Saint Maud — holiness and horror on the English seaside

The stern young woman at the centre of the firework British horror movie Saint Maud is not canonised yet. Give it time. Like an ambitious entry-level hire, Maud (Morfydd Clark) has recently converted to Catholicism with a view to swift advancement. She nurtures a close relationship with the boss. Her conversations with God — she prays, we eavesdrop — are frank and frequent, chivvying Him along to reveal His plans for her.

The resulting portrait of religious passion is the first feature of director Rose Glass. Some debuts tug at your sleeve; others take your arm off. Welcome to Saint Maud, set on the drizzle-and-chips English seaside. If you can find God there, you can find Him anywhere. Soon, Maud exits her bedsit to take a gig as private nurse to a hedonistic ex-pat American choreographer, Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), stricken with cancer in a house on a hill. She reports back in prayer: “I dare say You’ll be seeing this one soon,” she tuts. And then suddenly, she gets it. This is her mission — ascending from carer to spiritual saviour.

For all the poise, you may not be surprised by the direction of Maud’s one-way ticket. Still, the ghost train is quite a ride. Reality warps, visions boggle. Rarer is the richness of Glass’s character work. Maud sees Amanda as a mere sinner, but the film pinpoints her as defiantly complex with a famous post-punk past. Shadowed by death, she lives to party, filling the house with androgynous glamourpusses. Maud does not approve. None of this is good for the soul.

But even for her, there is nuance. Glass has fun with her young Mother Superior. She is queasily well played by Clark; you would do your damnedest to get better with Maud at your sickbed. Her prim, pursed holy tête-à-têtes make for inky black comedy. Yet elsewhere, her sadness is unbearable. You must be the loneliest girl I’ve ever met, Amanda tells her, echoing Taxi Driver: “God’s lonely man”, Travis Bickle called himself. As the horror cranks up, Bickle collides with another ghost from 1976, Brian De Palma’s Carrie. High praise I know, but Maud fits in among the company.

★★★★☆

In UK cinemas from October 9