A period crime thriller set in a remote logging village and accommodating myriad religious and political interpretations, Manuel Guimarães’ O Crime de Aldeia Velha (US: The Crime of Aldeia Velha) is unique in this collection not only because it’s the only film from Portugal but also because of its fascinating blend of horror, noir, and art house vibes. Loosely based on a real incident from the 19th century, the film stars Barbara Laage as Joana, a beautiful, unmarried woman who engenders desire in all the local men and resentment in all the local women. When two of Joana’s suitors fight for her with axes, both ending up dead, the village women begin to suspect that Joana is possessed by the devil; a frenzy of fear and superstition ensues, Joana herself soon becoming convinced of her own satanic state, the mob’s increasingly violent behavior ultimately leading to tragedy. Rui Gomes plays a young priest who attempts — unsuccessfully — to protect Joana from the angry masses. The dramatic, mountainous setting adds a sort of outdoor Gothic spirit, the women dress and appear like witches, and the trek to Joana’s final destination unmistakably warrants comparison to Christ’s walk to Calvary, the dramatic score and shouting crowds swelling up the hill. Natural comparisons can be made to paranoid, regulated societies from Estado Novo, Portugal’s nationalist, authoritarian regime at the time, to today’s online culture of public shaming and witch hunts. Guimarães not only delivers scenes of violence but lingers on them, such extended sequences including the lumberjacks’ axe-to-axe combat and cracked skulls while a squealing pig is slaughtered nearby, and another character slowly burning at the stake.