Saint Maud
A24 | Release Date: January 29, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
83
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
32
Mixed:
2
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshJan 28, 2021
In only an hour and 24 minutes, Glass has crafted a film rich in history, reference, psychology, spirituality, style and even some gore, but it never overstays its welcome, recognizing that less is more. Read full review
100
Austin ChronicleMatthew MonagleJan 28, 2021
With elements of psychological terror, spiritual warfare, and even a dash of repressed sexual urges, Saint Maud is the kind of complicated, slippery horror that fans will talk about for years to come. This is the horror film most A24 titles wish they could be. Read full review
100
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisJan 28, 2021
Folding sexual arousal and religious ecstasy into a single, gasping sensation, Saint Maud, the feature debut of the director Rose Glass, burrows into the mind of a lonely young woman and finds psycho-horror gold. Read full review
100
The TelegraphRobbie CollinJan 27, 2021
Glass could hardly have asked for two more game accomplices than Clark and Ehle, who play the…well, the you-know-where out of their respective roles, and are both naturally attuned to the film’s murkily sensual, dread-laden wavelength. Read full review
100
SlateDana StevensJan 27, 2021
Glass has set herself a high bar to clear in one’s first feature: tackling hard-to-film ideas about faith, psychic trauma, and mental illness. Yet rather than seeming abstract or preachy, Saint Maud is visceral, sensuous, and tactile. Read full review
100
The PlaylistJason BaileyOct 16, 2020
This is a stunning piece of work and a triumphant fanfare for the arrival of a remarkable new talent. Read full review
100
The Observer (UK)Mark KermodeOct 14, 2020
Charting a razor-sharp course between the borders of horror, satire, psychodrama and lonely character study (Taxi Driver has been cited as an influence), Saint Maud is a taut, sinewy treat, blessed with an impressively fluid visual sensibility and boosted by two quite brilliant central performances. Read full review
100
The GuardianPeter BradshawOct 8, 2020
The film punches out its warped drama with amazing gusto and Clark is lethally assured: not Saint Maud really, but Saint Joan, a spectacular horror heroine. Read full review
91
ConsequenceRyan Larson
Saint Maud is a fantastic and gripping debut from an exciting new talent in the genre. Hoisted by a tight script and dynamic performances, it’s a standout title that deserves its heaps of praise. Read full review
90
IGNKristy PuchkoOct 20, 2020
Saint Maud is an impeccably crafted, deeply unsettling, and wickedly engrossing religious horror film. Read full review
90
VarietyGuy LodgeSep 13, 2019
Skirting easy cynicism to view fire, brimstone and occasional grace through Maud’s awestruck eyes, this is finally as much a sympathetic character study, a mental heath mind-map, as it is any kind of chiller. Whatever the case, it’s one hell of a debut for Rose Glass. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy BurrFeb 10, 2021
A startling psychological horror story with a breakout performance by Welsh actress Morfydd Clark. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyJan 29, 2021
Although the film has much in common with other religious-based horror films, and is often quite terrifying in its own right, Saint Maud is mostly interested in the experiential realities of its central character, and Clark is so deeply in touch with Maud's shattered psyche it's impossible to look away from her. It's thrilling to meet a character where you have no idea what she will do from one moment to the next. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyDarren FranichJan 28, 2021
The film loses steam when the plot drifts the women apart, but Clark's fearsome performance anchors the surreal final act. Her body is a stage for Saint Maud's demonic dance. Read full review
83
IndieWireDavid EhrlichSep 13, 2019
A slender but unholy cross between “First Reformed” and “The Exorcist." Read full review
80
Rolling StoneDavid FearFeb 10, 2021
It’s a genuine revelation, and the sort of holy terror that restores your faith in a genre. Read full review
80
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiJan 29, 2021
Masterfully written and directed, Saint Maud is a captivating, compelling, and disquieting horror film that is distinct and incredibly intense. Read full review
80
The AtlanticDavid SimsJan 29, 2021
The clever script, written by Glass herself, is designed to keep the viewer guessing until the very last minute, and it’s the foundation of the first great horror movie of the year. Read full review
80
Total FilmMatt GlasbyOct 12, 2020
A stark, sinister chamber piece built on atmosphere and performances. Morfydd Clark is a revelation. Read full review
80
SlashfilmMeredith BordersMar 1, 2020
Glass keeps her audience on our toes, always surprising us, challenging us, provoking us. The film’s a marvelous thing in its own right but also a thrilling invitation to follow this filmmaker wherever she dares to take us next. Read full review
80
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzFeb 12, 2020
I’ve come around to Glass’s singular, purpose-filled vision – one that is intent on pushing its audience so far outside their comfort zones that you’d need a map to find your way back to baseline existence. Clark is also a wonder as the title character, playing a deluded and dangerous antihero with an unnerving zeal. Read full review
80
Screen DailyJonathan RomneySep 13, 2019
Featuring a terrific performance from Jennifer Ehle and a bold, quietly nerve-shredding lead from Morfydd Clark, this is a hugely individual, distinctly British piece of genre-tweaking with a strong female focus and clear potential to cross borders between arthouse and upmarket horror sectors. Read full review
80
CineVueChristopher MachellSep 13, 2019
Saint Maud is the dive into obsession, isolation and urban deprivation that you need right now. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinSep 13, 2019
[A] striking and auspicious feature debut ... Saint Maud seeds the clouds with an eclectic mix of influences, but it works, creating a film with its own strange weather. Read full review
80
EmpireIan Freer
Place your faith in Saint Maud. Original, unsettling and surprisingly moving, it’s a strong calling card for filmmaker Rose Glass and actor Morfydd Clark. Read full review
75
Film ThreatRob RectorFeb 27, 2021
Both Glass and Clark provide enough ambiguity throughout (are we witnessing supernatural influence or the active imagination of an unreliable narrator?) to keep us engaged and marking the debut of a powerful new cinematic voice. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleBob StraussFeb 25, 2021
The first feature by Rose Glass, Saint Maud delivers shocks with confidence. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenFeb 11, 2021
Just putting us in Maud’s head—even as grippingly as the filmmaking does here—is not the same as trying to empathize with her. Still, the movie marks Glass as a filmmaker to watch. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeJan 26, 2021
Saint Maud distinguishes itself through an emphasis on character over metaphor, as well as the nightmarish depths of the darkness at its center. We only get to see the true ferocity of Glass’ vision for a few fleeing moments, but have faith: It’s enough to burn into your soul forever. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 22, 2021
Glass lets her story simmer and her characters brood for almost 80 minutes, Maud’s rapturous passion rising even as she lashes out — in sexual and self-injurious ways — at the deity who isn’t giving her direct answers. And then the writer-director slaps us right across the face with a finale that feels harrowing and somehow right and true. Read full review
70
PolygonJesse HassengerJan 31, 2021
Saint Maud feels like a closed system, more designed than fully felt. Its moments of ecstasy are never as thrilling nor frightening as they should be. Read full review
63
The Associated PressLindsey BahrFeb 4, 2021
Religion and horror are hardly novel bedfellows, but writer-director Rose Glass crafts something fresh of the construct in her promising debut Saint Maud. Read full review
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