Murdering the Devil

If you didn’t already know, the devil is an engineer named Bohous. He sports a neatly trimmed mustache à la John Waters and effortlessly quotes Freud and Nietzsche. No wonder She, a disillusioned single woman, falls under his spell and invites him over for dinner – and breakfast. But once he arrives, his charm quickly fades. The faint scent of sulfur on his breath is the least of his problems – far more unsettling is his smug arrogance and unshakable sense of male entitlement. At first, She finds herself slipping into the role of a passive doll, playing along with Bohous’s overconfidence. But as the night unfolds, she begins to see through his act and devises a plan to put him in his place. Murdering the Devil, the only film directed by Czechoslovak New Wave icon Ester Krumbachová, is a wickedly sharp satire, sure to delight fans of both The Master and Margarita and Poor Things. However, its true cinematic kin is Daisies by Věra Chytilová – a film Krumbachová co-wrote and designed costumes for. Both share the same anarchic energy, rebellious spirit, and a subversive use of culinary metaphors, making Murdering the Devil a hidden gem of surreal feminist cinema.

Piotr Czerkawski

Ester Krumbachová (1923–1996) was a pivotal figure of the Czechoslovak New Wave, though often overshadowed by her collaborators. As a screenwriter and costume designer, she played a crucial role in films like Diamonds of the Night (1964), Firemen’s Ball (1967), and Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970). Her unique surrealist vision and feminist sensibility made her one of cinema’s most influential yet underappreciated artists. In 1970, she directed her only feature, Murdering the Devil, which has since gained cult status. After 1970, her career was stifled by communist censorship, yet her influence on experimental cinema remains undeniable.

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