Immaculate- SXSW 2024
March 13th, 2024
MOVIE: IMMACULATE
STARRING: SYDNEY SWEENEY, SIMONA TABASXO, BENEDETTA PORCAROLI, ALVARO MORTE
DIRECTED BY: MICHAEL MOHAN
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 STARS (Out of 4)
The use of religion and horror go together like peanut butter and jelly. Jump scares can be the crust, and for some, they either want to keep the crust or they don’t. Some would typically cut the crust off. I’m not one of those people but I would say I like uncrustables more. Immaculate is already a divisive horror film, where some will hate the jump scares- there are one too many- but when they work, they work. Immaculate fits right into the subgenre of religious horror, but relies less on the terror of demons or possession, and instead on the straightforward shock that organized religion is hiding dark terrors deep beneath the surface.
Interestingly enough, Michael Mohan was one of the first directors that AMovieGuy.com had ever interviewed, and now he’s working for the second time with the biggest name in Hollywood Sydney Sweeney. The two seem to be in sync with their process and Immaculate is a passion project for the Euphoria star. Her character is Sister Cecilia, a woman in her mid-twenties, venturing to a convent for nuns with health issues, or in Ceclilia’s case, going to a small Italian village after a near-death experience. She meets the head priest, Father Sal (Alvaro Morte), who is kind at first, starting her path to becoming a nun. Her life then changes when after a dizzy spell it is discovered that she is pregnant through immaculate conception. A miracle? A sign from God or a sign from Satan?
What could be misconstrued by viewers is anticipation that Immaculate would be horror in the vein of a haunting nun film similar to The Conjuring spin-offs or a possession film such as The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Instead, this is a throwback to old Nunsploitation movies such as The Devils or recently Paul Verehoeven’s Benedetta. But only a fool would think this is as good as those films because Immaculate feels like a beginner’s guide to gothic horror. And yet it nails the imagery and shock factors, something I greatly appreciate, no matter how many times I see it.
The screenplay by Andrew Lobel is not interested in establishing other members of the convent outside of Cecilia. We meet Sister Mary (Simona Tabasco), who has a biting response to everything, and Sister Gwen (Benedetta Porcaroli) who befriends Cecilia as the only one aware that something nefarious is at hand. What is established is the standard themes of religion being man-made, run by men, and women having zero agency over their bodies. With that commentary, along with picturesque cinematography by Elisha Christian, and a steady building of terror from Mohan’s direction, Immaculate hooks you in, making each reveal and haunting image memorable.
It’s in the film’s last twenty minutes that gives a payoff, especially in the performance from Sweeney, who isn’t afraid to go to another level. The final decisions made are not just daring but delightfully horrific. It may offend some but one could only hope. Immaculate is a shocking and authentic kind of horror. It’s not tied to a series or universe, but going for the mainstream reality that the beliefs and views in place from religion will always be scarier than anything supernatural that could be conjured up.
IMMACULATE IS PLAYING IN THEATERS FRIDAY MARCH 22ND, 2024.
3 STARS
Written by: Leo Brady
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