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I had to take some time in composing this Saint Maud review. The first night the film was available on Epix, I signed right up for my free trial and jumped through the numerous hoops to get the app working. It was me, a dark room, and Saint Maud. The movie ranked high on the list of every movie reviewer and list-compiler who had ever laid eyes on the thing. They all loved it. I worried that I would not, and now I worry I won’t be able to adequately describe living with the movie for several days.

The story seems plain on the surface. A young woman comes to the home of a dying dancer to administer palliative care. For those of you lucky enough to be unfamiliar with the term, palliative care is what they call it when all hope is lost. It is the “we are making them comfortable” phase of illness. There is no way back, and the grave looms. The dying woman is Amanda, played with grace by Jennifer Ehle, who has appeared in films from The King’s Speech to Contagion. Here, she is a former dancer, now coping with the cancer that will kill her, but not without some wild nights and visits from old friends.

This is frowned upon by the film’s central figure, Maud, who is deeply religious. She aims not only to treat her charge’s physical pain but to heal her soul, as well. Maud is possessed of a very real, very powerful faith. It’s the kind of faith that has her on her back, clawing ecstatically at her face, an orgasmic spiritual bliss that overcomes her. It is this impenetrable faith she intends to offer as a gift to Amanda.

But as the movie unfolds, we realize that there is more to Saint Maud than some simple battle of good versus evil. We grow to understand that Maud has secrets of her own, and that she might not be the agent of goodness she purports to be. Is the force at work in Maud truly evil, or is it even more horrific than some supernatural threat?

This is the fine line Saint Maud dances on, and I wouldn’t be responsible if I revealed its secrets. What I will say is that there are fine arguments against Saint Maud being a horror film at all. I honestly don’t find these sorts of categorizations useful, but I understand the point made and I don’t disagree that this perhaps falls more neatly under a psychological thriller label, and you may infer from that what you will about your potential enjoyment of this movie.

And yet, Saint Maud horrifies me. It is a painfully sad tale, anchored by a star-making performance from Morfydd Clark, who you could not be blamed for not remembering from Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. As an actor, Clark goes places, and it is terrific stuff to watch onscreen. Coupled with the backstory we get in fragments about this character, it will be difficult to forget the journey of Maud through this film. We get a few glimpses at the underlying truths of things in Saint Maud that haunt the viewer, though I do worry that these few moments of clarity might not be enough to sway folks who find these kinds of character study films to be a little too somber and slow-paced. Not enough gristle on the bone for horror fans looking for a fun Saturday night.

First-time feature director Rose Glass turns in a shockingly confident and intricate movie on her first attempt, which is good news for the rest of us – she will be a name to remember moving forward. Saint Maud is challenging and quiet and sly and horrific, and all these beats work so well, it’s almost a surety this ends up somewhere on my end of year lists. For now, I’ll warn only the gorehounds that Saint Maud might not be for you.

Richard virtually sits down or stands up with filmmakers Charlie Roxburgh and Matt Farley to discuss their legendary slasher film Freaky Farley (2007) and much, much more!

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Join RJ as he visits the Scottish Highlands to investigate one of the biggest mysteries from around the world. The Loch Ness Monster.

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CinePsyEP288: Dark Waters (1993)

Elizabeth travels to a primitive island to discover the truth about her dark past. On the island, Elizabeth finds a malevolent order of nuns and is tortured by horrible visions from her childhood. There seems to be no escape for her from this menacing evil that inhabits this strange island.

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In the first part of a series, Hero Hero Ghost Show is back to look at The Eye 2002. Joined by Richard Glenn Schmidt of Hello! This is the Doomed Show, we break down the movie’s scares, the strange structure, and where it fits in the Asian horror wave of the 2000s.

Be back in two weeks with The Eye 2!

LOVE IS IN THE AIR! It’s Episode 108 of THE PODCAST ON HAUNTED HILL and it’s our VALENTINE’S SPECIAL! Cuddle up with GAV and DAN as we get HOT and STEAMY as we discuss CAT PEOPLE (1982) and SLEEPWALKERS (1992). MEOW! Then, TIME TEAM travels back to the late noughties, and WORLD OF THE STRANGE has some ideas for NEWLY WEDS! So tune in, download, listen, like, comment, and share. WHAT’S NEW PUSSYCAT!?

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Settle in and curl up tight for The Dread Familiar Episode 4. This time, enjoy the story of “A Certain House, in a Certain Town.” This audio drama is produced by Joel Hackett. Just make sure when you come to the end, you know who’s on the other end of the hand you hold…

Tired of looking at things with your eyes and hearing them at the same time! Kick back with the audio-only version of the ongoing Slasher podcast, Duncan and Bo: Slash Fiction. In the Slasher podcast, Episode 4, we bury Brenda, wrassle with snakes, meet a new victim, and answer your questions. We’ll be back with a live episode 2/27/21!

Join Gary, Suzanne and special guest Mike Maryman of No More Room In Hell and Fresh Cuts as we dive into two films where family members are perished by bad men and the ones left behind are forced to get revenge by learning to be trained killers. We do that with 1972’s The Mechanic featuring Charles Bronson and Jan-Michael Vincent and The Professional with Jean Reno, Gary Oldman and Natalie Portman. All on the latest Cinema Beef!

Elvis Presley stars in Stay Away Joe, the featured first film in season 15’s theme “A Flop is Born.” We feature six movies with singers who think they can act. This movie has it all: bull riding, alcoholics, the penguin from Batman, feral dogs, racist stereotypes, new toilets, cars without doors, musical numbers, mud wrestling, shotgun weddings, and lots of white people in brown face. It’s a real spectacle to behold. Enjoy as we kick off a new season of Pick Six Movies full of musical mayhem motion pictures!