Immaculate Review (spoiler-free)
Sydney Sweeney read the script for Immaculate ten years ago and knew she could knock it out of the park. She auditioned, but never heard back. The film was shelved and never made, so Sydney decided to produce it herself. She was extremely hands-on in finding the actors, helping with costume design, and perfecting the script, which needed to be updated a bit as she is older now and cannot believably play a young teenager.
Immaculate now follows a girl in her early twenties who is about to take her vows as a nun at a convent in Italy. She is from the United States but decides to relocate there as she feels this is what God has had in store for her. When she arrives, one of the other nuns immediately has it out for her, constantly giving her looks and clearly looking down on her when she giggles with another young nun.
One day she finds herself unexpectedly pregnant. Having never been with a man (or woman for that matter) before it is determined that this is an immaculate conception, and that she just might be carrying the next Savior. But not everything is as it seems.
This movie is billed as a horror and that is exactly what it is. Right from the opening sequence, the audience will be hooked into trying to figure out exactly what is going on with this convent, because it certainly isn’t normal. The first half of the movie is packed with jump scares; really good ones that will have viewers screaming, and then laughing nervously as they wait to see what’s next. But this is done in a typical horror fashion, and we have all seen this movie before.
As Immaculate goes on, Cecilia, Sydney Sweeney’s character, starts to question everything around her. Most of the other nuns are worshiping her – not allowing her to work and giving her extravagant meals. Her friend goes so far as to say she wonders when they will start calling her Mary. This makes Cecilia uncomfortable, which is felt through the screen by Sweeney’s incredible performance, making the audience uneasy as well.
By the third act, Immaculate is going full force. There are major reveals, twists, and turns that most viewers will not see coming. This is where the movie truly shines, and it is mostly because of the star and producer, Sydney Sweeney. It is very apparent that she has been thinking about this performance for the past ten plus years and has been eager to sink her teeth into it. She is phenomenal. That isn’t to take away from the other actors, as they all play their roles well, but she absolutely eats up her scenes and the journey that her character goes on.
The final sequence of the film is easily the best. It is raw, intense, and powerful. Sidney Sweeney brings so much to these shots with just a look on her face and a gut-wrenching scream. There is a close-up of her face that will shake viewers to their core.
Immaculate is a crowd pleaser for sure – at least for horror fans. The sound design and the eerie score, mixed with the unique nun costumes we haven’t really seen before, add another layer of suspense and curiosity.
While the first half feels like just another jump scare-filled horror movie with a nun, the second half, and in particular the third act and the ending, is what will have audiences talking about Immaculate for a long time.
Some will love it, some will hate it, but everyone will have a reaction, which is likely exactly what they were going for.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Immaculate will be released in theaters March 22nd.
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Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She owns Mama’s Geeky, but also is a freelance writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for more than ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association. Her passion for film, television, video games, and comic books started when she was a little girl and has only continued to grow.