Killer Nun

Killer Nun

Year: 1979

Runtime: 89 mins

Language: Italian

Director: Giulio Berruti

HorrorDramaThriller

Based on alleged Vatican secret files, the film follows Sister Gertrude, a nun who also serves as head nurse in a general hospital. As her morphine addiction spirals into madness, she imposes a brutal regime of lesbian relationships, torture and death, endangering both staff and patients with her increasingly psychotic behavior.

Killer Nun (1979) – Spoiler-Free Movie Summary & Plot Overview

Get a spoiler-free look at Killer Nun (1979) with a clear plot overview that covers the setting, main characters, and story premise—without revealing key twists or the ending. Perfect for deciding if this film is your next watch.

In a dimly lit Catholic infirmary tucked away from the bustling streets, a whispered dossier of Vatican secrets looms over the everyday rituals of care. The hospital, a sanctuary for the elderly, is governed as much by liturgy as by medical charts, creating a world where sacred rites clash with the stark realities of aging bodies. The corridors echo with hushed prayers, the scent of incense mingles with antiseptic, and an unsettling stillness suggests that not everything is as orderly as the immaculate façade implies.

​Sister Gertrude returns to this cloistered environment after a harrowing operation, burdened by lingering doubts about her health and a growing dependence on potent narcotics. As the head nurse, she straddles the line between religious devotion and clinical responsibility, her once‑steady composure increasingly frayed by an inner turbulence that she can neither name nor fully conceal. Around her, Mother Superior attempts to uphold the convent’s strict code, while Sister Mathieu offers a quiet, ambiguous companionship that hints at deeper, unspoken currents beneath the surface.

The film’s tone is a slow‑burning blend of gothic horror and psychological drama, bathing every scene in a muted, cold light that accentuates the institutional claustrophobia. Characters move through sterile rooms and echoing chapels with a palpable sense of restraint, their interactions tinged with an uneasy mixture of reverence, desire, and hidden fear. The atmosphere suggests that the hospital itself is a character—a labyrinthine space where the boundaries between duty, obsession, and faith become dangerously blurred.

Within this unsettling setting, Sister Gertrude’s struggle resonates as a meditation on control and surrender, inviting viewers to question how much of what we see is shaped by belief, by addiction, or by the shadows that linger in spaces meant for healing. The narrative promises a tense, immersive experience that lingers long after the final prayer fades.

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 17:55

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Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Movies about institutional madness like Killer Nun

Fatal unraveling of authority figures within oppressive, closed-off systems.If you liked the oppressive atmosphere and psychological decay in Killer Nun, explore more movies like it. This collection features similar thrillers and horror films where authority figures descend into madness within claustrophobic institutions like hospitals, asylums, and convents, leading to paranoia and violence.

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Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread typically follow a protagonist whose authority within a closed system (like a hospital or convent) is undermined by their own deteriorating mental state. The narrative unfolds as their paranoia and delusions escalate, turning the institution from a place of order into a cage of terror, often culminating in a violent or bleak revelation.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here for their shared setting of an oppressive institution and the central theme of a figure's psychological collapse. They create a specific vibe of claustrophobic dread, where the very structure meant to provide safety becomes the source of the threat.

Sleazy Giallo-style horror movies like Killer Nun

Stylish, transgressive horror blending psychological terror with graphic violence.Fans of the transgressive style and gritty thriller elements of Killer Nun will enjoy this selection of similar movies. Discover more Giallo-inspired horror films known for their psychological unraveling, sleazy atmosphere, graphic violence, and themes of sexual transgression and murder investigations.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern often involves a series of brutal murders investigated by an unreliable protagonist or bystander. The plot is less about a tight mystery and more about creating a succession of shocking, stylized set-pieces that explore repressed trauma, sexual deviance, and the grotesque, leading to a convoluted and often bleak resolution.

Why These Movies?

These movies are grouped by their distinctive Giallo-inspired vibe—a specific blend of horror, thriller, and psychodrama characterized by a lurid, sleazy aesthetic, heightened violence, and themes of psychological disintegration. They share a particular mood that is both stylish and deeply unsettling.

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Killer Nun Summary

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Characters, Settings & Themes in Killer Nun

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