Saint Maud is bound to be another polarizing horror film from distributor A24. That’s to say it’s going to be beloved by some while others are going to complain that it doesn’t have any jump scares. I’m in the former category – I caught Rose Glass‘s religious nightmare at Fantastic Fest, and it blew me away. In honor of Ash Wednesday, A24 just put out a new Saint Maud trailer, and while it’s effective, it’s also the type of trailer spoiler-phobes might want to avoid.

I’m not as averse to spoilers as some folks, but even I’m a little baffled at this Saint Maud trailer. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a good trailer! It just gives away a pretty big spoiler moment that works so much better if you go into it cold. So! While it’s my duty to post this trailer and write about it, I also feel a duty to tell you to maybe – just maybe – skip this trailer. But don’t skip the movie, because it’s fantastic.

Saint Maud Trailer

Written and directed by Rose Glass, Saint Maud is described as “a chilling and boldly original vision of faith, madness, and salvation in a fallen world. Maud, a newly devout hospice nurse, becomes obsessed with saving her dying patient’s soul — but sinister forces, and her own sinful past, threaten to put an end to her holy calling.” The cast includes Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle, Lilly Frazer, Lily Knight, Marcus Hutton, Turlough Convery, and Rosie Sansom.

I wrote about the film’s unique brand of horror when I caught it at Fantastic Fest:

Running at an extremely tight, low-key 83 minutes, Saint Maud burns down like a melted candle almost out of wick. It flickers, it flames, it goes out with a puff of smoke against the darkness. It’s also terrifying.

But it’s not terrifying in the traditional sense. The scares here are not the type that inspire A+ CinemaScores. Instead, with her remarkably assured feature debut, writer-director Rose Glass has crafted a story where darkness is closing in – inescapable darkness disguised as light. Morfydd Clark, turning in a mannered, hypnotic performance, is Maud. She works as a private nurse, and through conversations and quick, unexplained flashbacks it becomes clear that something terrible happened in Maud’s past.

Saint Maud opens April 3.

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