Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter/X | Instagram)
The 2023 horror movie “Sister Death” begins with a creepy black-and-white glitch-y footage of a young girl holding a cross and mouthing inaudible words as people prostate around her. It’s a flashback scene from 1939 in Spain and a haunting background music adds to the eerie atmosphere, helping the film start off on an unsettling note. The actual story is set ten years later, in 1949, where the girl has now grown into a young woman, about to begin her new role as a teacher at a convent school.
Directed by Paco Plaza, who co-wrote the script with Jorge Guerricaechevarría, “Sister Death” (Original title: Hermana Muerte) is a prequel to Plaza’s 2017 horror film “Veronica.” However, you don’t need to have seen the latter to follow “Sister Death.” Aria Bedmar plays the protagonist, Hermana Narcisa, who starts to witness strange occurrences and experience nightmares at the convent where she is teaching. Narcisa soon discovers from her students that the school is haunted by a girl who they claim was responsible for the disappearance of the nun she replaced.
The school used to be a cloistered convent, making it an excellent setting for this horror drama. An introductory shot of the building shows Narcisa staring at its bullet-ridden walls, bearing proof of its violent history and the terrible secrets buried within. It reminded me of the 2018 movie “Eerie,” which was set in an all-girls Catholic school and is also haunted by the ghost of a young girl.
While “Sister Death” proceeds at a relatively slow pace, steadily building intrigue and dread, the creators surprisingly avoid jump scares, keeping sudden loud sounds to a minimum. For example, in a late-night scene, Sister Narcisa enters a creepy storeroom and stumbles upon something disturbing. However, she doesn’t scream and remains composed. Aria Bedmar is riveting as the young conflicted Narcisa, who isn’t sure of her religious calling and is further tormented by disturbing visions. The few times Aria does get to scream in the film, her cries are filled with genuine terror and fear. Unlike the older nuns who are very strict with the students, Narcisa is more compassionate, friendly and understanding. Maru Valdivielso is intimidating, scary and almost sinister as sister Julia, who doubts Narcisa’s credibility and is quite mean to the girl students. Child actor Sara Roch plays one of the students who confides in Narcisa, and the actor is terrific in some of the scenes where she is expected to be spooked.
“Throughout “Sister Death,” the creators toy with the plot, leaving viewers guessing whether the haunted events exist solely in Narcisa’s imagination, or maybe the students are simply playing pranks on the new teachers with horror tales, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. The climax does give concrete answers to the viewers on where the convent is really haunted or not. But the climactic events were slightly underwhelming, despite an interesting tragic tale tying up everything. Overall, the atmospheric, grim cinematography of a 1940s convent, coupled with solid acting, makes “Sister Death” a compelling watch for horror enthusiasts.
Rating: 7 pm 10. You can stream Sister Death on Netflix.
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