Before the pandemic shut theaters down last March, if you went to watch a film on the big screen, odds are you saw the disturbing trailer for “Saint Maud.” Unfortunately, when COVID-19 began to wreak havoc in the US, A24’s planned release kept getting delayed. Now, a year later, the horror-thriller is arriving in select theaters and on EPIX. And in this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Charles, Mike, and Brian discuss the new film and speak with Morfydd Clark, the star of “Saint Maud.”
“Saint Maud” tells the story of a reclusive nurse/caregiver, Maud, who is a devout Christian (taking everything very, very literally) goes to extremes to attempt to save the soul of Amanda, her newest patient. But with severe mental illness (or perhaps, she’s speaking to God?), Maud begins to spiral out of control as her life unravels. The film is directed by first-time feature filmmaker, Rose Glass, and has already received rave reviews from its festival appearances in 2019.
Before the pandemic, A24 was positioning “Saint Maud” as being the next “Hereditary.” Unfortunately, now the release is a much more muted affair. But in the discussion with Clark, the actress joked that she’s much more comfortable with a smaller release.
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“I actually never want anyone to watch anything that I’ve been in. So, in a way, it’s like, ‘Well, this is nice!’” she joked. “But the idea of it being seen by a few critics that liked it, I was like, ‘The end!’ [Laughs]”
But even still, the actress does lament the idea that folks likely won’t get the chance to watch “Saint Maud” in theaters.
“Particularly, with a horror, there’s magic in watching a horror in the cinema, where you all feel like one united [group], like holding your breath together and stuff,” Clark said. “So I was really lucky I got to experience that and watch the burly guy in front of me leap out of his seat. It was a very special moment.”
READ MORE: ‘Saint Maud’ Is A Stunning Debut From An Electrifying Filmmaker [Review]
Of course, if you’re familiar with Morfydd Clark’s IMDB, you probably noticed that the actress landed the role of a lifetime, reportedly portraying Galadriel in the forthcoming “Lord of the Rings” TV series coming to Amazon Prime Video. And while she can’t get into the specifics, the actress did speak about her new role.
“I think there’s joy in being in a writer-director film where it’s all new but also terror where like, ‘Is this all going to work?’” Clark explained. “And that’s exactly the same when you step into a world that’s already been created and already been masterfully done. So, yeah, there’s kind of a comfort and a fear to [making ‘Lord of the Rings’].”
As for whether or not she believes the TV ‘Rings’ can match the epic scale and majesty of Peter Jackson’s features, Clark is cautiously optimistic.
“Yeah, I really hope so because [Peter Jackson’s films] brought me so much joy and comfort but also like extreme escapism when I was an early, awkward adolescent,” she said. “I would just love for [the TV series] to grant people the kind of peace in fantasy that those films did for me.”
Clark added, “We’re dealing with Tolkien’s world and Tolkien’s world is so vast, so deep, so magical. So, I would love for anyone to be able to experience anything close to what I did with the films because I was obsessed.”
As for her future, Clark joked about a future Marvel role (“I’m the new Captain America…no, I’m not [Laughs]”) and said that all she cares about is working with nice people.
“I want to work with nice people,” she admitted. “I find that what I really love about this job is my wanderlust for people is really satisfied. My wanderlust for people with interesting brains. I don’t see myself as a creator. My thoughts don’t translate themselves into stories. And meeting people like Rose [Glass], Armando Iannucci, and Craig Roberts two years ago to do all of these things…it’s just wonderful to be allowed into people’s minds…I’d love to work with more writer-directors. I find that really, really satisfying.”
“Saint Maud” is in select theaters this weekend and will arrive on EPIX on February 12. You can listen to the full interview below.
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