HOLLYWOOD—I heard from a critic that the ending of the film “Immaculate” was so strong that it blew his socks off. That buzz totally raised my antenna on watching this horror/thriller. However, the ending didn’t blow off my socks, but I found it quite interesting. So, what is this flick about? I will tell you this, the film absolutely earns its R-rating as I found myself cringing and squirming at times watching some of the bloodshed unfold.
I’m trying to best describe this flick without spoiling too much, but it involves Sister Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney) in a role that shows a bit of dimension from the actress. As a fan of HBO’s “Euphoria” it is nice to see the actress sink her teeth in a solo project and something meaty. Her character has a bit of a shrouded backstory, one that the audiences gets glimpses of in a flashback.
She comes to a convent in Italy after an invitation from Father Sal Tedesschi (Álvaro Morte) who is a bit of an enigma. There is this theory watching the flick that some sinister forces are operating here, but at the same time there is so much mystery that the narrative slowly teases that keeps you drawn in as a viewer. The opening of the movie is clever as hell because the audience is immediately immersed into a mystery involving a nun who is trying to escape but finds herself captured and something horrible unfolds as a result.
The first act is solid and well-paced and goes into the second act that totally has some shifting dynamics and characters being exposed before the big third act that left me stunned. There were all sorts of chaos and twisted things unfolding. As a viewer you start to question exactly what the movie is trying to tell me.
Is the focus religion? Childbirth, abortion, religious figures gone wrong, the dynamics are constantly shifting and changing to a point each time new information and secrets are exposed about the convent and the people in power you question things more and more. “Immaculate” delivers some solid jump scares, something I haven’t seen in a psychological thriller in quite some time.
This isn’t a movie that gives you all the crumbs right away, they are dropped solely, but methodically in a way that if you start to connect all the pieces everything begins to make perfect sense. This is Sweeney’s movie, she drives the narrative from beginning to end and she proves she has the lungs to be an actual Scream Queen because when the frights erupt she absolutely delivers. And for a moment I actually thought Sweeney was a nun, she is quite convincing in the role that is a stark difference from what I’ve seen her do in previous movies and TV.
“Immaculate” is not for the faint of heart, believe this movie will play with your head a bit with an ending that makes you question is it what I think it is, or am I imagining worst case scenario. It is always intriguing to watch something that makes you think and this movie does just that and so much more.
