I think it’s fair to say that Saint Clare turned out to be something very different to what I thought it was going to be when I was first offered the viewing opportunity. I mean, the press release described it as…“Witness the rise of Saint Clare, a haunting, blood-soaked thriller that had audiences’ blood-pressure rising and critics singing its praises at London’s FrightFest 2024 Premiere.” I’ve made no secret of the fact that the horror and slasher genres are my least favourite types of film.
And when a film is described as a “haunting and blood-soaked thriller” one does tend to assume we’re going to be closer to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre than My Dinner With Andre! To my surprise it wasn’t a relentless gore-fest. However, there was action and there was what I believe is flagged up as “injury detail” but at no time did it feel gratuitous. Instead what we had was a film which was more of a thriller than a horror, a mystery rather than a blatant slasher. And, to my mind, it was much the better for that.
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Everything I’ve Said And Done…
So, what’s going on in Saint Clare? Trying not to be a total wet blanket, I suppose that “nothing new” has to be the honest answer. However I’ve said many times before that, if you subscribe to the theory that there are only seven basic story archetypes, then everyone, including Shakespeare, must have recycled their narratives. In my humble opinion there’s nothing wrong with reusing a theme provided you do it with skill. And I think that Saint Clare does that very well.
What we have is a female vigilante tale. The vigilante in question is Clare Bleeker (Bella Thorne), the eponymous Saint Clare. The reason for the sainthood is that she is haunted by voices that lead her to assassinate people with bad intentions who think they can get away with it. She is also accompanied by the ghost of Mailman Bob (Frank Whaley) who acts as her spectral mentor following his accidental death while seeking solace from Clare.
…Has Been In The Hands Of God
Obviously killing bad people is still wrong and eventually Detective Rich Timmons (Ryan Phillippe) comes looking around to try and find out whether all these nasty people had actually died innocently rather than being helped on their way out. Spoilers prevent me from saying how he gets on. What I will say is there is an interesting development from her final “intervention”. As the press release puts it…her last kill changes everything, and sucks her headlong down a rabbit hole riddled with corruption, trafficking and twisted visions from the beyond.
By far the best thing about Saint Clare is the performances. Bella Thorne is convincing as the misfit high school student despite rapidly approaching her thirties. Her grandmother Gigi (Rebecca De Mornay) is a wonderful character sadly given little more than a cameo to play with. Still, as I said earlier, Saint Clare turned out to be a much better way to spend an hour and a half than I first thought it would be. Saint Clare gets a digital release on 21st July 2025 courtesy of 101 Films.
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