Netflix adds another original horror movie to its overwhelming library of content this spooky season with Paco Plaza’s Spanish forties-set prequel, Sister Death. Working within the same cinematic universe as Plaza’s 2017 hit Veronica, Sister Death tells the story of a novice nun, who uncovers haunting secrets at a convent in 1949. But who exactly is Sister Death of the film’s title and how does this movie link with Veronica?
Let’s reveal the answers to these most essential questions first and work backward from there to understand the context of the titular character and the important history that unites these two films.
How does she connect to Veronica?
At the end of the film, a much older Narcisa (Aria Bedmar) visits a local school, where she will be teaching literature. The titular character from Veronica, played by Sandra Escacena, is then seen in the classroom where Narcisa will be teaching. One of Veronica’s friends comments on Narcisa’s withered appearance, calling her Sister Death. Sister Narcisa is Sister Death. This mysterious character will go on to play a vital role in the 2017 film. This final scene connects Sister Death with Veronica.
However, the answers to these two key questions are buttressed by many more crucial details that are explored throughout the film. Let’s explore some of these elements and see how the whole thing fits together.
Sandra Escacena in Veronica | Image via Netflix
An hour into the movie, the story finally starts to fall into place. Novice nun Narcisa is heartbroken when one of her students, Rosa, hangs themselves. The final third begins with Rosa’s funeral as the children and the sisters all gather to pay their respects.
Angered by this unjust death, Narcisa breaks down back in her room. She screams and kicks out, before packing up her belongings to leave this haunted place for good. As she exits the convent, an eclipse takes place overhead.
Narcisa falls to her knees and begins to have another religious experience. Her body is possessed and she starts to have celestial visions, staring upwards, directly into the eclipse. Sister Julia sees her looking up at the sun from inside the convent and rushes over to save her, worried that she’ll blind herself.
As Julia touches Narcisa, the supernatural nun starts to have further visions, specifically from the Civil War. In these visions, she sees criminals destroying the convent, mutilating the statues, and looting the place. Narcisa even witnesses a sister being raped.
Narcisa wakes from her visions back in the convent. Her eyes are badly damaged from the prolonged exposure to the sun. She isn’t blinded just yet, but her vision is weakening considerably. Narcisa recounts what she saw during the visions. This scares the other sisters, who have tried their best to keep these secrets from the world for all those years.
How did Sister Socorro’s daughter die?
Next, Narcisa realizes that it was Sister Socorro who was raped during the raid. Socorro was impregnated by her rapist and later delivered a baby girl in the convent. The other nuns wanted to keep this a secret too and refused to let the daughter leave the convent, where she eventually died in a tragic accident brought about by the nuns’ adamance on secrecy.
When the ghost of Socorro reveals itself to Narcisa, she unravels further visions and secrets from the convent. A few years after the raid, Socorro’s daughter fell ill with a fever and Socorro wanted to take her child to the local hospital. The nuns didn’t want the girl to be seen in public though. They kept Socorro locked in her room, while they bathed the daughter to try and fix her temperature.
The girl thrashed about in the bath and hit her head on the back of the tub. This killed the girl instantly. This heartbreaking incident in the bathtub explains the strange visions that the children saw whilst in the bathroom earlier in the movie.
Socorro hanged herself once she had discovered the painful truth about her daughter’s death. This explains the falling chair that Narcisa kept seeing. Sister Julia and Mother Superior were to blame for the child’s death and Socorro’s suicide. The ghost of Socorro seeks her revenge back in the present and is given the chance to kill her enemies when Narcisa allows her to re-enter the world of the living, opening a metaphorical doorway so to speak.
To get her revenge, Sister Socorro kills Sister Julia with a falling statue to the head, and Mother Superior is drowned in Socorro’s daughter’s bathtub water and blood. Narcisa then sees Socorro being reunited with her dead daughter. Socorro holds her daughter’s corpse as Narcisa is engulfed in light. This may be the very last thing that Narcisa sees before going blind.
Thoughts on the ending of Sister Death? Discuss below.
Read More: Sister Death on Netflix: True Story or Fictional?
