Vague Visages’ Consecration review contains minor spoilers. Sean Byrne’s 2025 movie features Jena Malone, Danny Huston and Janet Suzman. Check out the VV home page for more film criticism, movie reviews and film essays.

Religious horror is having a moment right now. More specifically, nuns are big business with Immaculate and The First Omen released in quick succession in 2024, with both faring reasonably well critically and commercially. Maybe it’s because the world is so terrifying at the moment and everything feels so hopeless — but, for some reason, god-fearing folks are scary again. And they’re never more intimidating or downright exasperating than in Christopher Smith’s Consecration, in which a young woman is besieged by cruel nuns, not because she’s had a calling herself, but because her strictly religious brother was involved in an apparent murder-suicide. 

Jena Malone headlines Consecration as Grace, a gifted eye doctor living in London who’s long turned her back on God (for a good reason). When she gets the call about her deceased brother, the protagonist understandably feels distraught, but upon arriving at the isolated convent in Scotland where her sibling perished, she’s faced with considerably more questions than answers. Plucky investigator DCI Harris (Thoren Ferguson) doggedly pursues all leads, but he’s stymied at each turn by the imperious Mother Superior (Janet Suzman), who vows to protect the order’s secrets. All the while, Grace experiences torturous visions and worries about her losing her mind as the nuns urge her to stay put, and also take her phone and clothes so it’s harder to leave.

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Consecration opens with a powerful, borderline blasphemous shot of a nun pointing a gun at a young woman in broad daylight. It’s a stark introduction to the underworld of this story that’s unfortunately undercut by some unnecessary narration from Malone’s lead character almost immediately, and Consecration never reaches these heights again (although one death is deliciously gruesome and similarly likely to offend practicing Catholics). The director, Smith — who co-wrote the screenplay with first-timer Laurie Cook — doesn’t quite have the courage of his convictions, pulling back from the edge when he should leap off the cliff. This makes the inevitable big reveal, which is relatively original but doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, land with a thud.

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It’s a shame because Consecration is goofy like most religious horror but doesn’t include a serious exorcism sequence. At the very least, the movie is more grounded than most sub-genre flicks. Cinematographers Rob Hart and Shaun Mone photograph Scotland beautifully, with the stark white of the nuns’ habits juxtaposed nicely against the rugged landscape of greens, browns and greys. Grace inherently distrusts the order, which is an interesting departure from how these kinds of stories typically play out. It also establishes a believably charged tête-à-tête with Mother Superior that powers the narrative through some dodgier moments. Consecration is choppily edited, with many scenes feeling as though they need another beat or two to fully resonate. Thus, Smith’s film feels rushed.

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Malone’s British accent is passable in Consecration, but it makes her performance slightly melodramatic at times. The actor is also saddled with a shockingly dry wig that’s especially distracting in the windswept Scottish countryside. Still, Grace is a likeable enough protagonist, and the prolific performer imbues her with a palpable sense of right and wrong (early on, Grace strongly clarifies that “My brother was devout, not crazy”). There’s tons of fire and brimstone talk, and a consistent refrain of “there is but one god.” Although Grace doesn’t literally roll her eyes, she’s skeptical enough that it provides an entry point into an isolated life beyond what most viewers could imagine. Suzman’s cold stare is an interesting counterpoint, while Danny Huston has a ball as the sole priest and American.

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The rite of consecration itself remains curiously underdeveloped in a movie named after it, but Smith suggests that it cannot be carried out “on a foundation of lies,” which should give some indication of the kind of flowery dialogue espoused by Consecration’s true believers. Disappointingly, the filmmaking doesn’t match this approach, with little artistic flair on display or risks taken aside from the memorable opening scene and the aforementioned blasphemous kill. A tracking shot that follows Grace until she’s in front of a mirror hints at what might have been if the filmmakers were more willing to lean into camp. As it stands, Consecration is a disjointed affair with sparks of interest scattered throughout that nonetheless ends up as a middling entry into the newly popular religious horror sub-genre. However, Smith’s film is worth a watch for Malone’s committed turn in the lead role.

Consecration released digitally on June 16, 2025 via Vertigo Releasing.

Joey Keogh (@JoeyLDG) is a writer from Dublin, Ireland with an unhealthy appetite for horror movies and Judge Judy. In stark contrast with every other Irish person ever, she’s straight edge. Hello to Jason Isaacs. Thank you for reading film criticism, movie reviews and film reviews at Vague Visages.

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