The debut film from writer-director Rose Glass, Saint Maud is a chilling and boldly original vision of faith, madness, and salvation in a fallen world. Maud, a newly devout hospice nurse, becomes obsessed with saving her dying patient’s soul — but sinister forces, and her own sinful past, threaten to put an end to her holy calling.
For in-depth thoughts on Saint Maud, please see my colleague Mike Vaughn’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
Saint Maud comes to Blu-Ray in a detailed 1080p presentation in its 2.39:1 original aspect ratio that truly wows in high definition. The clarity throughout is outstanding with subtle flourishes in the production design coming through perfectly. Color saturation is great with the subdued color palette rendering nicely with the occasional splashes of color like bubbling soup or the lights along the boardwalk. Skin tones are natural to the lighting conditions, although some exposed skin is covered in all manner of cuts or much worse as the story goes alongs. The film is one that takes place primarily at night or in shadows. True black levels are pretty deep and do not fall victim to any noticeable digital noise or errors of the sort. There are moments where shadow details falter, but the encode mostly stays strong. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has delivered a stellar high definition presentation here.
Audio Quality
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is extremely engaging, and it never fails to deliver something truly pleasing. The soundscape on display here is very rich with the seaside town displaying noises emanating from numerous directions. This film is nowhere near a full-throttle action film, but there are moments where certain kinetic sequences pack a bigger punch than one might expect. Whenever elements take a turn towards the spiritual, the track really digs deep. Dialogue comes through crystal clear with none of the information feeling lost to the music in the film or the sound effects. The movie uses environmental sounds to great effect, and the track retains strong detail even in the more chaotic developments. There are numerous moments that make good use of the low end. The track is an unexpected powerhouse from start to finish.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Writer & Director Rose Glass delivers a solid commentary track in which she provides some great details about why she chose to feature certain shots, the deliberate building of anticipation, the dark humor, the production design, the act of filming bubbling soup, the performances in the film, the evolving nature of the script and more. If you are a fan of the film, this is an illuminating listen.
- A Higher Calling – The Rapture of Saint Maud: A pretty great 25-minute featurette in which the cast and crew discuss the process of making the film, the influences on the work, thoughts on the script and the themes within it, the thought put into the production design, the costumes, the special effects and more. There are some great behind-the-scenes moments captured here.
Final Thoughts
Saint Maud is an incredibly memorable and assured debut from Rose Glass, who succeeds in crafting a very unsettling vision with different interpretations. Morfydd Clark is outstanding in the titular role, one that could very easily slip into something campy or unbelievable in lesser hands. The brisk runtime allows the film to maintain a good pace and eventually leaves you breathless by the end. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray featuring a terrific A/V presentation and a couple of interesting special features. If you are into the general A24 style of horror that has been released the past few years, you are likely to find this one a satisfying addition to your collection. Recommended
Saint Maud is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Lionsgate Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
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