School of the Holy Beast (1974)

School of the Holy Beast, for me, is one of the greatest achievements in exploitation cinema. Not only did it have an amazingly over top revenge story, but it was shot in a way that Bava and Argento would be proud of. It’s a simple story told in an extraordinary manner. It features everything an exploitation fanatic would look for (nudity, gore, anti-religious undertones/overtones), but in such a way that it works better because it’s a nunsploitation film.

Rating:

School of the Holy Beast follows Maya, a beautiful young woman, caught up in a dangerous situation. After years of searching for the truth to her past, Maya ends up at a convent and takes up the life of a nun as she searches for clues to her mother’s death. While her mission continues, the underbelly of the convent is laid bare as double-crossing between nuns takes place, forcing the women to make up circles of friends for protection (similar to prison life), and all sorts of sexual deviancy takes place. By the time Maya finds out the truth, she may end up causing a much larger schism than she could have ever expected.

Nunsploitation films are very hit or miss. The sub-genre is littered with terrible films, and very few stand out amongst the onslaught of titles. School of the Holy Beast stands as one of the best in the sub-genre, and is a pretty damned strong film on its own. The story, while not completely original, is engaging and well thought out. The acting is not bad, and Yumi Takigawa nails the part of Maya, making her completely sympathetic, while at the same time being a rebellious vixen. The music is breathtaking and fits the film completely. And, finally, the cinematography is incredible.

That last sentence isn’t enough to give this film justice. The shots are extraordinary. School of the Holy Beast boarders on ‘art-house’ as it captures the essence of the convent while giving the audience the sensation that something is missing. Whether it’s the multi-colored glass windows, or a haunting shot of Maya standing naked in front of an empty alter, the camera, alone, tells as much of the story as the characters. The colors are beautiful. A favorite example of this is when Maya is being punished by whips of thorns her blood flows along the branch and drops off a thorn. It’s a simple image that conveys her torment, but when we cut back to Maya, she stares back in defiance at her captors.

The heart of the story is truly the revenge plot, but along the way the audience is treated to a pretty heavy dose of subtext. Where is God? Everything that happens seems to point to the fact that God may not really exist. The torture some nuns go through, the conniving in the upper ranks of the convent, the suffering of those that can’t defend themselves, the hypocrisy running rampant everywhere Maya turns, and even the very man that is supposed to defend the word of God and make sure the nuns don’t stray from the path leaves one to ponder the greater mystery. Only once in the entire film does the feeling that God may truly be there, but he works in mysterious ways, come through. This leads to one of the most satisfying endings I’ve ever seen.

School of the Holy Beast is for fans that enjoy story as much as aesthetics. Maya’s journey into a world of madness surrounded by religious zealots is pretty heavy, and a slow build at that. That said, the slow build is necessary to set up the pay offs later on (and, there are plenty of pay offs). And, it doesn’t hurt that Yumi is a site to behold.

Discuss this film in the Screamin’ Forums!