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The Limping Devil

Name: The Limping Devil
Director: Juraj Herz
Released: 1968
Duration: 82 min

Representation Score

5.2/10

Fair

1968

Director

Juraj Herz

Runtime

82 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

The film prioritizes psychological and surrealist disruption over demographic diversity. While it lacks representation for LGBTQ+ and racial groups due to its historical and regional context, it offers significant depth through its cultural critique. Its strength lies in deconstructing traditional institutions and moral stability. By framing human connection through dysfunction and chaos, the film explores complex psychological states. However, the reliance on a homogeneous cast and traditional romantic structures limits its inclusivity score. The use of physical deformity as a surrealist tool remains a complex, potentially problematic element.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Limping Devil have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The film does not include explicit LGBTQ+ characters or non-straight relationships. Instead, it centers on traditional romantic pairings orchestrated by a supernatural force.

How does The Limping Devil portray gender?

Fair

Zuzana takes control by rejecting suitors, while the plot explores themes of hysteria and voyeurism, suggesting a deconstruction of idealized gender roles.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Limping Devil?

Minimal

The cast is ethnically uniform, reflecting the 1968 Czechoslovakian setting. There is no indication of diverse casting or racialized metaphors in this cultural context.

How does The Limping Devil represent religion and culture?

Good

The film employs surrealism to critique social structures and moral certainties. It blurs the lines between the divine and demonic, favoring moral relativism over traditional communal cohesion.

Does The Limping Devil include disability representation?

Fair

Asmodeus is defined by a physical deformity, which serves as a narrative disruptor. The film uses the grotesque to create surrealist discomfort rather than relying on passive stereotypes.

Present on Screen

Strong cultural critique that deconstructs traditional social and psychological institutions.
Subverts romantic idealism by exploring themes of hysteria, voyeurism, and dysfunction.
Uses surrealist aesthetics to challenge conventional morality and social order.

Limited or Absent

Lacks representation for LGBTQ+ identities and non-straight characters.
Maintains an ethnically homogeneous cast consistent with its historical setting.
Relies on traditional romantic archetypes despite its surrealist themes.

Official Synopsis

A baleful limping man walks through Prague. He is Asmodeus (Juraj Herz), the fiend of lustfulness, entertaining himself by putting together by magic couples of lovers. He only fails at the swimming pool. Zuzana (Jana Sulcová), the good-looking blonde, ignores the men whom the devil foists off onto her. She loves Honza (Václav Neckár) and the boy shares her feelings. The fiend is annoyed by the couple and tries to provoke a row. He sends heavy rain to force them into a hotel and then warns Zuzana's father by phone, but the young lovers manage to get out in time. Then the obstinate Asmodeus takes Honza in his sleep to the Institute for Emotional Disorders, where he shows him the ugly sides of love - hysteria, voyeurism, fetishism, suicide attempts...

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