St. Agatha horror film delights fans with nunsploitation
St. Agatha is the latest from director, Darren Lynn Bousman. If you love the sub-genre ‘nunsploitation’ then you have to watch it. Here’s a recap of the screening at Ahrya Fine Arts Theater!
St. Agatha premiered at the Ahrya Fine Arts Theater this week, the Ahrya is a beautiful, old-school theater, that originally opened in 1937. It has survived years of neglect, before blossoming in 2015, under Laemmle management.
It’s the perfect place for the screening of St. Agatha, a horror film by the director of Saw II, III and IV — Darren Lynn Bousman; starring newcomer Sabrina Kern as Mary; and Carolyn Hennesy as the elegantly cruel Mother Superior. The screenplay was written by Andy Demetrio, Shaun Fletcher, Sara Sometti Michaels, and Clint Sears.
The film is about a pregnant con woman, Mary, who enters a convent because she has no where else to go. But the nuns, who seemed kind are actually horrible. Like a nun with a gun horrible.
To begin the evening, the cast are called to the front of the house for acknowledgements. Carolyn Hennesy, who plays the evil nun, is praised for her award-winning work as a total psycho. Seriously, she’s the best thing in the film. A monster, hiding behind a mask of normalcy, like so many narcissists and sociopaths.
Ahrya Fine Arts Theater – T. Aleman
Bousman explains the film’s background, and how he cast his lead actress, Sabrina Kern. He had worked with her previously, on an immersive horror event in Atlanta, where the film was shot.
He said that when he first met her, she had no idea that he was a Hollywood horror director, nor could she have expected, that it would lead to her playing a pregnant woman, abused by nuns in a madhouse.
The director said he was hesitant to meet with actress, Carolyn Hennesy (True Blood, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines), but friends insisted. He met her at a coffee-house and when he watched Hennesy intimidate the barista effortlessly, he realized that he had found his Mother Superior.
St. Agatha premiere – Courtesy of T. Aleman
A highlight of the evening was the actress’ cool outfit. She wore a vintage hat with long feathers, sticking up, as if to say: “I’m the OG Mother Superior and you know it.” Not everyone can pull off a hat like that, but Hennesy can. She’s fab.
St. Agatha has a number of strong roles for women, both young and mature, which is inspiring. The audience enjoyed the production, it’s a fun horror film with a couple of gross out scenes — a nun vomiting into a girl’s mouth like a mama bird and then forcing her to eat it.
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Bloody hell, that’s evil. St. Agatha opens on February 8th in theaters and on streaming platforms.
Are you a fan of nunsploitation? Do you love nuns with guns? Did you love Saw II? III and IV? If so, let us know in the comments.