Immaculate

Religious horror is a saturated but well-done subgenre, teeming with complex conversations on faith, devotion and the agony of belief. Sydney Sweeney has fought hard to venture into its depths, producing and starring in Immaculate, the new film directed by Michael Mohan.

Sister Cecilia (Sweeney) is an American catholic travelling to rural Italy to start her life caring for ageing nuns at the behest of Father Sal Tedeschi, a magnetic Alvaro Morte. When the convent discovers she is pregnant “without committing sin”, they proclaim it the second coming, leading to jealousy and unease.  

The imagery used in the movie is, on its own, striking. Full of rich tones and shadowy corners, the convent screams gothic European architecture – the kind that could make even the mundane eerie – and there is a shot of Sweeney as Mary incarnate that takes the breath away. 

The horror we’re given, however, feels slightly superficial. The graphic scenes could have been more disturbing, especially given the body’s centrality in religion. At points Cecilia grossly loses a tooth and a nail, but the potential for some unsettling disfigurement is left unmet. The spine-chilling moments add little to the plot of the story and the development of the characters: horror needs more than a few gory jumpscares, it requires a jagged, painful exploration of themes. Immaculate, then, should be set up perfectly by the already frightening nature of devout catholicism – blind and unflinching belief, bodily autonomy, patriarchy. It’s disappointing that it’s let down by an inadequate script (due to the simple lack of dialogue) and a refusal to tie moments together. Staggering scenes are left with no deeper impact on Cecilia, but are there instead to tick the trope boxes. 

Indeed, it’s hard to connect with the protagonist when she seems so detached from what’s happening to her. There’s not enough depth to her character to understand her devotion, nor to justify her sudden change in the third act, making it regretfully unsatisfying. Characters like Sister Gwen and Sister Isabelle are sorely underutilised here.

Immaculate is visually stunning, with sinister themes and shocks of chilling imagery, but it lacks substance both character and plot-wise to be extraordinary, challenging, or overly alarming. Its ending, however, is formidable and unpredictable, with Sweeney giving an unforgettable performance, and makes this movie worth the watch.

Talitha Stowell

Immaculate is released on 22^nd March 2024.

Watch the trailer for Immaculate here: