves only to further isolate her from the rest of the community. As she wanders home, her own self-destructive tendencies begin to manifest, as she cuts her tongue in a futile attempt to release the pent-up emotions within.

That night, Agnes finds solace in the company of the headless corpse at the waterfall, singing hymns to the woman's lifeless form until the early hours of the morning. The next day, her brother finds her asleep in his barn, and though she professes fear, her family implores her to return home, promising a visit soon. Wolf tries to coax her back, but Agnes remains resolute, refusing to budge from her despair.

As the days turn into weeks, Agnes's apathy takes its toll on the farm, with crops rotting and goats falling ill. Desperate for a solution, she is sent to see the local barber, who compounds her misery by sewing a piece of horse hair through the back of her neck, instructing her to repeatedly shift it from side to side in an attempt to release the perceived "poison" coursing through her veins.

On her way home, Agnes stumbles upon an abandoned baby in the woods, and despite Wolf's mother's horror at the prospect of raising another child, Agnes insists on bringing it back to their farm. But when she presents her findings to her family, they are appalled, urging her to return the child to its rightful parents.

As Agnes's melancholy deepens, she resorts to a desperate measure, consuming rat poison in a bid for self-annihilation. Consumed by waves of agony and retching fits, she implores Wolf to procure her a spiritual guide. Though he departs, returning alone to reveal the priest was unavailable, he reassures her that they can schedule an appointment for the following day. Her distress intensifies as she fears dying without confessing her transgressions, leading her to confide in Wolf about her ingestion of poison. He forces her to regurgitate the toxic substance, and the next morning, accompanied by his mother, he carries Agnes back to her family's rural estate, presenting a fabricated narrative to her mother and brother - that she had indulged in an otherworldly ritual known as "Devil's bath" and attempted self-destruction.

The following dawn, Agnes rises early, dresses with haste, and embarks on a solitary journey back towards the town. Along the way, she encounters a group of children gathered by a serene pond, collecting firewood for winter. She solicits the assistance of a young boy, offering compensation in exchange for his participation in a prayer at a nearby shrine. Following his completion of the ritual, Agnes strikes the boy with a swift and deadly precision, mortally wounding him. As he screams for help, she delivers a morbid prophecy - that his innocence will ensure his ascension to angelic status before God's judgment. With her victim's life slipping away in her arms, she duplicates the actions of the woman at the film's inception by knocking on the door of the church/prison tower and announcing her culpability.

Agnes is subsequently incarcerated and presents a tearful confession to the priest, revealing that she had grown weary of existence and sought absolution prior to her own demise. She candidly confesses to the murder, having calculated that her execution would provide an opportunity for a final confession before meeting her maker - the only viable escape from her torment. The priest grants her forgiveness, prompting Agnes's descent into uncontrollable laughter and tears.

As the eerie silence envelops the town square, Agnes (Agnes) lies motionless, her body swaddled in animal hides, a stark reminder of her fate. The executioner's hooded gaze falls upon her as he drapes a veil over her head, and in that fleeting moment, a glimmer of life stirs within her. Her voice, barely audible, begins to weave a haunting melody, one that resonates deeply with a young onlooker who joins in, their harmonies intertwining like the threads of a tapestry. The air is heavy with tension as the song reaches its poignant climax, only to be brutally cut short by the executioner's sword, severing Agnes's head from her lifeless body.

In the aftermath, the husband's anguished wails mingle with the cacophony of cheers and laughter that erupts among the townsfolk. The gruesome spectacle is momentarily forgotten as vendors begin to peddle cups and bowls filled with the crimson elixir collected in buckets, a supposed antidote against melancholy. As the crowd dances and revels, Agnes's lifeless form is displayed on a pike beside her severed head, a grim reminder of the dark ritual that has played out before their very eyes. The townspeople's euphoria knows no bounds as they continue to indulge in the macabre celebration, oblivious to the somber reality that has been served up before them.