Immaculate (2024)

Director: Michael Mohan

Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Álvaro Morte, Simona Tabasco

Cecilia, a woman of devout faith, is warmly welcomed to the picture-perfect Italian countryside where she is offered a new role at an illustrious convent. But it becomes clear to Cecilia that her new home harbors dark and horrifying secrets.

On invitation from Father Sal Tedeschi (Alvaro Morte), Sister Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney) joins a convent in Italy . With the opening scene already having set the tone for the rest of the film, the audience already knows there is something terribly wrong at the convent.

Cecilia is welcomed by the not-so-friendly and somewhat mysterious Sister Isabelle, who also becomes Cecilia’s mentor. Cecilia befriends Gwen, who apparently does not have faith but joined the convent for a place to stay, food, and to live a descent life.

Cecilia soon starts having nightmares and is plagued by creepy visions. Beware: Jump scares ahead!! The jump scares come without warning and they are guaranteed to make you jolt in your seat! Despite all the (effective) jump scares, ‘Immaculate’ is still a slow burn horror.

Here’s where there might be spoilers, so if you don’t want to know, stop reading! Without having had sexual intercourse, Cecilia discovers she is pregnant. This is viewed by the other Sisters as a miracle, and some even refer to her as Mary. However, her being pregnant is no miracle, as we discover, and under the façade of faith and devotion lies a sinister plan. Father Tedeschi is also not who he appears to be…

Hell, this film takes a turn I never saw coming!! The third act is fantastic, and it does become much gorier than I expected. Sydney Sweeney delivers a powerful performance and proves she has what it takes to become a vengeful protagonist. What an incredible finale!

‘Immaculate’ was indeed a pleasant surprise. I don’t always like unexpected turns in movies, but here it was just wonderful. Well done!! ‘Immaculate’ earned $21.7 million on a budget of $9 milllion.

Would I watch it again? Yes!