The Night

Synopsis

Set in the 17th-century Basque mountains during the height of the Spanish Inquisition, Kattalin is a young woman desperate to escape her abusive and controlling husband. Fleeing into the deep, dark forest in the middle of the night, she senses a malevolent presence stalking her through the spectral trees. Her terror is momentarily eased when she encounters three older women gathered by a river, seemingly washing clothes under the moonlight. As they share macabre village gossip and terrifying folk tales, the boundary between story and reality begins to dissolve. Kattalin soon realizes she is becoming a central figure in their haunting narratives, uncovering the village's darkest secrets and the hypocrisy of the righteous. This atmospheric folk horror explores themes of sexual liberation and ancient faiths, culminating in a spectacular and orgiastic witches' Sabbath where the suppressed reclaim their power from those who would demonize them.