St Maud (2019)

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Another exceptional horror entry by Studio A24 and a stunning writing/directing debut by Rose Glass: this film is psychologically unnerving and unsettling to its harshly intimate core. The framing and execution is intense and captivating, spearheaded by tour-de-force performances and stylistic tricks that keep the viewer helplessly engrossed. There are riveting moments of body horror, but the true strength and tragedy in this film stems from its stunning depiction of a descent into madness. Where zealotry and and faith overlap is where the horrors dwell and the viewer is left disoriented and unbalanced as the film engages us directly with Maud’s instability, faith, despair, delusion, ecstasy, reason and irrationality. There’s so much subtlety in the writing between warring philosophical ideologies, with no easy answers, heroes, villains or conclusions offered. What seems like a fairly predictable arc ends up being a harrowing descent into well intentioned hells with final moments that will follow the viewer home and take up residence in your thoughts well beyond the film’s conclusion. 

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