MUST-SEE TV
Saint Maud042 | W W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K
Thoughts
And Prayers
Director Rose Glass and star Morfydd
Clark invite us into the dark, tortured
and socially-conscious world of theirnew psychological horror Saint Maud
WORDS SIMON BLAND“I’ve always been interested in the divide between
the weird, messed-up private bubble we’ve all got
going on in our heads and how different that can
sometimes be from the way we present ourselves
to the rest of the world,” says Rose Glass, director of the tense
psychological horror Saint Maud. Together with Morfydd Clark (soon to
be seen as Galadriel in Amazon’s highly-anticipated Lord Of The Rings
series), the duo have crafted a film that’s swiftly become one of the year’s
finest horror offerings.
Taut, dark and deeply unsettling, Glass’s quietly confident debut throws
into question themes of religion and mental health while not shying away
from addressing a real terror that lives amongst us: our failure to support
society’s most vulnerable members.
Clark’s Maud is in a bad place. Having suffered a tragedy glimpsed
only in murky flashbacks, she has found solace in palliative care and
religion, convinced that God has a plan for her and that plan will soon
make itself known. However when the voice in her head starts getting
louder – a voice she believes to be the Almighty – Maud’s fragile recovery
quickly takes a dark detour.
“The initial hook was Maud hearing the voice of God in her head,
falling in love with it and developing a kinky, sado-masochistic romance,”
says Glass of the film’s core concept, which was conceived while she was
still at film school. “I was thinking about society’s reaction. A couple of
thousand years ago if someone said they speak to God they might be
revered as a saint or having a holy calling, whereas now if you say
you hear the voice of God you might get quite a different reaction from
people. I found that juxtaposition interesting,” she tells us. “If Joan of Arc
existed today, what might have happened to her? Probably something
quite different.”
When we meet Maud she’s arrived at the home of the terminally-ill
Amanda (Jennifer Ehle) to provide some end-of-life nursing care. At first,
the pair’s fast-friendship serves as a much-needed balm for their shared
loneliness and despair. However as Maud’s relationship with the voice in
her mind takes hold, this saving grace is sadly short-lived.
“I feel like he is just a friend to her,” suggests Clark of her character’s
intimate relationship with God. “He’s a friend to a woman who has
absolutely nobody who cares about her and that’s the most intoxicating
thing. He listens to her and is interested in her in a world where she may
as well be part of the wallpaper. The damage we do to people by just
ignoring them is huge. God highlights Maud’s loneliness because he’sMUST-SEE TV
Saint Maud042 | W W W. S C I FI N OW.CO.U K
Thoughts
And Prayers
Director Rose Glass and star Morfydd
Clark invite us into the dark, tortured
and socially-conscious world of their
new psychological horror Saint Maud
WORDS SIMON BLAND
“I’ve always been interested in the divide between
the weird, messed-up private bubble we’ve all got
going on in our heads and how different that can
sometimes be from the way we present ourselves
to the rest of the world,” says Rose Glass, director of the tense
psychological horror Saint Maud. Together with Morfydd Clark (soon to
be seen as Galadriel in Amazon’s highly-anticipated Lord Of The Rings
series), the duo have crafted a film that’s swiftly become one of the year’s
finest horror offerings.
Taut, dark and deeply unsettling, Glass’s quietly confident debut throws
into question themes of religion and mental health while not shying away
from addressing a real terror that lives amongst us: our failure to support
society’s most vulnerable members.
Clark’s Maud is in a bad place. Having suffered a tragedy glimpsed
only in murky flashbacks, she has found solace in palliative care and
religion, convinced that God has a plan for her and that plan will soon
make itself known. However when the voice in her head starts getting
louder – a voice she believes to be the Almighty – Maud’s fragile recovery
quickly takes a dark detour.
“The initial hook was Maud hearing the voice of God in her head,
falling in love with it and developing a kinky, sado-masochistic romance,”
says Glass of the film’s core concept, which was conceived while she was
still at film school. “I was thinking about society’s reaction. A couple of
thousand years ago if someone said they speak to God they might be
revered as a saint or having a holy calling, whereas now if you say
you hear the voice of God you might get quite a different reaction from
people. I found that juxtaposition interesting,” she tells us. “If Joan of Arc
existed today, what might have happened to her? Probably something
quite different.”
When we meet Maud she’s arrived at the home of the terminally-ill
Amanda (Jennifer Ehle) to provide some end-of-life nursing care. At first,
the pair’s fast-friendship serves as a much-needed balm for their shared
loneliness and despair. However as Maud’s relationship with the voice in
her mind takes hold, this saving grace is sadly short-lived.
“I feel like he is just a friend to her,” suggests Clark of her character’s
intimate relationship with God. “He’s a friend to a woman who has
absolutely nobody who cares about her and that’s the most intoxicating
thing. He listens to her and is interested in her in a world where she may
as well be part of the wallpaper. The damage we do to people by just
ignoring them is huge. God highlights Maud’s loneliness because he’s