Immaculate Review: The Horrors of Childbirth

An eerie atmosphere, visceral body horror, and a compelling narrative await you in Immaculate. Directed by Michael Mohan (The Voyeurs) and written by Andrew Lobel, the horror film follows a young American nun named Cecilia – played by Sydney Sweeney (Anyone But You) – who moves to an Italian convent to take her vows. She begins to notice some strange occurrences around the convent before she realizes that somehow, she is pregnant. Immaculate manages to deliver upon a basic premise with some witty dialogue and a creepy atmosphere.

The story itself is easy to spoil, but it does have its fair share of twists and turns. Not that you should have any trouble keeping your attention on the film. Most of the first half consists of Cecilia dealing with her newfound saintlike status as she begins to question exactly how much of what she’s experiencing is God’s plan. Immaculate does not hold back in the horror department, at least when you might expect it to. The jumpscares are thrilling, but so are the few scenes of body horror that will make you squirm in your seat. Just hold your liquids until the end of the ride. 

Immaculate Performances

Sydney Sweeney gives a stellar performance as Sister Cecilia. As she gets pulled deeper into her predicament her fear grows, and she sells it. Her performance is capped off with one of the most satisfying conclusions to a horror film I’ve ever seen. I’ll be thinking about the last few minutes of Immaculate for a while. None of the other cast lets her main performance down either. Álvaro Morte (Money Heist) plays Father Tedeschi, who is both suave and mysterious. 

Giving the film its comedic backbone is the back-and-forth between Sweeney and Benedetta Porcaroli (Amanda) who plays Sister Gwen. Portraying the classic “nun who really isn’t into what she signed up for” stereotype, Porcaroli’s delivery is sharp and quick, deserving of more than a couple of laughs. The dialogue is snappy, with a few scenes taking advantage of Cecilia’s lack of Italian. Although, there is at least one error in the Italian subtitles that I noticed. 

Right off the bat, you’ll also come to loathe Sister Isabelle (Giulia Heathfield Di Renzi) who instantly is pigeonholed as the nun running the tight ship that is their convent. The cinematography is reminiscent of earlier horror films, simple but quite effective. Some scenes are framed quite beautifully, like the first scene after the convent finds out that Cecilia is pregnant. The set design and costuming come together to create some depth and color in the frame, abandoning the dark or red hues ever so briefly. 

Hell Hath No Fury

It’s worth mentioning how expertly the lighting is used. While it’s filled with jumpscares, Immaculate does what every solid horror movie should do, darken what we shouldn’t see and brighten what we should. The characters are almost always illuminated – whether by candlelight or moonlight – and the horrific or more mysterious elements of the film can barely be seen unless it makes sense for them to be seen. There were no scenes where I couldn’t tell exactly what was happening in the frame, which does seem like a rarity these days, especially when it comes to horror. 

The score is brilliantly used. Instead of reinforcing the horrific and mysterious nature of the film, Will Bates’ (Dumb Money) score guides it. The music is creepy, eerie, and it invites you in. The jumpscares wouldn’t be as well-executed, and the intrigue wouldn’t be as mysterious if the score wasn’t as good as it is. The soundtrack is also superbly edited to some scenes, lightening up some moments like a violent scene or two towards the third act. The use of “Carol of the Bells” was particularly funny.

Immaculate does stumble in one specific area. The story is too open-ended, with many questions left unanswered by the time the credits roll. It’s not too much of a negative, but there are a couple of elements introduced that don’t seem to have much of a practical effect and are just there to reinforce the film’s style. Again, sometimes it doesn’t go as far as it should either. At times these feel like choices meant to subvert expectations, but they can feel like too much of a letdown instead. 

Praise Be

It’s been a fair while since I’ve been this impressed with a horror film. Yes, the story could have used a bit of work, but it’s immaculately (see what I did there) paced, with the 89-minute runtime a joyous occasion for any horror buff. With that being said, Immaculate does get fairly violent, bloody, and generally spooky, so maybe don’t make it your first horror film outing. But, with some spectacular lighting, performances, and sound design, it truly is a terrifying and immersive experience. 

If you like horror films, you should absolutely go to the theater and check out Sydney Sweeney in Immaculate. If you’re interested, but not a horror fan, maybe bring in a popcorn bucket with you just in case. You can catch it in theaters when it releases on March 22, 2024.