The latest in a curiously burgeoning sub-genre of “nun horror,” Consecration unfortunately fails to leave a lasting impression. Lacking the provocative nature of Benedetta, the slow-burn of Saint Maud, or the nastiness of The First Omen or Immaculate, it ends up being just about the worst thing a horror film can be – boring.
Jena Malone plays Grace, an optician who learns that her brother, a priest, has died under suspicious circumstances at the remote Scottish convent where he served. Determined to uncover the truth, she travels to the convent, only to find herself plagued by eerie visions of sinister entities lurking in the shadows, and a growing sense of unease.
Director Christopher Smith is no slouch when it comes to religious horror, having previously made the criminally underrated Black Death. However, where that film combined B-movie thrills with a subversive critique of religious fanaticism, Consecration is surprisingly more superficial. While it initially seems like a much more measured, thoughtful film, ultimately it doesn't have much more to say than “nuns are scary.” Similarly, it lacks the psychological elements and narrative coherence that made the sublimely twisty Triangle such a fun thriller. Consecration pays lip service to deeper meaning but never really gets there.
On the positive side, the film is wonderfully atmospheric, and the initial scenes are especially intriguing, as Grace puts the pieces together with a sense of mounting dread as she spots inconsistencies in the nun's stories. The windswept island location is beautiful and Smith capitalises on this immediately, allowing for some wonderfully gothic imagery. There are also some nicely judged horror moments – one particularly disturbing sequence involves spectral nuns hurling themselves from a cliff, in a scene that recalls the casual brutality of Midsommar. The explanation of this, from Danny Huston's Father Romero, is an ominous bit of convent lore that hints at a deeper mythology, though frustratingly, it never pays off. Smith clearly has a fondness for M.R. James, and his eye for gothic horror remains sharp as ever, with creepy blurred figures lurking in the periphery of the frame.
Unfortunately, the narrative doesn't match the visual flair. The pacing is lacklustre and frustratingly meandering – slow burns are fine, but there has to be a payoff, and here the bonkers reveal is signposted so frequently that it barely qualifies as a twist. There's a welcome intensity to the flashback scenes, involving Grace's zealot father (Ian Pirie), that is genuinely disturbing, but this only highlights just how emotionally inert much of the rest of the film is.
Jena Malone gives an uneven central performance – her fluctuating accent is a constant albatross around her neck, slipping constantly between a kind of arch, Nicole Kidman-esque affected British and… something resembling Scottish? However, she excels in the more intense, emotionally charged moments, which is what matters most. The supporting cast is more successful, with Smith having gathered a menacing ensemble of suspicious looking nuns. Danny Huston brings gravitas to Father Romero, and Janet Suzman exudes menace as the convent's matriarch. Both sink their teeth into their starchy, morally ambivalent roles, and their presence alone makes the characters more memorable than they probably deserve. The nuns themselves are given precious little personality beyond “the strict one,” “the sweet one” and “the one with the eyepatch.” Compared to something like Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria, or The First Omen, where all the ensemble feel like living breathing people, the characterisation here all feels a bit surface level.
Consecration flirts with provocative ideas, but ultimately shies away from exploring them in any meaningful way. There's a compelling psychological mystery buried in the premise, but the execution is too safe, too surface-level, to really do it justice. Despite the stunning visuals and a few effective horror beats, it's let down by a sluggish pace, thin characterisation, and an uninspired narrative. The climactic twist, meant to be the film's showstopping gut-punch, falls flat: at once telegraphed and muddled, it embodies the problems with a film that promises a lot but fails to deliver.
Consecration is available for digital download now.
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