I don't find the concept that religious people can be dangerous to be shocking or novel, but I think this film explores the idea pretty well.
Maud is a young former nurse and current hospice caretaker who is haunted by the death of one of her patients she attempted to save. This, along with a newfound religious fervor, has given her a savior complex with her new charge, a terminally ill dancer who leads a life uncaring about Catholic values. Strange things seem to be happening, but Maud feels the power of the Lord and finds herself tasked with saving her charge no matter what happens.
On the surface, you could maybe call this a religious horror movie. Much of the story is framed as that of a devout but naive woman being manipulated by demons and mistaking possession for holy ecstasy until a dramatic confrontation with a lurking evil. But this is not truly a religious horror movie—it's a psychological one. Throughout the story, Maud's attitude and unnatural experiences are left unclear but still firmly framed through her eyes alone with nobody to truly corroborate that her visions are real...until we do finally get something...something that seems to solidly prove her delusional from an outside perspective. Maud is framed as an increasingly dangerous and unstable antagonist, and is the perfect religious hypocrite—someone who sets boundaries for other people's good while making them miserable and being cruel, while also failing to see any issue in her behavior and welcoming the role of savior without humility. In this light, none of her visions are to be taken as real, and demonic imagery is meant to signify how twisted Maud's take on religion is—if her moments of ecstasy look to the audience like classical possession, it's easy to realize how wrong her take is. Almost everyone else in the film seems more grounded and pleasant than Maud, Maud in turn sees reasonable criticism of her acts as evil, and other things she does are plainly horrific and egocentric and would make any Christian cringe. The religious horror of this film is religious psychosis, not any real demonic forces.
As a film, the story can feel a little slow and moody without moving forward, and there are scenes where it looks like suspense is being attempted but not actually executed. However, the film's horror power comes from extremely judicious moments where the pace is cranked up to full speed to shock and impress upon the viewer. They're extremely memorable in a film where much is calmer or more atmospheric.
Maud's religiosity itself isn't given backstory, which feels off. We don't know why or how she converted so fervently, and even though it's laid out where her savior complex comes from, her twisted faith is never given a backstory. That feels a little strange for a film criticizing hypocritical and overreaching religion.
Overall, though, this is a worthwhile creepy film with some full-throttle scares and a compelling portrait of religion gone wrong.
Film Not a religious horror film, but a film about horrific religion.
I don't find the concept that religious people can be dangerous to be shocking or novel, but I think this film explores the idea pretty well.
Maud is a young former nurse and current hospice caretaker who is haunted by the death of one of her patients she attempted to save. This, along with a newfound religious fervor, has given her a savior complex with her new charge, a terminally ill dancer who leads a life uncaring about Catholic values. Strange things seem to be happening, but Maud feels the power of the Lord and finds herself tasked with saving her charge no matter what happens.
On the surface, you could maybe call this a religious horror movie. Much of the story is framed as that of a devout but naive woman being manipulated by demons and mistaking possession for holy ecstasy until a dramatic confrontation with a lurking evil. But this is not truly a religious horror movie—it's a psychological one. Throughout the story, Maud's attitude and unnatural experiences are left unclear but still firmly framed through her eyes alone with nobody to truly corroborate that her visions are real...until we do finally get something...something that seems to solidly prove her delusional from an outside perspective. Maud is framed as an increasingly dangerous and unstable antagonist, and is the perfect religious hypocrite—someone who sets boundaries for other people's good while making them miserable and being cruel, while also failing to see any issue in her behavior and welcoming the role of savior without humility. In this light, none of her visions are to be taken as real, and demonic imagery is meant to signify how twisted Maud's take on religion is—if her moments of ecstasy look to the audience like classical possession, it's easy to realize how wrong her take is. Almost everyone else in the film seems more grounded and pleasant than Maud, Maud in turn sees reasonable criticism of her acts as evil, and other things she does are plainly horrific and egocentric and would make any Christian cringe. The religious horror of this film is religious psychosis, not any real demonic forces.
As a film, the story can feel a little slow and moody without moving forward, and there are scenes where it looks like suspense is being attempted but not actually executed. However, the film's horror power comes from extremely judicious moments where the pace is cranked up to full speed to shock and impress upon the viewer. They're extremely memorable in a film where much is calmer or more atmospheric.
Maud's religiosity itself isn't given backstory, which feels off. We don't know why or how she converted so fervently, and even though it's laid out where her savior complex comes from, her twisted faith is never given a backstory. That feels a little strange for a film criticizing hypocritical and overreaching religion.
Overall, though, this is a worthwhile creepy film with some full-throttle scares and a compelling portrait of religion gone wrong.