What exactly possessed somebody to make this film? The operative word being “possessed.” This film has only one writer/director (Rose Glass, the ultimate optimist), so clearly Rose Glass had an uncompromised idea here about a caretaker so pious she would debase herself again and again to try to save a soul.
Ideas like that don’t come from nowhere. It seems likely that Rose Glass spent a fair amount of time around religious nuts, had a less-than-favorable impression of them (or at least one), and decided to make a horror movie of condemnation. Look lady, I don’t like spaghetti squash, but you don’t see me making a movie about the horrors of eating it.
Maud (Morfydd Clark) isn’t a saint, but a nurse. We catch Maud in phase II of her professional 
career; far as we can tell, she used to work in a hospital, but there was unspecified unpleasantness there. Now she’s a live-in caretaker for wealthy individuals at death’s door. She lives in Coney Island, North Yorkshire which totally threw me – there’s a Coney Island in the UK? Really?
Let me describe Maud for a second – “killjoy” doesn’t begin to get at who she is. The phrase “holier-than-thou” was invented for people like her. While she may not wear her piety like a badge of honor, she certainly feels it inside and sees her life mission as saving folks. I think we all know a few people like this; I –quite frankly- try to avoid them at all costs. In the words of Billy Joel:
“I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints/
The sinners are much more fun.”
Well, truth is I probably shy away from both types these days. Anyhoo, the film is about Maud, and her new job: Amanda, a former dancer with terminal lymphoma. Maud does her job fine, but then sees her “real job” as to save Amanda’s soul for the woman clearly has a soul in need of saving. Hoo boy. Here we go.
Tell me: is this the “horror” part of the horror film, cuz I buy that. I’m constantly horrified that I’ll be happened upon by a Jehovah’s witness with a thirst for conversion. Personally, I find it unbelievable that the same folks in my country who squeal the loudest about freedom seem to desire that we all worship the same God. Religious fervor is just one of those things … well, lemme put it this way: MY GOD thinks y’all are messed up.
Suffice to say … some people don’t wish to be converted, which is where the “fun” begins. Watching Maud deal with a world she doesn’t really understand is only enjoyable if you’re into schadenfreude, which I am not. I found this picture dreary, belittling and tough to watch. I didn’t want to root for Maud, but I wanted even less for her to be damaged for her faith. I honestly don’t care what you believe so long as you 1) accept genuine fact (I’m looking at you, MAGA) and 2) don’t insist that I believe in your faith, too. Saint Maud’s punishment for immersion in a failed belief system here is not commensurate with the sin of exposing those beliefs, which made this a very painful watch, indeed. And when it comes right down to it, I hated the cinematography. You can make a horror film without making every shot for 84 minutes look like a horror film.
There once was a woman named Maud
Who needed all to be saved by God
A deity server
Done in by her fervor
Is it religion or faith that’s a fraud?
Rated R, 84 Minutes
Director: Rose Glass
Writer: Rose Glass
Genre: Oh, you’re not joking
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: I dunno, zealots, maybe?
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: People with weak stomachs
