"As someone who spent his formative years in English Catholic schools, Saint Maud resonated with me on a personal level. I even recall studying William Blake’s work (a recurring theme throughout the movie) - the perfect marriage of Catholicism and art, despite Blake’s hatred for institutionalized religion. Although my school tried to mold me into a Maud, I was always an Amanda, it just took me until my mid-20’s to fully realize that.
Mondo approaching me with this project felt like an honor. I can’t name many female directors within the horror genre, let alone British ones, and wanted to produce something that helped amplify Glass’s talent. Glass’s vision of Saint Maud is as beautiful as it is sinister, and initially, I struggled to produce something that would do it justice. At the start I found myself in a bit of a concept dead-end - determined to make the (challenging) Blake-inspired route work, his art is scattered throughout the movie and goes on to inspire Maud’s actions.
The first concepts, as unique as they were, didn’t land with the team at Mondo and I was (begrudgingly) forced to shelve the idea. Thankfully I was asked to design the soundtrack LP and those Blake-inspired sketches eventually saw the light of day and in the appropriate place. The team and I decided to pursue something simpler - Maud the martyr. After all, the beauty in the movie is in its simplicity. The final scene is the perfect summation of Maud’s martyrdom and mental illness. Immortalising Maud by casting her final moments in oxidized copper, reminiscent of a holy statue, the cracks of her mentality rend her constructed ideology asunder. Despite her actions, one cannot deny the world from Maud’s perspective is fascinating. Thank you, Glass, for giving us a glimpse." - Jack Hughes
