The Devil’s Bath and A Head Full of Ghosts coming from directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala

The latest genre movie from Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, the directing duo behind the disturbing horror films Goodnight Mommy (the original, not the Naomi Watts remake) and The Lodge, is The Devil’s Bath, which is set to have its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival this month. Before the movie’s festival screening, Variety reports that the Shudder streaming service has already picked up the rights to release The Devil’s Bath in North America, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand sometime this summer. Variety also reports that Franz and Fiala have signed on to direct the psychological horror movie A Head Full of Ghosts, which is based on a novel by Paul Tremblay (you can pick up a copy of the book HERE). Another novel written by Tremblay was The Cabin at the End of the World, which M. Night Shyamalan turned into Knock at the Cabin.

The Devil’s Bath – which has been described as “utterly harrowing”, “chilling”, and “impactful” – is a German-language film that is set in 1750 Austria, at a time when villages were surrounded by deep forests. There, a deeply religious woman has married her beloved, but her mind and heart soon grow heavy as her life becomes a long list of chores and expectations. Day after day, she is increasingly trapped in a murky and lonely path leading to evil thoughts, until the possibility of committing a shocking act of violence seems like the only way out of her turmoil. Franz and Fiala said it’s “a movie that tackles the horrors of depression and aims to give a voice to women who have been unheard throughout history.”

Anja Plaschg, David Scheid, Maria Hofstätter, Camilla Schielin, and Lorenz Tröbinger star. The film was produced by Ulrich Seidl Productions, as a co-production with Heimatfilm and Coop99 Filmproduktion. 

As for A Head Full of Ghosts, that one follows the Barretts, whose normal suburban New England life is torn apart when their teenage daughter shows signs of acute schizophrenia, reluctantly leading them to be the subjects of a reality show, “The Possession.” Some 15 years later, Merry faces her family’s haunting past when a journalist is assigned to help tell her side of the story and uncovers the very nature of evil.

Coming our way from Team Downey and The Allegiance Theater, with Fifth Season financing development and production, the Tremblay adaptation is being produced by Daniel Dubiecki and Lara Alameddine of The Allegiance Theater, Susan Downey and Robert Downey Jr. of Team Downey, and David Gambino.

A Head Full of Ghosts has been in development for years. Back in 2018, Osgood Perkins was attached to write and direct the film. In 2020, Scott Cooper came on board to direct and rewrite Perkins’ script, while Margaret Qualley was set to star in it. The producers are hoping the project will finally get into production later this year, with Franz and Fiala at the helm.

Are you glad to hear we have two new Franz and Fiala movies on the way? Share your thoughts on The Devil’s Bath and A Head Full of Ghosts by leaving a comment below.