IMMACULATE is a 2024 psychological horror film directed by Michael Mohan (previously known for the 2021 Amazon Original film, THE VOYEURS) from a screenplay by Andrew Lobel. It stars actress Sydney Sweeney (who also appeared in Mohan’s THE VOYEURS as well as HBO’s EUPHORIA, and this year’s MADAM WEB) as Cecilia, a young American woman who, after suffering a near death experience as a teenager, relocates to a convent in Italy to follow her desire to do something more with her life by becoming a nun. But once she arrives, strange occurrences begin to happen, leading her to question her decision to join the convent.
As the name suggests, IMMACULATE is a reference to the immaculate conception of Mary, mother of Jesus Christ - and it’s not long before celibate virgin Cecilia is pregnant, with what everyone believes is the reincarnation of Christ. IMMACULATE steers clear of the demon trope that recent films such as THE NUN series of films, and last year’s EXORCIST BELIEVER have explored. Instead, this film is more like 1968’s ROSEMARY’S BABY (Roman Polanski) relocated to a European convent.
The film does a solid job of ratcheting up the tension of Cecilia’s situation, and Sweeney gives a solid performance of the psychological torture she’s enduring. The film does a great job of working with silence and darkness, and Sweeney’s looks of terror shivering in her candlelit eyes as she moves through the old convent beautifully reveals her innermost fears.
The ending of the film evokes the exploration of the tunnels as seen in 2022’s BARBARIAN (Zach Cregger) and I was also reminded of the opening of 1973’s THE EXORCIST (William Friedkin) when Max von Sydow’s Father Merrin has a vision of facing off against a demonic presence at an archaeological dig in northern Iraq.
IMMACULATE is worth checking out for its mystery and thrills, which aren’t rooted in the supernatural but rather in mankind’s fallible desire for power and arrogance stemming from our advances in science. The ultimate premise of IMMACULATE actually evokes the famous line by Jeff Goldblum’s Dr Ian Malcolm in 1993’s JURASSIC PARK, where he warns:
“Yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.”
3/5 Stars.
This review was originally posted on Letterboxd.