Rapturous New Trailer for ‘Ken Russell’s The Devils’ Turns Up the Heat on the Movie Event of the Year

55 years in the making, the Holy Grail of cinematic restorations hits U.S. theaters on October 16.

“Do you remember the first time your thoughts were turned to evil things?”

So begins the rapturous new trailer for Ken Russell’s “The Devils,” a propulsive descent into religious hysteria, political corruption, and some of the most blasphemously beautiful horror imagery ever committed to celluloid. If the restoration’s teaser from June played like proof of a long-awaited resurrection, this spectacular follow-up — packed with never-before-seen footage from the new 4K restoration — turns up the heat until it feels like your screen is practically catching fire.

Starring Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed, Russell’s incendiary 1971 masterpiece dramatizes the alleged demonic possessions that overtook the French city of Loudun in 1634. Reed plays Urbain Grandier, a charismatic priest whose resistance to Cardinal Richelieu’s campaign to demolish Loudun’s fortifications makes him an irresistible target. But when Redgrave’s sexually repressed Sister Jeanne claims Grandier visited her in the form of an incubus, an entire convent erupts into apparent possession — giving the church exactly the spectacle it needs to destroy him.

Russell described “The Devils” as his “only political film,” but audiences have never been permitted to see that vision exactly as he intended. Key sequences were excised before its original release, with still more cuts made for American moviegoers. The film’s extraordinary production — including Derek Jarman’s gleaming, anachronistic sets, Shirley Russell’s costumes, David Watkin’s cinematography, and Peter Maxwell Davies’ feverish score — has nevertheless secured its reputation as one of cinema’s most singular achievements.

Now, Warner Bros. Clockwork has assembled Russell’s definitive cut in 4K from the original camera negative, referencing the private edit he constructed in 2004. The result is the only version Russell wanted audiences to see: uncensored, rated NC-17 by the MPA, and the first film carrying that rating to be released by Warner Bros. in the studio’s 103-year history.

“The restoration of the material is like cleaning the Sistine Chapel with saliva,” longtime champion Guillermo del Toro said in a statement. “It is insane, the epic size of the film. I mean, I’ve seen it on the big screen in Telluride at a theater — but I’ve never seen the movie until I saw this restoration.”

Following festival engagements at Cannes, Il Cinema Ritrovato, TIFF, and Sitges, “Ken Russell’s The Devils” opens in North American theaters October 16 for an exclusive one-week engagement, including select 35mm screenings. Quite possibly the greatest cinematic offering of 2026, it’s also heavenly evidence that the movie gods do indeed answer prayers.

From Warner Bros. Clockwork, “Ken Russell’s The Devils” will open in North American theaters on October 16 for an exclusive one-week engagement, followed by a UK release on October 30. Watch the trailer below.