Saint Clare – Movie Review (3/5)

SAINT CLARE is a new mystery horror-thriller with a solid vigilante story starring Bella Thorne. The protagonist compares herself to Joan of Arc and feels it’s her calling, in a religious way. Watching it is a delicious guilty pleasure. Read our full Saint Clare movie review here!

SAINT CLARE is a horror-thriller mystery with a great edge to its storytelling. This is the story of a young college student who sees herself as an avenger. Or actually, she’s more of a protector as she tries to get in the way of bad guys before they attack again.

It’s a real genre-mix with a retro indie vibe that I loved. The entire cast is clearly completely onboard with the style and vibe the filmmaker is going for, and the result is a very entertaining movie. The runtime is just 92 minutes, so do check it out.

Continue reading our Saint Clare movie review below. Find it In Theaters and On Demand & Digital from July 18, 2025.

Small town with wicked people

We’re in a small town, where a young woman, Clare (Bella Thorne), finds herself haunted by both voices and circumstances. One particular person is literally haunting her and serves as a sort of conscience for her.

And she needs someone to help her think things through. Clare (as in Saint Clare of the title) kills people. No, she kills men. Or actually, she assassinates men who have and will hurt women.

This is something she’s getting away with in this new town, where she lives with her very colorful grandma, Gigi (Rebecca De Mornay). In this town, they’re in desperate need of a Saint Clare, as women have been disappearing for decades.

As Clare will soon discover, this town is riddled with corruption involving trafficking.

Along with Bella Thorne and Rebecca De Mornay, we have Frank Whaley (The Shed), Erica Dasher, Ryan Phillippe (Wish Upon), Jan Luis Castellanos (Uglies), and Dylan Flashner in key roles.

Joan of Arc meets Revenge

With Saint Clare, we get a character who views herself as a modern-day Joan of Arc. She feels completely safe and confident in going after predators, as she is convinced this is her life goal: That God has given her this task and will protect her.

The comparison to Joan of Arc also means that she fully recognizes it will probably cost her everything in the end. As in, this will be the death of her, but she cannot stop reacting to the dangerous men she comes across.

With Bella Thorne (The Babysitter, Girl) portraying this character, we’re getting a tough young woman who reminded me of Mathilda Lutz in Revenge. And to me, Revenge (2017) is one of the very best revenge movies ever.

Of course, that movie also came from Coralie Fargeat, who most recently gave us The Substance (2024). While Saint Clare doesn’t go quite as far (or get quite as bloody) as Revenge, the story in Saint Clare is equally dark and sinister.

Watch Saint Clare on VOD or in theaters

Saint Clare comes from director Mitzi Peirone, who also wrote the screenplay with Guinevere Turner. In case you’re not too familiar with Guinevere Turner, apart from her work as an actor, she is actually a writer with some hefty genre titles on her resume.

Guinevere Turner co-wrote the iconic serial killer movie American Psycho (2000) with the director Mary Harron. Of course, that movie was based on author Bret Easton Ellis’ book, and Saint Clare is also based on a novel. That one was written by Don Roff.

Director and co-writer Mitzi Peirone is also a familiar name as she wrote and directed the 2018 horror, mystery, crime-thriller Braid starring Madeline Brewer (Cam). Based on her first two feature films, Braid and Saint Clare, I can’t wait for what comes next.

SAINT CLARE is In Theaters and On VOD & Digital from July 18, 2025.

Details

Director: Mitzi Peirone
Writers: Mitzi Peirone, Guinevere Turner
Stars: Bella Thorne, Rebecca De Mornay, Frank Whaley, Ryan Phillippe, Erica Dasher, Jan Luis Castellanos, Dylan Flashner