Immaculate (2024) Neon/Horror RT: 89 minutes Rated R (strong and bloody violent content, grisly images, nudity, some language) Director: Michael Mohan Screenplay: Andrew Lobel Music: Will Bates Cinematography: Elisha Christian Release date: March 22, 2024 (US) Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Alvaro Morte, Benedetta Porcaroli, Dora Romano, Giorgio Colangelo, Simona Tabasco, Giulia Heathfield Di Renzi, Giampiero Judica, Giuseppelo Piccolo.
Rating: ***
Nuns are hot right now. At least that’s what the film industry would like you to think. Two weeks ago, we got the inspirational BOATS drama Cabrini about a nun from Italy who comes to New York to help immigrants and other poor souls. This week, it’s the nunsploitation horror film Immaculate about a young nun from America who goes to a convent in Italy to begin her life as a bride of Christ. The two movies couldn’t be more different, yet I like them both albeit for different reasons. One is a compelling true story about a saintly, selfless woman. The other is an effective horror film that owes a great debt to giallo and Rosemary’s Baby.
Rising star Sydney Sweeney (Anyone But You) plays Sister Cecilia, a novice nun about to take her final vows. We don’t know much about her other than she survived a near-drowning as a child. She was clinically dead for seven minutes before doctors could successfully revive her. It was then she knew God had a plan for her. She arrives at a convent located in the remote Italian countryside where she’ll be tending to old nuns about to die. Things go okay at first. Then she takes her vows. Shortly thereafter, she learns she’s pregnant. How can this be? She’s never been with a man. Her hymen is still intact. Are we talking about a miracle or is something sinister at work here? [Pssst, choose the latter.]
It’s obvious something evil is going on behind the locked gates and doors of the convent. The film opens with another young nun trying to escape only to be captured and dragged back in by three hooded figures who bury her alive. Later, another nun jumps to her death from the roof. There’s also the matter of Cecilia’s superiors not wanting her to get checked out at a hospital. In fact, they don’t want her to leave at all. Yeah, that’s not too hinky.
I only recently became acquainted with Sweeney after seeing her in Anyone But You and Madame Web. I like her. She’s talented and beautiful and has an endearing way about her. She’s good in Immaculate as the Mia Farrow character, a frightened young innocent slowly unraveling as she becomes aware of the evil all around her. I’m not at all familiar with any of the supporting cast, but they all do a good job in their respective roles. However, this movie belongs to Sydney. She crushes it like a pro!
It’s been a grim year so far for horror with lame entries like Night Swim and Imaginary. Immaculate beats them both by a country mile. It has a creepy atmosphere, a couple of decent “BOO!” scenes and some great bloody scenes. That last one, as you know, is a strong selling point for me. A nun gets beaten to death with her crucifix and a priest gets stabbed in the neck with a nail supposedly from the original Cross. Lots of blood in both scenes. The aforementioned suicide is messy as well. The final scene, even though you don’t see much of anything, will stay with you. It’s f***ed up! These are the things I want to see in horror movies. You won’t find them in the watered-down PG-13 studio craptrap.
Directed by Michael Mohan (The Voyeurs, also starring Sydney), Immaculate is a solid horror flick. Yes, it’s light on character development, but so what? It works just as well without it in this case. Also, Mohan doesn’t prolong things. He keeps it brief at 89 minutes. What he’s done here is a throwback to the Italian-made horrors of the 70s, a more polished version of the cheapies (typically with bad English dubbing) that used to play on double and triple bills at grindhouse theaters. I like it a lot.
