Sister Lulu (2001) User Reviews

Perfect spiritual union sought by absolute renunciation

[John-atte-Kiln · 6/10 · 16 January 2005]

According to the Novice, she is a member of "a closed monastic order where perfect spiritual union is sought by absolute renunciation". The film shows us. She is plunged into a bath of cold water. She is chased by nuns jabbing her with electric prods. Sister Lulu has a special trick, crystals with the power to render "the user" unconscious. Thus stupefied, the Novice is wrapped, placed into a coffin and handed over to undertakers who bury it. She wakes up trapped. Hours later, Sister Lulu racks away the dirt and frees her.

The Novice realises "in a moment of blinding clarity that the only escape from a life of perfection was death" and she runs full tilt into a wall. When she comes round, Sister Lulu says, "So you want to escape the Order my child?" The Novice draws the conclusion that Sister Lulu "was determined to unit with myself in bonds of love and that the end of my suffering was reliant on convincing Sister Lulu that the feeling was mutual". So she kisses her. But Sister Lulu's idea of escape is not the same as the Novice's

This is a competent little piece, with shades of danger, lesbianism and submission. The film is well made with tight editing. Maybe a bit too tight. I had to watch it more than once to understand it. The Novice character is simple, earthy, carelessly sexual and Siwan Morris (attractive Welsh accent) plays it well. Sister Lulu is delicately dangerous and Joanne McQuinn delivers that.

I score 6/10.

Very Wordy

[jfgibson73 · 5/10 · 8 June 2010]

A young nun wants to leave the order she is a part of, so she makes a deal with a more experienced member, Sister Lulu. They fake her death. She is put into a coffin and buried. Sister Lulu is supposed to come dig her up so she can escape. At the end of the film, we find out that Lulu is not coming, and the younger woman is going to remain buried alive.

This is a short film whose only dialog consists of the main character's narration. The language is very flowery, but there isn't much to describe. The girl is shown being tortured and then tries to kill herself by running into a wall. I'm giving it a five because I'm pretty ambivalent. On one hand, there is nothing really wrong with it. However, it is so short that I can really only judge it on the one idea it has going for it, which is the surprise ending. It felt more like an exercise than a story.

Naughty Nun

[Michael_Elliott · 15 May 2015]

Sister Lulu (2001)

*** (out of 4)

Highly entertaining short about a young nun (Siwan Morris) who wants to leave the convent but is having trouble doing so. Sister Lulu (Joanne McQuinn) realizes this and decides to help her fake her death. She's given a powder that will make it appear that she's dead. She will be buried. Sister Lulu will dig her up. Easy?

SISTER LULU is a film that would make Jess Franco and Joe D'Amato very proud. Writer-director Philip John certainly has a wicked sense of humor that comes across in the four-minute running time and there's no question that those with a similar humor are going to get a laugh out of this. The film not only has a sense of humor but there's also a weird sexuality running through it, which I'm certainly not going to complain about. Morris is extremely good in the role of the young nun and McQuinn was also quite nice. Both actresses certainly helped keep the film moving with their performances and beauty.

The film also benefits from some very good B&W cinematography. Fans of dark comedy or nunsxploitation should certainly check this out.