Joey Magidson
Religious themed horror is generally not my favorite sub-genre. Of course, believing or not believing doesn’t fully impact if the scary movie works on you, but having some degree of faith does add to the potential terror. Lacking that, I see these fright flicks as just being set in interesting locations, to half-jokingly break this down to the bones. So, when something like Immaculate chooses not to focus too heavily on the religion of it all, I see it as a positive. Combined with a strong central performance and some surprising carnage, genre fans should be pretty pleased.
Immaculate has some ideas it’s toying with, but at its core it’s mostly gore, jump scares, and a showcase for a scream queen. The horror wheel is decidedly not being reinvented, though the convent setting is used slightly differently than usual. More than anything else, it’s a star vehicle, and in that regard, it’s largely successful.
Sister Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney) has come to My Lady of Sorrows in the Italian countryside after her parish back in Michigan closed. The convent is a resting home of sorts for older sisters in their last days, tended to by young women. Welcomed by the presiding priest, Father Sal Tedeschi (Álvaro Morte), as well as befriended by Sister Gwen (Benedetta Porcaroli) but not liked by some others, it appears like Cecilia could have a rough go of it. Then, she starts getting sick in the mornings, and everything changes.
Confirmed to still be a virgin, Father Sal is overjoyed at the immaculate conception at hand. Almost immediately, Cecelia is given special treatment, essentially made just to care for her impending virgin birth. However, things don’t seem right, especially when it becomes clear that she’s not going to be allowed to leave to visit an off-site hospital. As a body count begins, Cecilia proves to be less of a pushover than the convent might have suspected. It all builds to a final act that gets bloody wild, down to a finale that will leave many talking.
Sydney Sweeney establishes herself as quite the scream queen here. She’s navigated dark material before, but Immaculate is something else entirely. She screams like few can, sure, but there’s also an intensity to her that belays the innocent appearance. As we learn more about what Cecelia is capable of, Sweeney comes alive. This is just more evidence of her massive star power. Álvaro Morte and Benedetta Porcaroli are both fine, but this is Sweeney’s show. Supporting players in her orbit include Giulia Heathfield Di Renzi, Giampiero Judica, Dora Romano, and Simona Tabasco, among others.
Director Michael Mohan reunites with Sweeney after The Voyeurs (to better effect), executing a script by Andrew Lobel mostly effectively. There’s not a lot to the direction, as the convent is almost comedically creaky, but the gore is well handled. Lobel threatens to get silly at times, but they do find a way to keep it from getting to that point. Credit where credit is due too when it comes to the final moment, which they actually choose to avoid the goriest option. What they choose is instead far more memorable.
Immaculate works best as a Sydney Sweeney vehicle, but it’s a reasonably successful horror flick, regardless of her. Some of the gore is fairly gnarly, the ending slaps, and Sweeney is terrific. So, if you’re looking for a scream queen showcase, you’re in luck. Otherwise, you’ll want to keep your expectations in check, but either way, this is definitely worth seeing.
SCORE: ★★★
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