Review: In ‘Saint Maud,’ is a visceral psychological horror

Religion and horror are hardly novel bedfellows, but writer-director Rose Glass crafts something fresh of the construct in her promising debut “ Saint Maud.” The film follows the psychological undoing of a devout hospice nurse who becomes obsessed with saving the soul of her terminally ill patient. The new client is Amanda Kohl, a 49-year-old dancer, choreographer and “minor celebrity” who has written books with vaguely erotic titles like Anatomy of Dance and The Body is a Stage. Maud even says early on that she has little time for creative types, “as they tend to be rather self-involved.” But the film teases us a bit with the possibility of connection between the two who at least seem open to each other at first. “Saint Maud,” an A24 release in theaters now, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for “disturbing and violent content, sexual content and language.” Running time: 84 minutes.