Much of the folklore regarding the Alps warns of the perils of the landscape, of nature. There’s another strain of folk tales that emphasizes the importance of adhering to one’s word or God’s laws. These folktales articulate the primary concerns of the Senn (herders on the Alps) and provides the basis for the film Sukkubus – den Teufel im Leib (1989).
Sukkubus tells the very straightforward story of three Senn (Peter Simonischek, Giovanni Früh, and Andy Voß) who, on one stormy and drunken night, create a sex doll of roots, hay, and old blankets. They baptize the doll and deflower it, at which point it magically becomes flesh (Pamela Prati). Having committed a sacrilege, the now living doll or sukkubus exacts a terrible, bloody revenge on the Senn.
Directed by Georg Tressler, Sukkubus is a slow burning sort of revenge thriller. The film takes its time to establish the social dynamics of the trio and to what extent religious faith shapes their daily routine. Sukkubus genuinely feels like a historically accurate portrait of this singularly insular European sub-culture. All of this background work and context makes the more fantastic elements of the narrative feel like an organic extension of the relationship between the three men.
There is a dream-like quality to the Alps as a location that not only suits the film, but accounts for the source material of the film. In this dynamic landscape of crude rock ridges Pamela Prati is an otherworldly visage. Her nude body appearing as a naturally anomalous feature of the terrain like the waterfall or the rocky gorge. She is both a fantasy and of the earth. Her role as a harbinger of doom also takes on a dual meaning. At once she represents reciprocity for all women who have been objectified and abused as well as the vessel for God’s justice on the Senn for having mocked the Holy sacraments of the church.
All in all Sukkubus – den Teufel im Leib is a rather modest entry in the popular Folk Horror canon. Where the film falters in some of its pacing it compensates with historical details. So Sukkubus – den Teufel im Leib isn’t necessarily the place to start with this genre, but it is well worth a look for the already initiated.
