Trailer Alert: St. Agatha

Carolyn Hennesy (Mother Superior)

You’ve probably heard me sing the praises of this Darren Lynn Bousman nunsploitation film, and there is finally a trailer to show you!

I admit. I have a real soft spot for St. Agatha, the bad abbey movie that debuted at the Overlook Film Festival last April. This movie, in a great year for horror movies, landed in my top 10, after all was said and done. I had been doing the Scariest Things for about three months when I arrived in New Orleans for the screening, and I was given the opportunity to meet with a whole bunch of the creators and actors involved with this film.

I got the opportunity to interview the director, Bousman, who was generous enough to give a fledgling podcaster an interview. I had the pleasure of hanging out with three of the actresses, Marsha Berger, Candy Rachor, and Trin Miller at various after parties, and despite their nasty evil ways on screen, proved out to be some genuinely sweet and wonderful people to hang out with. And the writer, Sara Sometti Michaels, was really generous with her time (over cocktails and snacks) sharing her experiences working on the film. Later on, Sara was one of our jury members for the top 100 films. (Thanks Sara!)

Marsha Berger (Sister Susan)
Trin Miller (Sister Paula)

So yeah, I’m biased. This movie helped kick start my life as a blogger and a podcaster, so it will always be important to me. But, I swear, this movie was great! Not just the sentiment talking here!

By comparison, there was another Nun movie that came out (cough, cough) in 2018, which really underwhelmed with poorly timed jump scares. I swear, there are some sites out there listing The Nun as one of the best horror films of 2018, which suggests they didn’t see many horror films! I also know that there is a movie, Heretik, due to come out next year with an abbey, and demonic possession as a theme. So, evil nuns may be giving evil clowns a run for their money. I would implore you not to let St. Agatha get lost in the shuffle. There is palpable real dramatic tension, with a strong narrative base, great acting and really horrific shocks.

On an artistic note… I find myself wondering if Bousman was inspired by the painting by Giovanni Lanfranco’s Renaissance work St. Peter Healing St. Agatha. Just curious, that’s all. A divine beautiful coincidence? Or smart cinematography?