Macabre mix stays with you for days
Glass cracks it with tense terror
Religious-themed horror has crept under audiences’ skin since the days of The Exorcist.
Here, reclusive Christian nurse Maud (Morfydd Clark) becomes dangerously obsessed with saving the soul of her dying patient Amanda (Jennifer Ehle).
Rose Glass’ feature film writingdirecting debut is an intense experience which burns a hole in your brain and stays there for days.
At just 84 minutes in length, there is no wasted motion; only a tight, tense journey that blends psychological and body horror together in a macabre mix.
The performances of the two co-leads are astonishing, with Welsh actress Clark (Crawl, His Dark Materials) in particular taking her mind and body to places it couldn’t have been easy to return from.
Her performance is so good it leaves you sympathising with her one minute and being repulsed by her actions the next.
Ehle (Fifty Shades of Grey, The Blacklist) refuses to play Amanda as a resigned-to-her-fate victim; instead she delivers caustic tongue lashings and a brightness defying her illness.
Scarborough isn’t an obvious setting for a horror flick but the mundane, everyday seaside surroundings make what happens in them even more shocking.
I really don’t want to go into too much more detail about how the plot proceeds as you really should just see it for yourself; needless to say these two women, and others in their lives, are dragged into a very uncomfortable environment which tests their faith, sanity and physical wellbeing.
Adam Janota Bzowski’s understated score doesn’t overstay its welcome, with silence often a more effective tool for Glass, but the wooden percussion-led music fittingly stirs multiple emotions.
A dark character study to chill the bones, Saint Maud demands your attention – and justifies grasping it.
●What are your thoughts on Saint Maud? Are you a fan of horror movies in general?
Pop me an email at ian.bunting@ reachplc.com and I will pass on your comments – and any movie or TV show recommendations you have – to your fellow readers.
Daniel Harrison got in touch to say: “There’s a show on Netflix called Lupin which is absolutely brilliant.
“It lures you in from the beginning and rarely lets up with its levels of entertainment.”