Sister Cecillia (Sydney Sweeney) is a young American woman whose parish in America has closed and is relocated to the convent Our Lady of Sorrows in the Italian countryside. Far from home and unfamiliar with the language, Cecilia finds friendship in Sister Gwen (Benedetta Porcaroli) a former abuse victim who found safety and comfort in the church. After suffering a fainting spell, Cecillia is told she is pregnant despite being a virgin with Father Sal Tedeschi (Alvaro Morte) believing this to be a case of immaculate Conception and heralding a return of the savior. Cecillia's feelings of isolation increase as she questions the benevolence of the supposed miracle and finds herself worried that it may be something far darker.
Immaculate is the latest vehicle for up and coming star Sydney Sweeney who proved a breakout with the series Euphoria and co-starred in the sleeper hit Anyone but You. Having been attached to the film since 2014 when it began development (stalling for just under a decade), Immaculate now finds itself a modest release from distributor Neon with the film quite a nasty and tension filled sit that is honestly pretty engaging and a welcome departure from the plethora of overly safe fodder mainstream horror has seen this year.
In many ways Immaculate falls in line with many of the religiously themed horror films that preceded not the least of which being Rosemary's Baby and the various follow-ons that took inspiration from its format and success. I tend to have an acquired skepticism towards horror films involving Satanic or religious themes due to the debt owed to the forebears of the genre (your Exorcisms, Omens, etc.) and while Immaculate does technically fall in line with that crowd it's the little details that stuck with me especially in how out there it gets with its third act reveal. Sydney Sweeney is really good as Cecillia and you can see why she was so eager to play this role as she does well playing this vulnerable person who's isolated in more ways than one (especially with the language barrier) and she's quite believable during the scenes of horror she experiences. I also rather enjoyed Benedetta Porcaroli as Sister Gwen who befriends Cecilia and Alvaro Morte is quite good as Father Tedeschi especially in the third act. Immaculate dials up the shock to an incredible degree complete with an ending that serves as the crescendo to the unpleasant hell Cecilia goes through and I respect Immaculate for going full force with this premise and diverging from the Rosemary's Baby formula in some novel and outlandish ways.
I was pleasantly surprised by Immaculate, while there are certainly some shades of DNA from the likes of Rosemary's Baby, Sydney Sweeney's central performance, some very charged subtext about reproductive freedom and bodily violation, and an unapologetically intense delivery make Immaculate stand out among a very crowded and well traveled field.
Immaculate is the latest vehicle for up and coming star Sydney Sweeney who proved a breakout with the series Euphoria and co-starred in the sleeper hit Anyone but You. Having been attached to the film since 2014 when it began development (stalling for just under a decade), Immaculate now finds itself a modest release from distributor Neon with the film quite a nasty and tension filled sit that is honestly pretty engaging and a welcome departure from the plethora of overly safe fodder mainstream horror has seen this year.
In many ways Immaculate falls in line with many of the religiously themed horror films that preceded not the least of which being Rosemary's Baby and the various follow-ons that took inspiration from its format and success. I tend to have an acquired skepticism towards horror films involving Satanic or religious themes due to the debt owed to the forebears of the genre (your Exorcisms, Omens, etc.) and while Immaculate does technically fall in line with that crowd it's the little details that stuck with me especially in how out there it gets with its third act reveal. Sydney Sweeney is really good as Cecillia and you can see why she was so eager to play this role as she does well playing this vulnerable person who's isolated in more ways than one (especially with the language barrier) and she's quite believable during the scenes of horror she experiences. I also rather enjoyed Benedetta Porcaroli as Sister Gwen who befriends Cecilia and Alvaro Morte is quite good as Father Tedeschi especially in the third act. Immaculate dials up the shock to an incredible degree complete with an ending that serves as the crescendo to the unpleasant hell Cecilia goes through and I respect Immaculate for going full force with this premise and diverging from the Rosemary's Baby formula in some novel and outlandish ways.
I was pleasantly surprised by Immaculate, while there are certainly some shades of DNA from the likes of Rosemary's Baby, Sydney Sweeney's central performance, some very charged subtext about reproductive freedom and bodily violation, and an unapologetically intense delivery make Immaculate stand out among a very crowded and well traveled field.