Saint Clare is coming for you this summer—quietly, darkly, and unapologetically.
I remember when I first saw that opening image: Bella Thorne drenched in crimson, eyes sharp, silent. It's one of those moments that grabs your chest and says: this isn't a teen slasher—this is theology, obsession, blood.
A small-town crucible
Set in a sleepy community, Clare Bleecker—played by Thorne—is the picture of innocence: vegan, devoutly Catholic, an orphan under her grandparents' roof. But beneath that surface lies something far more dangerous. Haunted by voices, Clare becomes an executioner of ill‑intentioned locals. Justified? Messianic? Either way, she's unstoppable—until her last kill drags her into sex‑trafficking, corruption, and literal supernatural visions.
From page to screen
Adapted from Don Roff's Clare at Sixteen, Saint Clare occupies an eerie space between serial‑killer horror and religious mystery. Italian director Mitzi Peirone—familiar from Braid—co‑wrote the screenplay with American Psycho alum Guinevere Turner. Peirone brings a bold, visual flair: damp streets, stained‑glass halos, blood‑spattered prayers. The gothic tone is elevated by a score from Zola Jesus, filled with industrial-electronic choral layers that echo Clare's fractured psyche
Festival roots & release date
- Premiere: Taormina International Film Festival, 2024
- Genre screenings: FrightFest (UK), Oldenburg, SXSW Sydney
- LA nods: Best Narrative Feature and Best Director, L.A. Independent Women Film Awards
- US Release: Select theaters + VOD on July 18, 2025 via Quiver Distribution
There's something wonky about casting a 26‑year‑old as a high schooler—and that's the point. Clare's dislocation from youth lends her cold authority when she exacts violent justice—and when that veneer cracks, the revelation isn't growing up—it's a supernatural reckoning
Ensemble cast—the blood relatives
- Bella Thorne brings Clare's quiet horror to life.
- Ryan Phillippe plays Timmons, a tether to Clare's past
- Rebecca DeMornay (of Hand That Rocks the Cradle toothiness), and Frank Whaley, all support the ripple of swallowed secrets and whispered sins
- Veterans Bart Johnson, Dylan Flashner, Erica Dasher enrich the small-town tapestry.
Why it matters
This trailer isn't just hyping thrills—it's hinting at an interrogation of faith and psychosis. Peirone says, “Artists and people of faith are rather alike… when you are destined with vision and clarity of purpose, then nothing can scare you.” Clare's vision—God-given, or madness?—asks where righteousness ends and fanaticism begins.
Visually it's daring—stark reds, saturated nightscapes, and mirrors reflecting Clare's fracturing identity. It's like The Exorcist meets Peaky Blinders, soaked in incense and menace.
Final prayer
July 18 isn't far off. Saint Clare could be the surprise indie thriller of the season—dark, philosophical, and soaked in blood. Will you answer the voices?
