Some movies don't just push boundaries. They blow them up, plant a flag in the rubble, and dare you to look away. Ken Russell's 1971 religious fever dream The Devils is one of those movies, and it's finally coming back to theaters this fall with a gorgeous new re-release and a trailer that'll knock you out.

If you've never heard of The Devils, I'm genuinely jealous of what's waiting for you. The film is based on Aldous Huxley's nonfiction book The Devils of Loudun, which sounds like it should be stuffy and academic until you remember that Ken Russell is the one behind the camera. The whole thing is a wild collision of religious grandeur and psychedelic excess, drenched in stark blacks and whites and reds that look like a painting come to life.

Russell made this thing like a man possessed. There is nothing else in the history of cinema that looks or feels like The Devils.

It received an X rating upon its original release in 1971, and that rating has been both a badge of honor and a burden for over 50 years. The film's long history of censorship battles is the stuff of legend, which makes this re-release feel like a genuine event. According to The Wrap, the film is returning to theaters this fall with a new trailer, full stop.

The rating was never a gimmick. The film deals with sexual repression, religious corruption, and political manipulation in ways that are deliberately confrontational. Russell isn't being provocative for the sake of it. He's trying to make you feel the suffocating weight of institutional power and what it does to the human spirit. Some of it is deeply uncomfortable to watch. All of it is unforgettable.

What excites me most about this trailer is how sharp and vibrant the restoration looks. Every time I've caught The Devils on a battered streaming transfer or a grainy DVD, I've thought about what it would look like properly projected on a big screen. Now we're going to find out.

If you're the type who seeks out the weird, the bold, and the genuinely dangerous corners of cinema history, this is your fall watchlist sorted. Jess Wingo keeps telling me I need to watch more gentle stuff. Jess, I'll get to it. But first I need to sit in a dark theater and let Ken Russell scream at me for two hours.