MPAA Rating: R/Genre: Psychological Horror/Stars: Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle, Lily Frazer, Lily Knight, Marcus Hutton, Turlough Convery, Rosie Sansom, Carl Prekopp, Noa Bodner, Takatsuna Mukai, Brian Jackson/Runtime: 84 minutes
If there is one thing that the history of mankind has (hopefully) taught us, it’s that at various points throughout it there have been those who have claimed to have actually heard the voice of a higher power and subsequently engaged in actions that were reflective of what the voice supposedly told them to do. Perhaps this is why a young man named Jesus preached love and forgiveness, another man named Muhammad preached that God (or Allah) is One, a mighty woman warrior named Joan of Arc claimed it was the voice of divine forces that guided her down her particular path in life, a shepherd named Moses was able to, via one on one interaction with a higher power, provide the Jewish faith with their Aseret Hadibrot (or 10 Commandments for Christians and/or fans of classic Hollywood cinema out there), and (perhaps most important of all) you or I dear reader claim that it was a higher power that encouraged us to buy that last big screen TV whilst out Black Friday shopping. I am joking about that last one of course, but even so the fact still remains that the belief in a divine power is one that is a huge part of quite a few people’s worldview out there. Yet as beautiful and inspirational as this belief can be, there are also times where it has been showcased in quite the terrifying light especially when the person at the heart of those beliefs, definitely looking at Carrie White’s mother from the story Carrie as I write this, has become (for all intents and purposes) driven to what quite a few people out there would view as insanity and subsequently engages in actions that are truly monstrous because of them. It is that degree of belief incidentally that brings us to the slice of cinema I am reviewing for you today in the form of a film from 2019 known as Saint Maud and I have no doubt in my mind that this is going to be quite the divisive slice of cinema for a lot of you out there. This is because, dependent on your perspective, this film will either be an extremely unnerving and chilling glimpse into a mind that has been warped beyond all belief by her religious beliefs or an unnerving look at someone who is genuinely a conduit for a higher power only to find herself being horrifically persecuted by a world that plain and simply refuses to accept such a possibility and believe me when I say this film ingeniously refuses to lean one way more than the other. Suffice it to say then that it might not be for everyone, but with the aid of truly haunting work on both sides of the camera Saint Maud is definitely one of the more effectively chilling to say nothing of quite memorable cinematic nightmares I have seen in some time.
The plot is as follows: Saint Maud gets its haunting narrative underway by introducing us to a member of the medical community by the name of Katie on what is perhaps one of the worst days of her life. That being one where she desperately tries to save a patient and yet, even after her valiant attempts of utilizing CPR on the patient in question, she is unable to do so which results in the patient tragically losing their life. An indeterminate period of time later and we see that Katie has decided to make a few significant adjustments to her life. Those being to not only change her name to Maud, but to also become quite the faithful follower of Roman Catholicism and even professionally transition over to working as a one-on-one nurse working with people in an English coastal community who are stricken with some kind of terminal illness. Yet, despite the fact that she seems like she really has begun to put her life back together after the aforementioned tragedy, we see that Maud’s psychosis is not by any stretch of the imagination as well put together as she might like it to be. This is because, among other things, Maud is so entrenched in her religious beliefs that she believes that not only is the Lord actively communicating with her, but that he also has a special objective in mind for her and her life. An objective that we soon see that she feels is about to come to fruition when we witness as she is assigned to take care of a woman named Amanda. Amanda, we quickly come to learn, former American dancer and choreographer that, despite being stricken with stage four lymphoma, is still dead set on living her quite self-indulging lifestyle to the fullest. Even with such pleasures available to her however, it isn’t long before Amanda confesses to Maud (and by extension all of us as movie goers) that not only is she very bitter about where life is taking her, but also that she is terrified that when she does eventually succumb to her illness she will face nothing less than oblivion with no hope for an afterlife anywhere in sight. Stunned by this revelation from her patient, we see that Maud quickly (and perhaps a bit misguidedly) comes to the realization that maybe the mission the Lord has given her is to aid him in saving Amanda’s soul from this perceived damnation. Of course, as we all know, sometimes there is a line between what we believe (or perhaps even wish) to be true and what actually is true, but in the hands of someone like Maud it isn’t long before that already fragile line starts to get a lot more horrifyingly blurry. As to what occurs from there and the impact it has on both Maud to say nothing of the world around her that is something I will leave for you to find out for yourself….
Now right off, it is worth noting that the work done behind the camera on this chilling cinematic outing is incredibly skilled and definitely works beautifully in synch with the work done by the talented cast in front of the camera. This starts with the work done by (at that time) first-time director Rose Glass at the helm and she does a magnificent job here. Indeed not only does Glass do a wonderful job of keeping a solid hold on the material thereby ensuring that no matter how wild things get the whole film is able to stay fairly consistently on the rails, but she also provides the entire narrative with a degree of welcome ambiguity to what we witness unfurl before us. Yet, rather than prove to be immensely frustrating as it has been on other films, I feel that with this film this is actually a genius approach to this material since by doing so not only does it let the audience form their own opinions, but also because no matter what way you choose to look at the material, it still proves to be fairly chilling due to both what occurs on screen to say nothing of the immense and almost iron-clad conviction of the main character. To be sure, there are a few moments where it could be argued that Glass does go too far toward run of the mill horror material, but by and large her directorial work here definitely sticks the landing and then some. Alongside the chilling work done by Glass, we also see that this slice of cinema benefits from wonderful work from the cinematography department as headed by Ben Fordesman. Indeed not only does Fordesman do a wonderful job of significantly intensifying the spirit of the film by coloring the world our protagonist lives in with dreary and bleak inky shades and every so often bringing to play a patch or 5 of vibrant color, but he also excels at providing the audience with moments where he deliberately messes with the images being shown to us as if he is trying to provide the audience with a way inside the more than slightly topsy-turvy (or is it?) mindset of our protagonist. Along with that, this slice of cinema also provides us with skilled work by the costume and make-up departments at bringing a degree of timelessness to everything thereby ensuring that we consistently are never quite sure if we are watching a movie or have wandered into a waking nightmare by mistake. Lastly, I would definitely be amiss if I didn’t devote some time in this section to talk about the wonderful contribution brought to this film courtesy of the musical accompaniment as provided by Adam Janota Bzowski. Indeed not only does this score contribute a wonderful sense of ominous unease, but it definitely will leave you on the edge of your seat as much as the rest of the ingredients on display here. Suffice it to say that when you also incorporate into this dread-fueled mix incredibly skilled work done by both the sound design and editing departments (with a slam cut at the end of this slice of cinema being one of the most shocking and even jarring moments I have witnessed in a film in quite some time) among others it’s clear that it might not be flawless by any stretch of the imagination, but the work done behind the camera still does a phenomenally skilled job at bringing this haunting story to life.
Of course, it also doesn’t hurt this haunting slice of cinema that the performances given by the cast of talent in front of the camera are able to match beat for beat the quality of the work done behind the camera admirably well. Naturally, this starts with Morfydd Clark in the titular role and honestly she is really freaking good here dear reader. Indeed Clark does a masterful job at bringing this character to life via an incredibly potent cinematic blend made up of equal parts holier than thou assertiveness, not so cleverly hidden exasperation just bubbling away under the surface, and an extremely deep sense of self doubt if not just downright timidness all together respectively. Perhaps more terrifying than that volatile blend however is, in Clark’s more than skilled hands, we are never entirely sure on just when our main character hero is going to lose all of her proverbial marbles so to speak since she, from all external appearances at any rate, always seems to be walking on the right side of the very thin, very narrow, and yet dangerously fragile line between composed with a dollop of cunning, but very much at the same time perilously unstable with just the right hint of melancholic respectively. Suffice it to say that there really is a wonderfully immersive vibe of ominousness brought to the role that just helps insure that the work done by Clark is able to work on the level that it is definitely aspiring to. Another key thing that helps in the fulfillment of that objective incidentally would have to be the fact that we also get to see that, through a variety of expressions on a face that consistently looks either anguished and/or just plain tormented, Clark is also able to do a terrific job at breaking out of her shell and giving us instances of fleeting yet jaw-dropping meaningfulness that will undoubtedly chill you to the bone and then some. Moments that, if I’m being honest, are actually quite the impressive feat for her to pull off especially when taking into account just how much of her performance is based on how she’s thinking and/or feeling about things rather than how she is acting towards them. Suffice it to say that it would not be difficult for an actor to just make this character into one that does the same things over and over again for 90 minutes or so, but Clark instead does a wonderful job of changing up the character so much that she is able to actually make her into a three-dimensional human being, and in the process a main character, that we, in a delightfully twisted way, are never quite sure if we are supposed to empathize with or be absolutely terrified by. Backing up the work done by Clark is an absolutely remarkable turn from Jennifer Ehle in the role of Amanda. Yet even though Ehle brings to the character a wonderful amount of bitterness as well as hostility toward the path her life has gone to say nothing of mockery toward the main character and her religious beliefs, we also see that she does a wonderful job of providing the character with a degree of sadness and even regret about her choices as well. As a result, Ehle does a wonderful job of making us, and Maud, believe that (despite her frosty exterior) she truly is a soul in need of rescue before pulling the rug out from under all parties concerned and showcasing for us just how chilling of a person she truly is. Suffice it to say that when you also factor in solid support efforts from such talents as Lily Frazer, Marcus Hutton, and Turlough Convery among others it’s clear that the cast is very much on the same page as the team behind the camera in bringing this haunting narrative to life.
All in all and at the end of the day is Saint Maud a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination? Honestly no. Not even close. At the same time though, is this the worst religious-based horror film since Exorcist II: The Heretic? Thankfully, I can also say that is most assuredly not the case either. Yet even though this slice of cinema is one that is by no means perfect, it nevertheless is still quite the solid effort on the part of its relative newcomer helmer and the rest of her phenomenally talented cast and crew. Indeed the work done behind the camera does a wonderful job of bringing us into a world that is less like the one we know and more like the one we might see in a nightmare whilst the work done in front of the camera by the incredibly well-chosen cast of players does a terrific job at giving us a cast of characters that, to chillingly brilliant effect, we are never entirely sure what to make of to say nothing of where their respective journeys in this might end. Suffice it to say then that, in the point of view of this film, terror is not always located in the far-off reaches of space, at the end of a sharp kitchen knife being wielded by a mask-wearing psychopath, or even (given the month I’m writing this) from a homicidally cranky leprechaun who has to go to the hood to get his stolen gold back. Rather, it also can be found in the more than slightly damaged to say nothing of lonely mindset of a person who has entrenched themselves so deeply psychologically into a particular way of thinking that as it starts to consume them from the inside out you definitely find yourself hoping for the best for them and that they are able to get the clarity and/or perhaps help they need, but at the same time you also are by no means surprised to also find another emotion there as well. That being the emotion of terror especially when it comes to pondering just what in the world this damaged person could be capable of if pushed even just a little bit off the beaten track of sanity. Suffice it to say that it might not give you all of them, but Saint Maud is nevertheless a fairly well-done look at some of the chilling possible answers to that question. Make of that what thou will. On a scale of 1-5 I give Saint Maud a solid 4 out of 5.
