Saint Clare

Yes there is the music group, but I am not talking about them (or am I?), so no pun intended as always. Bella Thorne took a liking to the subject matter of the movie - they even showed a short movie she did (where she plans to do a feature length) ... and it had also a theme of ... well people being abused to say the least.

This has an amazing Frank Whaley in it ... I actually wish there was more of him in here! He is so good in this - like a good sidekick if you want to call him that ... while he actually shouldn't be on her side ... one might think. That said, if this was just "reality" he shouldn't be there at all ... but this is a heightened this is meant to be a bit more than the truth.

Unfortunately what is shown here does happen in reality .. so having a vigilante going after the bad people ... not a bad thing. Even if it goes a bit ... or more than just a bit out there ... with some characters acting completely irrational ... it still is a decent watch to say the least ... suspense and all that.

Mitzi Peirone's Saint Clare is the type of moody, atmospheric, not always coherent yet always fascinating fright flick we might have seen crop up in the 90's, an in the vein of Dean Koontz type ethereal-pulp good time at the horror movies that, sadly yet a bit understandably, has been getting some bad reviews. Bella Thorne is Clare, a young woman born with a sort of divine clairvoyance that allows her to keenly identify predators, serial killers and evil folks of the same rotten pedigree, and viciously dispatch them with some sort of spiritual impunity ordained just on her. She's like an angelic vigilante and has focused her energy on the small town she lives in where apparent human trafficking murderers have been operating freely for decades with little investigation by the local cops. The film tries this "darkly whimsical" energy that doesn't always flow, but is an interesting aesthetic choice and Thorne, who has seemed in the past incapable of a performance that registers beyond a placid stare and not able to annunciate her lines any other way than a stoned valley girl, is actually pretty engaging and seems to have taken some actual acting classes, I quite enjoyed her character work here. She's joined by some yesteryear familiar faces including a weirdly intense Rebecca DeMornay as her anxious stepmother, Ryan Phillippe as a useless police detective and scene stealing Frank Whaley as the ghost of a distraught mailman she once tried to help and accidentally killed, who now benignly haunts her offering kindly advice and moral support. It's in these narratively kitschy, lovably kooky moments that the film truly shines and displays something memorable. This is after all a pretty straightforward supernatural detective story given the otherworldly arthouse treatment by filmmaker Peirone and while some elements skirt the silly and terminally unfocused, Thorne's winning performance, her lovely oddball chemistry with Whaley and a positively gorgeous, super eerie musical score by Zola Jesus/Phillip Klein make this well worth a look.

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!

"Saint Clare" is a movie that I had not heard about prior to stumbling upon it here in 2025. And seeing that it was a horror movie of sorts, of course I opted to watch it.

Writers Mitzi Peirone and Guinevere Turner put together a script and narrative that started out nicely enough, but sort of stagnated and grew a bit boring and dull about halfway through. Granted, I haven't read the novel from writer Don Roff, so I don't know how true screen writers Mitzi Peirone and Guinevere Turner were to the source material.

The acting performances in the movie were good, and it was nice to see Rebecca De Mornay on the screen again. Aside from Rebecca De Mornay, the only familiar faces on the screen, for me at least, were Frank Whaley and Ryan Phillippe.

Visually, the movie was okay, but nothing outstanding.

Watchable, for sure, but I have to say that "Saint Clare" fell short of properly entertaining me from start to end.

"Saint Clare" is more of a thriller than it is a horror movie.

My rating of director Mitzi Peirone's 2024 movie "Saint Clare" lands on a four out of ten stars.

For this genre Saint Clare is a watchable movie but it's not a movie you will remember in the future, not even a day later in my case. For that it's just not good enough in many aspects. The twists and turns that should make this movie better were weak, maybe not predictable but weak nonetheless. The acting from some actors of the cast could definitely be better. All in all it's worth a watch if you don't set the bar too high.