A NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM
Do you believe in Hell?
That place which priests talk about so much.
A dark, cruel abyss, where the souls of the condemned are sent.
A place inhabited by terrible demons who punish and torture the condemned.
Hell,
where all hope is lost upon entry.
Hell's subjects beguile sinners with ease,
tempting them with fulfilling their desires
in exchange for their mortal souls.
Few have escaped successfully from such a terrible pact.
This story, like many others,
begins with a man of flesh and blood.
A man who outwitted that fearful pact.
A man so evil, so cruel,
that even the Devil himself would fear him.
A blacksmith.
1835. 1ST CARLIST WAR. ARABA, BASQUE COUNTRY
Soldier. Come here.
Well?
Sir, it seems these old-fashioned
were trying to transport something to the north.
Sir. Look at this.
I bet Zumalacárregui will have trouble entering Bilbao without this.
That's enough, Father.
We don't have all day.
Firing squad!
Attention!
Get ready!
Take aim!
Fire!
Deliver this to the major. It's urgent.
Devil.
8 YEARS LATER
Look at these treasures.
Faustino, that's all rubbish.
Santi, your eyes are deceiving you.
Look at this. It's a relic.
Links from the chain that the legendary Teodosio de Goñi carried as penance
when he witnessed the death of the Dragon of Aralar
from the hands of St. Michael.
If you bite this,
it will ease your headache, Santi.
Only 30 reals.
Sell that to the priest. I'm sure he'll buy it.
Good morning.
Good morning, sir. What can I get you?
Nothing, thank you. Do you have a room free?
Yes, and with a very comfortable bed. Ten reals a night.
Very well.
I'll prepare it right away.
Won't you have something meanwhile?
I've got excellent Patxaran. The best in the region.
And the Txakoli is very good.
I don't drink, thank you.
May I ask what brings you to our town?
My name is Alfredo Ortiz.
I work for the provincial government. I'm investigating a matter.
An investigation? About what?
I'm looking for a smithy in this area.
There's only one smithy here and it's in ruins.
I need to talk to its proprietor, a certain Francisco.
Patxi? The blacksmith?
Don't even think of it! That man is mad.
He's an animal. And he's dangerous. He's so fierce they call him the Hammer.
The locals avoid that place. It just brings trouble.
I just need to go in there to carry out a search.
Is there something of value there?
I'm sorry, that's confidential.
Are you alone? Maybe we could help you.
I've come ahead to start work on the investigation.
The police will be here in a couple of days.
Look, it's bad enough that they raise our taxes.
We don't need more nonsense.
That smithy is a ruin.
You won't find anything of value in this area.
During the war, everything was melted down to make weapons,
from cooking pots to the church bell.
This is a poor town.
And that room?
Yes.
Benito!
Wipe the sleep from your eyes and take this gentleman to his room.
I'm coming.
And put a blanket over the still.
Come this way, sir.
By the way, how do I get to the smithy?
Take the path on the left when you reach the wash house.
Then follow the river through the forest. But be careful.
The Devil lives there.
GET OUT OF HERE
From what I hear, today a government official has come to our town.
Naive of me to think he would share our mass with us.
Here we have the contempt of the new government for the Church.
The Devil is among us, walking through our lands,
in the form of filthy liberal ideas
which draw good people away from the word of the Lord.
It's been three years since the war ended.
Three years during which those avaricious bourgeois fornicators
have ruled the country.
- What's that? - Nothing.
Give me that.
They have even moved our borders,
and now traders can cross to the sea, without any control,
without paying duties.
They have torn our customs,
our laws from us.
What will be next?
Let's pray.
- Let us pray to Our Lord Jesus Christ. - We pray to you, Our Lord.
Benito, do you know where Usue is?
How should I know? She must be around.
But you're always following after her.
What the hell do you mean?
Mind your manners.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, where has the child gone to?
Let us proceed to the Eucharist. Let us drink the blood of the Lord.
For God's sake, Blanca. Where did you put the mass wine?
There.
I don't like it.
Don't be cheeky, Matilde. Behave like a young lady.
If your mother was alive, she'd slap you.
Are you crying again?
Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Come now, I didn't mean that.
Here, a present.
It was your mother's, you know?
And you, Mr. Napoleon, console your wife, for God's sake.
Let us drink the blood of the Lord.
That's disgusting.
Hello. You've come.
You got our invitation.
Sit with us.
Let us continue with the mass.
Yes! Right on its head.
What did you do, you brute?
Shut up, shitface. I saved your life. It was going to bite you.
No, idiot! It was my friend!
You're the idiot. You're in trouble for missing Mass.
I don't care about going to Mass. That's for idiots like you.
Then you'll go to Hell, like your mother.
What? Are you going to cry?
The hanged woman is burning!
Shut up!
Matilde!
Please, Usue, help me.
No! No!
Take your doll.
- Hold your head back. - I know that.
Why are you stopping?
It's the mad blacksmith.
They say he kidnaps children,
slits them open and sucks out their guts.
My grandfather said that he killed his wife.
He's scary.
Well, he doesn't scare me. He looks like a beggar.
Not so loud.
- I bet I can hit him. - Benito, Benito, no.
The cock crowing at this time is a bad omen.
Benito! Come here.
What happened to your nose?
We were playing near the smithy and Us...
and I slipped.
Lord knows what you were doing.
Why were you there, anyway?
I've told you to stay away from that place.
- I went looking for Usue. - And where is she?
I don't know. She stayed there.
- What'll I do with that girl? - Did you lose her?
Why do I have to look after that runt?
Watch your mouth.
There she is.
Usue. Come here.
Do you think this is normal? To disappear and not come to Mass?
Is that blood?
The Mass wine... Did you take it?
You shameless pup. I'll show you...
Don Mateo. Leave her to me.
Child, you'll end up in Hell.
I don't care! Hell is a lie!
Usue, that's enough.
Leave me alone! You're not my mother! My mother is dead!
You should be harder on her.
Remember she's your responsibility, not mine.
- Santi. - What?
- Why aren't you behind the bar? - Just a minute, dear.
Just a minute?
It's a letter from the war... "Carlist load, a chest full of gold."
Gold?
Could that be what the dandy's looking for?
The treasure of Zumalacárregui.
A treasure? Here in the town?
Excuse me, but I think that's mine.
Look, my son is a blockhead. He took it out of curiosity.
I should report this.
Don't do that. What about...
if I let you have the room at half price?
No charge. You're our guest. What do you say?
What about if you help me get into the smithy today
and we'll forget everything?
Today? I don't know. Maybe later.
- Santi. - What?
- You have work in the bar. - Ana.
I have to do the cooking.
Don't worry, brother.
I'll do it with my friends to pay back what I owe you.
- That's not a bad idea. - Ana.
It's fine with me.
Do you think there's gold in the smithy?
Twelve pounds in pieces of gold.
Donated by the Tsar of Russia to the Carlist cause
so that Captain Tomás Zumalacárregui could lay siege to Bilbao.
But the gold never reached its destination.
How do you know all that?
It was a rumor among the soldiers.
I thought it was a tale to entertain us.
But they also said there were lamias on the banks of the Bidasoa,
women with ducks' feet.
Be quiet. You're a bore with those stories.
This letter and the enlistment documents point directly to that blacksmith.
If I were you, I wouldn't go near that place.
You know how his wife was found.
She killed herself because she was so unhappy with him.
The Hammer lost his mind,
he stopped speaking to people and started behaving violently.
He left Fermín, the honey maker, lame in one leg, just for speaking to him.
At night, you can hear him in the distance,
banging the anvil with his hammer.
At times, there are horrible screams, too, that chill your blood.
Some say that it's the ghost of his wife, screaming.
Others say that it's the Devil,
who wants to take the blacksmith's soul.
Will you tell me the joke so I can laugh, too?
No, it's nothing. We were just saying how elegantly you're dressed.
It's the beret my father wore during the war.
Go in and search the place until you find something suspicious.
Aren't you coming?
I'd just be in the way. I'm no good at field work.
As you wish.
There's a chain.
Now you're not laughing so much?
Okay, like we said. Let's go.
Go away!
Listen, excuse me...
Get out of here!
This is an official mission. We represent the government.
Open the door. It's a search.
I said, get out of here!
Please, come out, or we'll have to enter by force.
For your own good, it's best if you come out.
Back! Back!
Miguel! Miguel! Miguel!
Get out of here.
- Where's Lucas? And the dandy? - I don't know. Run!
What an ugly doll. It's got no head.
Mine is pretty. My father bought it for me.
Can I hold it?
No! Don't let her. She can play with her dead doll.
She isn't dead.
If she's got no head, she can't eat, and so she'll die.
My mother says that her mother hanged herself.
Your mother is in Hell. Leave us in peace.
Go hang from a rope! Go hang from a rope!
Go hang from a rope!
Go hang from a rope, shitface.
You're not dead.
Leave that there and put more wood on the fire.
Yes, yes.
Usue, I know that I'm hard on you at times.
I have to be, to keep you on the right road.
But I want you to know that I'm always here for you.
If someone hangs himself and dies, does he always go to Hell?
Suicide is a mortal sin. You know that.
Hell is the only place those poor souls can go.
But if that person wasn't bad, is there no way to come back?
Some things just can't be fixed, child.
But?
No more nonsense. Forget it.
Usue, where are you going?
But you can be fixed.
Don't worry, Matilde.
I'll find your head and you'll be alive again.
Where is the spade?
Hello?
Don't make any noise. Help me, please.
Get me out of here before he comes back.
He hurts me.
He's a monster. Please, little friend, get me out of here.
The keys. They're on his belt. You have to get them.
How? No, I can't...
Yes. Yes, you can, little friend.
Don't leave me here. It's horrible.
He's coming back. Hide.
Yes, hide. Son of a bitch.
Come on.
Hurry up. Before he wakes...
Stop. Let me do it.
If you take one more step, I'll rip off her head.
By Abraxas, this isn't the end, blacksmith.
Your soul belongs to me. It belongs to me.
I will return with the most terrible infernal hosts
to tear it out of you while you die,
screaming in the most unbearable torment.
I'll take this tidbit for the journey.
My horn. Damn bastard!
I'll slit you open and eat your guts.
- Be careful! - Didn't you even manage to get in?
That place is a fortress.
It's obvious... he has the gold.
I told you not to go there.
We have to get him, for Lucas. An eye for an eye.
Don't be stupid. Do you want to get killed, too?
I'm not going back.
- Santi! - What?
Where's Benito? It's getting dark.
I don't know. Can't you see I'm busy?
You should worry more about your own family...
- Ana. - ...and less about those mules.
This mule is my brother.
- Look. There's the rascal. Come over here. - Benito!
Apologize to your mother for having worried her.
Wait, Santi. Something's happened to Usue.
He's got her. The blacksmith's got Usue.
He took her. And the Devil was there, too.
Now, calm down, Benito.
What are you saying? Has the blacksmith got Usue?
Yes, and it looked...
It looked like she was dead.
Stay with your mother.
The poor child. We have to go and help her.
That man is a danger.
By the power vested in me by the government,
I authorize you to take the necessary measures.
That degenerate bastard.
I'm going there.
Ana, tell everyone you know,
they're to get armed and meet us on the path to the smithy.
- Be careful. - Who's coming with me?
I'm in. Who else?
Some day, they'll come looking for me.
And I'll throw your soul into the darkest, most horrible abyss!
Look who missed you.
Do what you want. I don't care.
Time doesn't pass for me.
But you, sooner or later, you'll die,
and then you'll end up keeping the pact you made.
There is no pact now.
I gave you what you wanted.
You got home safe and sound to see your wife.
But it shouldn't have been like that!
It's not my fault that you're an ogre and your wife found a better man.
You can do what you want to me, but you made an unbreakable pact.
Hell never leaves any loose ends.
You hear me? No loose ends!
What are you doing here?
Get out.
Wait. Sit down.
Don't be afraid. Sit down.
Is this yours?
Give me the scarf.
And the scarf?
Is that yours, too?
It was my mother's.
Son of a thousand bitches!
Don't be afraid.
He's well chained up.
But you were lucky.
Is he the Devil?
Just a demon.
And he can't escape?
He can't go back empty-handed.
You're just a messenger, isn't that right, Sartael?
Yes, and I've got a message for you from Hell.
Your wife sends you warmest greetings!
What are you looking at, little girl?
Liar!
Wait. Stand back. Watch this.
No, no, not the chickpeas.
How many chickpeas are there?
No!
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight...
He is blinded by it. He can't help it. He has to count them.
One, two, three...
Don't do that!
One, two, three...
We will do another thing.
It's blessed.
I hate you! I hate you! Damn humans...
Why do I have to put up with this? Why?
Shut up.
You're a bunch of unbearable, whining souls.
I hate having to punish you.
But you are worse.
You don't see your guilt
and you torment everyone else!
Like you did with your wife!
Leave. They'll be looking for you.
Wait.
What do you want? Haven't you had enough fun?
I'm sorry I hurt you before.
I didn't mean to.
By St. Michael's bastard! You, brat?
Do you think you can hurt me?
I was born in the flames of Hell.
The thing is, I have problems with my ears because of the damp in here.
Are you from Hell? Really?
What do you think?
Have you seen my mother? Her name's Maite.
There are lots of souls in Hell.
How do you know your mother is in Hell?
Was she bad to you?
I never knew her.
She killed herself soon after I was born.
Oh! Then you can be sure that she's roasting down there.
Is there no way to get her out?
Get her out?
Of Hell?
Little girl, you're very funny.
No one gets out of Hell.
Why not?
Because you condemn yourselves during your lives.
You should see the lines of lost souls, dragged along by their guilt,
without anyone forcing them, waiting to get into Hell.
And once they've passed through those gates,
there's no going back.
Things are as they are, and they can't be changed.
One's fate is written.
He's lying.
He always lies.
Let's go.
I'll walk you to the crossroads.
There they are!
Usue!
Patxi, let the girl go.
Come here, Usue!
What did that monster do to you?
Nothing, I'm fine. I just fell.
You killed Lucas!
It was an accident.
Liar! You killed him with your own hands.
I saw it!
Grab him! He's a murderer!
Don't let him get away!
No!
Stop!
Mateo!
Patxi, don't fight them.
Don't make it worse.
We should search the smithy.
We'll have a look at your house.
The child is safe. I am glad.
You can go home and rest.
You can't search the smithy on your own.
I'm well accompanied.
I appreciate your assistance, but, please, let me do my work.
This is our town, and we're going, like it or not. Come on!
Be careful! There are traps!
I know the girl is Maite's daughter, but I always had doubts.
Is she his daughter, too?
No.
It was eight years ago.
I had commissioned a new bell for the belfry from Patxi.
One night, he came to my door with the bell...
What have you done, Patxi?
...and something else.
A newborn baby, Usue.
And then, he told me what had happened.
One month earlier, after two years at the front,
he had deserted to return to his wife.
But when he came back, he found a baby that was not his.
Maite thought that Patxi had died in the war,
and she had found consolation in another man's arms,
an outsider who got her with child.
Driven by an uncontrollable rage,
Patxi held the baby, wanting to throw her into the fire.
But the father appeared and stopped Patxi.
Patxi, full of rage, killed him.
Maite tried to kill Patxi, but the blacksmith escaped death.
Maite, lost in despair, killed herself.
Patxi told no one.
He shut himself in his workshop and forged the bell I asked him for.
He brought the baby to me,
and none of us knew anything more of him for months.
Come on, it's safe!
It's locked.
Please, wait here for a moment.
It might be dangerous. Bring the prisoner.
God!
The Dev... Dev... Devil... Are you real?
Come here, old man, and I'll show you I'm real.
Holy God. Thank you, Lord.
Thank you for this gift.
You're the living proof of faith.
I'll take you to the Vatican
so that everyone can see the face of evil.
I'll be the hand of the Lord!
Yes! You get me out of here,
and I'll go wherever you want. They'll make you Pope!
Silence, Beelzebub! Your blasphemous words don't work with me.
I am not Beelzebub, you stupid old shit.
But I see clearly what the price of your soul is,
and it isn't worth a fly.
I must ask you to go outside.
I have to question the accused.
Don't be ridiculous. This is a Church matter.
It's a ministry matter.
I'm not moving from here.
The strength of the Lord is with me.
Miguel! What are you doing?
What you don't dare to do.
Go back under your wife's skirts.
What? Are you going to shoot me?
You heard him, old man!
Swine!
Please, wait outside.
Santi! The keys...
What happened?
The Devil... The Devil is in there.
I saw him, too.
Jesus!
What do we do?
I don't trust them.
What if they let him loose? We can't allow that.
Goddamn dandy... And those idiots!
Come on! We have to go inside!
Come on!
Usue, help me.
Usue? Usue?
Forget about him and tie up the blacksmith.
Find out where the gold is.
Where's the gold?
Hey!
Answer! Well?
What?
Bastard!
Listen, my friend, do you want to make a deal?
I can tell you where the gold is, but first, help me get out of here.
How embarrassing.
What?
Look at yourself, Sartael.
How do you know my name?
You look like a chicken, shut up in that cage.
Alastor? It's you!
By the tail of Belfegor!
You finally found me!
Come on, get me out of here, and I can finish the job.
Little Sartael.
Alastor.
I haven't come for you.
I've come for the blacksmith's soul.
But I was asked to report on your situation,
and to inform you that you've been demoted for your negligence.
Demoted?
You're a disgrace to Hell.
You've shown your true form to the humans.
You've broken protocol,
you've intervened physically in their lives,
and you let yourself be captured.
Everyone down below was wondering where you'd got to.
And as you know,
our ministry never leaves loose ends.
Give me a bit more time and I'll fix it!
The decision has been made.
And how far have I been demoted?
Fifth Circle.
The sad and repressed section, boiling pot 203.
No! No! No! No!
Not the Sad! Please!
It's obvious that tempting souls isn't your forte.
It's beyond you. Each one has his place.
It cannot be changed. One's destiny is written.
As soon as I deliver the report, they'll come for you.
Get me out of here somehow.
And be implicated in your incompetence?
Stay there and learn.
Observe those two:
how they do what I want, so obedient, without them knowing who I really am.
Break the door down! Set fire to it, if necessary.
Open the door! Open it, you bastards!
Usue!
That'll do.
Well?
Nothing.
It's obvious that he's guilty.
We have to hang him.
But he hasn't said where the gold is.
You'll still get paid.
I don't understand. Weren't we here for the gold?
Do as I say!
- But... - I said, hang him!
All right.
Here's a rope.
We can't break the door down.
Little girl!
Don't worry.
Do you want to help the blacksmith?
I can free him.
Yes.
And, as well, if you help me,
I swear I'll look for your mother down below. I promise.
Please!
Just ring that damn bell.
I'll keep them occupied while you get it.
But then you have to help me get out of here.
Eh, little girl? Is it a deal?
Oh, Great Lord!
You are right.
This isn't the job for me.
Who am I? How can I compare with you?
Oh, Hangman,
Grand Executioner of the Infernal Monarch's sentences!
Ignore him. Finish off the prisoner.
Greater than Nemesis!
You're pathetic. Your words won't change your fate.
Come on! Charge!
Again!
You! You're here?
Shake it!
Harder!
He's a monster! He's a monster! He's a monster!
Little girl! Please! Get me out of here!
We had a deal!
You have to get out of here.
Hurry up!
Quickly, little girl, help me!
Hurry up!
No!
I'm sorry, little girl, but I'm never going back to Hell.
Get out of my way! Or I'll eat your souls!
Don't let him escape!
No! No! No! Not again!
Devil!
You! Damn the day I took you into my house!
May the Devil take you to Hell to join your whore of a mother!
You come from Hell, too, don't you?
Can you take me there, to my mother?
Usue, keep away from him!
Are you sure that's what you want?
I'll take you to your mother.
And you give me your soul in exchange.
Is it a deal?
No!
Usue! My little Usue!
It was a demon.
He took her to Hell.
You win! Take me to Hell.
What? Now you want to go?
I'd rather be kicked by these idiots than put up with you down there.
The other demon took the little girl.
A pity. I liked her.
But that's not my problem.
You'd still be in that cage if it wasn't for her.
You owe it to her.
Shit!
All right! But you'll go as my prisoner.
Then, let's go.
Wait. You can't go with a stupid hand bell.
A bell.
The Carlist gold!
It was right in front of us all this time.
Santi, there's the gold. This is our chance.
Do you want the same?
It'll work.
Can you carry it?
I suppose so.
Come on.
Do it.
I'm going to enjoy this.
What is this?
Guess.
Come on, forward!
Come on! Welcome!
I'm sorry, forgive me!
Why did I do it?
Come on! Go inside!
Move!
Welcome to Hell!
Get back!
Punish me!
Get back in line! Human garbage!
Yes, I'm scum.
Do as I tell you.
Sartael? Is that you?
Orobas...
Where have you been all this time?
You look terrible.
I heard you wouldn't be back.
No, no... A difficult soul.
That one there?
He doesn't look so tough.
Hey, you! What have you got there?
Stay where you are!
Hey! There's a soul here causing trouble.
Go back with Sartael!
Alastor!
I'm out of here!
Blacksmith!
Get in there!
I'm coming,
but first, count this.
A jar!
Big mistake!
Hey!
Count them now!
One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight,
nine, ten...
Don't close the gates! I'm garbage!
...twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four...
Sartael, get the girl out of here.
I'm staying.
You're mad! Others will be coming soon.
I'm going to look for your mother.
Get out of here.
Let's go before I change my mind.
Usue! My Lord Jesus!
Thank you, Lord!
- Are you all right? - Yes.
Yokels!
This child is a saint, and they've thrown her out of Hell.
Don't ever send her there again
or I will eat your thumbs while you sleep.
Goodbye!
Are you all right?
Thank you, good man.
Don't mention it, friend.
May I ask what happened to you?
You wouldn't believe it.
It's a long way to the next town. And I love a good story.
Well, I know a good one.
I'm all ears.
This story, like many others,
begins with a man of flesh and blood...
Let me in!
A man so evil, so cruel,
that even the Devil himself would fear him.
A blacksmith.
And whether it was so or not,
get into the pumpkin and out at the square.
BASED ON J.M. BARANDIARAN'S SHORT STORY "PATXI ERREMENTARIA"
THE END