In 2017, Paco Plaza’s Veronica was one of the most talked-about horror films as it captivated the audience with the introduction of a blind nun who can sense demonic presence and has a direct connection with the Holy Spirit. Now, Paco Plaza has come up with the backstory of that blind nun, Sister Narcisa, in his latest film, Sister Death, currently streaming on Netflix. Although it fails to provide the thrills like Veronica, it plays well within the genre anyway. So, who is Sister Death, and why does anyone call her that? Let’s delve into the plot to understand.
Spoilers Ahead
Sister Death (2023) Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis
The film opens with an incident from 1939 in Spain where the Holy Spirit possesses a girl. The whole village follows her as they witness the existence of God through her. She opens her arms and embraces the sun. People surround her, waiting to witness some sort of miracle. She holds a cross in one hand and walks backward without looking at the road. Everyone considers her a representation of God as they all seek blessings from her.
Ten years later, that very girl, Sister Narcisa, is welcomed by Sister Julia to an establishment, which is a school for young girls from poor backgrounds. Narcisa meets Mother Superior, Sister Sagrario, who praises her for all those miraculous things that happened while Narcisa was young. But, before meeting her, while waiting in the lobby, something strange happens to Narcisa. She finds a little marble sphere there, but there is no one around.
What events lead Narcisa to believe Rosa?
Sister Julia shows Narcisa the room where she will be staying. In there, Narcisa finds a cigar box, and inside, she discovers a picture of Sister Socorro. It is a picture of her funeral, and there is also a pair of scissors. As she goes through the objects in the box, a chair inside the room suddenly falls, and she hears banging on the door. She opens the door and finds a little drawing on the wall.
Later, when Narcisa writes her name on the board in the classroom, a young girl named Rosa seeks her permission to leave. Narcisa doesn’t understand why all of these strange things are happening. But soon, one night, Rosa is caught with the scissors, and a girl is missing some hair. In reality, Rosa just accompanies another girl to the bathroom, and there she finds the scissors. The bathtub automatically fills itself, and she finds the hair there. But nobody will believe her story.
One night, Narcisa even follows the marble stone as she finds it once again, and this time it leads her to the cellar, where she finds the hand of Saint Martha. It went missing right after the Spanish Civil War. Narcisa knows that something is amiss, so she goes to Rosa and asks her what is going on in this school.
Rosa tells her that there is a spirit inside the establishment, a spirit of a young girl who wants to play. But, if anyone plays with her, that person goes missing. The game is to complete the drawing, the drawing that Narcisa saw on the very first night outside her door. Rosa tells her that before this, she told Sister Ines about the spirit, and later, she completed the drawing of the hangman. But soon, she was not found, perhaps dead even.
How does Rosa die?
As time progresses, Narcisa digs deeper into the matter, and it is not well received by Sister Julia. One day, in the classroom, Rosa runs away, fearing something. Narcisa looks behind her and finds that on the blackboard, someone has written Rosa’s name multiple times. Narcisa goes after Rosa to console her, but she is already too frightened.
Later, Narcisa, along with Rosa, completes the drawing on the wall as Narcisa wants to talk to the spirit herself. But Narcisa fails to see her, while Rosa can clearly see the demonic presence of the spirit. Soon, Rosa is found dead, hanging inside the confession box. Julia now tells Narcisa to leave the school as she feels that Narcisa is responsible for Rosa’s death.
What does Narcisa find out about Sister Socorro?
While leaving the school, an eclipse takes place, and Narcisa witnesses it with her eyes, kneeling down. The same pose that we have seen earlier in the black and white clip from 1939. Now, it is confirmed that she can see the eclipse with her arms wide open. The year is significant because, three years before this miracle, in 1936, Socorro died a mysterious death. Narcisa’s gesture represents that she is the Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit, who is here to embrace the darkness within herself.
Julia goes to stop her, and when Narcisa touches her, she sees the events from the past when the Spanish Civil War took place. She sees a soldier raping a sister. Later, when Narcisa regains consciousness, she tells Julia about her visions. Julia leaves the room immediately. Later that night, Narcisa touches Socorro’s photograph and gets to the truth that the sister who was raped was none other than Socorro herself.
Soon. Socorro’s ghost comes to Narcisa, and she offers her the truth of what happened after. After the rape incident, Socorro gives birth to her daughter, and Sister Julia, along with Sister Sagrario, decided to keep the baby hidden within these walls forever. One day, the child was required to be sent to the hospital due to a high fever. But Julia and Sagrario decided to treat her in the bathtub with cold water.
They have already locked Socorro in her room. She can barely listen to her daughter crying out loud. But, accidentally, there comes a time when the girl hits her head against the bathtub and dies. Socorro knows that her daughter is no more. She climbs up the chair and hangs herself. Knowing all of this helped Narcisa to open up the door of revenge for Socorro. She does so, and Socorro is now free to get the answers that she has sought for more than ten years.
Sister Death (2023) Movie Ending Explained
Does Sister Socorro Succeed in Seeking Revenge?
When Sister Sagrario first welcomes Sister Narciso into the school, she mentions that Narcisa will help them gain strength so that they can hope to navigate through certain situations. Through this, she alludes to the haunting of Socorro, though at that time, it was hard for Narcisa to comprehend any of this. As time progresses, she learns precisely what is happening and why Sister Julia is interfering in everything she pursues.
Immediately after the encounter with Socorro’s spirit, Narcisa comprehends that the sisters had tormented a mother by separating her from her daughter solely to prevent potential controversies. In a religious setting, the conception of a nun being violated and subsequently bearing a daughter would never be rationalized. Most people are blinded by their faith, causing suffering. Socorro’s case illustrates a scenario where humanity takes a backseat to belief and fear of the unknown.
However, Narcisa emerges as a savior, not for Sister Julia or Sister Sagrario, but for Socorro, who was wronged. She opens the gates of salvation for Socorro and eliminates both Sister Julia and Sagrario. Later, at the very bathtub where Socorro’s daughter drew her last breath, Narcisa sees a vision of light. She witnesses Socorro cradling her daughter, similar to how Mary, the blessed virgin, holds her son. It is an immensely gratifying sight for Narciso as she proceeds to visit Veronica many years later.
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Sister Death (2023) Information
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes
Genre: Horror, Mystery & thriller
Original Language: Spanish (Spain)
Director: Paco Plaza
Producer: Pablo Cruz, Enrique López Lavigne, Diego Suarez Chialvo
Writer: Jorge Guerricaechevarría
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 27, 2023
Runtime: 1h 29m
