Saint Clare

Disjointed and confusing thriller, Saint Claire is unsure what path it wants to take so zig zags through to no real point. Mitzi Perrone appears to edit the film with sticky tape - a lot of it makes no sense. Bella Thorne's performance whilst earnest isn't focused enough for the heavy material. Ryan Phillipe and Rebecca DeMornay are wasted.

The cast was so interesting and well Bella Thorne is a true knockout but its not nearly enough to save this mess.

Surprisingly, the acting in this film is pretty terrible. Thorne's character is not at all believable and her performance is quite a yawn. And while I usually like Ryan Phillipe he was positively wooden. And Frank Whaley does a decent job of being annoying... but is still annoying.

I did suffer through the whole thing... hopefully so you won't have to!

So whatever this movie was exactly going for didn't quite work for me. Bella Thorne manages to carry the movie quite well, even though her acting was a little uneven at times, but that could be due to how she was directed. In general, there are many stylistic choices and script decisions that felt uneven and out of place. The movie certainly had some interesting elements, and some scenes were enjoyable overall, but there's just a lot going on that doesn't fit together. From the uneven tone to the distracting editing and the very hit-or-miss performances from the cast, it all feels inconsistent. I feel like Thorne's character definitely had potential and the story could have been much more interesting, but the overall tone the movie was going for left me more confused than engaged with the narrative. The movie never really builds any genuine atmosphere, and neither the darker elements nor the gore stand out, which makes this movie overall pretty much below average with lots of weird stylistic choices and unevenness. A less pretentious attempt with a clearer narrative and less confusing editing could have made for a decently enjoyable movie. [3.9/10]

I'd had this film on my watch list for quite a while as the premise sounded intriguing and from what I know about Bella Thorne, she's keen on artistic risks. While it was intriguing, it certainly wasn't worth the wait.

There are plenty of interesting ideas on offer, but several are under utilised or forgotten about. There's artistic flare at times, reminiscent of other recent horror such as Censor and, to a lesser extent, Saint Maud, but frankly the film is put together so sloppily that these are few and far between. For example, about ten minutes or so into the film, we're introduced to Frank Whaley's character, and it seems like we're suddenly getting a dynamic akin to Griffin Dunne in An American Werewolf in London, but the film soon gets bored of that.

Bella Thorne was fine as the titular Clare, and Whaley isn't bad either, but the rest of the cast felt either limp, hammy or in Ryan Phillipe's case, wooden. These performances, coupled with predictable twists and haphazard editing and directing create something held together with tape rather than superglue and it comes close to falling apart completely.

I really wanted to like this film after waiting for so long, and while I didn't hate it, it falls into the category of forgettable films like The Night House.

Wow went in with the lowest expectations but was extremely happily surprised. Would definitely recommend watching. Felt like I was watching an A24 movie. The pacing is fantastic, character development of Clare is unforgettable and the imagery with incredible editing and sound will make the stand out scenes stay with you. It's a mystery and you never know where it's going next. The fight scenes are very Luc Besson Lucy meets Fifth Element with the telepathic powers of Unbreakable. Yeah some of the acting is a bit cheese but in an era where movies fail to keep my attention, it's amazing to see such a cinematic take on a girl kicking ass and serving justice!