St. Agatha

I don’t understand why there’ve been so many one-star ratings at the beginning, St. Agatha is not that tragic. That lowered my expectations a lot, and I waited throughout the film for the moment when things would get so unbearable, but somehow it didn’t happen. Surely, the film won’t get an Oscar for its screenplay, but worse atrocities can be found in the horror waters. This time, Bousman delivers at least flawless craftsmanship, as well as solid performances (mainly, the evil nun) and an atmospheric score. So, compared, for instance, with the atrocious 11-11-11, Agatha is a winner on all fronts. Plotwise, it’s stupid both in the details and as a whole, but show me one sophisticated nunsploitation movie. On the other hand, when I think of it as a parable of a community that a higher power cut off from funding and had to find a new model to operate, I think it does have some basis for meaningful content. But I don’t want to give the impression that I’m praising the film – my rating is around five points out of ten – but I feel that the other reviewers so far maybe didn’t sleep well before the screening and have been way too strict. (09/02/2019)

In the beginning, St. Agatha looks interesting, but with each passing minute, it makes less and less sense, piling up one ridiculous plot motif after the other – numerous scenes are so nonsensical that they don’t even fit the film at all! In fact, it’s as if the whole thing had been re-written and re-edited multiple times (well, there must be four screenwriters for a reason). For example, the entire film is covered with flashbacks that reveal the protagonist’s past, but those completely fail to make a point, as they don’t contribute by the slightest amount to the plot that follows. The characters are utterly superficial and merely limited to sinister sadistic nuns or naive victims; no one boasts any finer feature and nothing surprises. And the final escape plan of the main heroine is an ultimate insult to the viewer who was expecting at least some decent conclusion. [Sitges 2018] (09/10/2018)

Um filme de terror aborrecidamente dirigido e estupidamente escrito, onde o tema inicial é absurdo (as freiras supervisionam as raparigas grávidas e preocupam-se com o parto de crianças saudáveis, mas não hesitam em torturá-las e mutilá-las durante a gravidez apenas porque, porque se orgulham do seu «regime rigoroso»), e que interrompe e prolonga desnecessariamente os acontecimentos no asilo com cenas do passado do protagonista, sem justificar a sua existência. As personagens comportam-se ilogicamente de acordo com os ditados do argumento, de modo que as freiras podem ouvir cada sussurro num momento, mas noutras ocasiões parecem ser surdas e cegas. O final é terrivelmente ingénuo, quase ridículo. Das atuações, só Carolyn Hennesy como a demoniacamente amável Abadessa é digna de menção, mas as outras, com a superficialidade das suas personagens, infelizmente não têm muito para representar. (10/10/2018)