Stories of the loss and renewal of faith have been told again and again since the dawn of time. They were among the first narratives to be adapted to film, and continue to be a presence on the cinema scene today. In the horror arena, one of the latest is NYMPHA, the recent chiller from Italian genre specialist Ivan Zuccon.
It is a traditional dark and stormy night when Sarah (Tiffany Shepis) knocks on the doors of the convent of the “New Order” in Italy. Having traveled from America, she is eager to start her new life there, and immediately begins a rather unorthodox orientation. Locked in her room, she meditates and prays before being taken to her first audience with the Lord. Unbeknownst to her, this will actually be a meeting with the alcoholic local doctor (Giuseppe Gobbato), and from what we gather from the exchange between him and the Mother Superior (Alessandra Guerzoni), it’s not going to be a routine checkup. What does happen causes Sarah to lose her hearing, but she does gain visions.
These have to do with the birth and life of Ninfa (Carolina De Cristofaro), whose grandfather Geremia (Allan McKenna) was a devote Catholic who allowed the Lord to impregnate his young daughter. Ninfa was the product of this holy union, with God safely residing in the attic to keep an eye on her. But God is hungry, and Geremia must kill to keep him satiated. As this and Sarah’s storylines begin to intertwine, the torture inflicted on our heroine becomes increasingly severe, until all suddenly becomes clear toward the end.
Shepis shines in her lead role, taking a softer turn than usual and making Sarah incredibly sympathetic; the audience really feels for her plight. This type of film can fall flat without a believable actress front and center, and while Shepis must interact with nothing in many scenes and has no dialogue for much of the film, her terror and confusion are palpable. Her portrayal makes this reviewer wonder why she isn’t more of a mainstream star yet.
If you didn’t study Italian in high school, you might want to turn the volume down on both the behind-the-scenes and FX featurettes on NYMPHA’s DVD. Both offer a fly-on-the-wall aesthetic one rarely gets from these types of supplements, as all of the players completely ignore the camera—but they largely speak Italian (sans subtitles), and no interviews take place to provide insight into what inspired the film. What these supplements do offer is an extensive visual primer on every technical aspect of filmmaking, and an insider’s look at this particular production, though while they’re initially quite interesting, both of them run rather too long.
All one can think through much of both minidocus is how hard it must be for an actor or actress not to speak the language of those around them, especially the director. Shepis and Zuccon are shown trying to communicate, but it’s never quite clear if they’re on the same page. This is particularly apparent during the FX segment, in which Shepis is seen trying to joke around with, and ask questions of, those applying her makeup, and her efforts are more often than not met with blank stares. And yet, her performance lacks nothing, and knowing these circumstances makes her portrayal of Sarah even more impressive.
The disc also offers a collection of deleted material, unfortunately also devoid of subtitles. More like snippets than full scenes, they reveal nothing earth-shattering, and as they last just over two minutes total, one can’t help but wonder why they weren’t part of the final feature. Text bios on Shepis and Zuccon, a photo gallery and trailers round out the package quite nicely, but something is missing. In a film that makes such bold statements about religion and human nature, it would have been nice to have some sort of sit-down with the director, or even a commentary. By the end of the film, you’re eager to learn more about the world Zuccon has created, and unfortunately you’re left high and dry.
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