Immaculate(2024)(Review) - Gruesome Gazette

This year has been a reminder of the phenomenon of cross-ideas. This year has seen a double flux of spiders, experimental slashers, and nunsploitation – and it gets especially weird when they release within only a month or so of each other. Only a few weeks before ‘The First Omen’ was released, we were given a more independent effort of the same basic criteria in ‘Immaculate’.

‘Immaculate’ tells the story of Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney), a woman of devout faith who is warmly welcomed into a convent in Italy. She’s still struggling to learn the language, but is escorted around by Father Sal Tedeschi (Alvaro Morte) and the grumpy but knowledgable Sister Gwen (Benedetta Porcaroli). But it isn’t long before something miraculous happens that begins to seem more deviant as time goes on. What begins as a dream turns into a gruesome nightmare almost overnight.

It’s very hard to not compare this to ‘The First Omen’, not just because they were filmed on the same location and cover very similar material, but also because of the pacing and beautiful craft that went into the production. While they play like sister-films, they are certainly two very different approaches. ‘Immaculate’ stars Sydney Sweeney in her debut scream-queen title who perfectly conveys a character full of empathy, curiosity, and innocence. So when things get bloody and she’s constantly screaming, we really see a development in her character.
While some plot courses are rather predictable, the journey is definitely the highlight on screen here. The world feels breathable and full, which allows us to soak in the beautiful architecture, light-balance, and music that accompanies us with every scene. And it does go into a finale that is quite shocking.

The backstory (as told by IMDb) is that actress Sydney Sweeney originally auditioned for this film in 2014 when she was 17, but it ultimately ended up in development hell and scrapped. After reaching success and support, she contacted the original writers and director and proposed an opportunity to make the film once again, with herself attached as a producer. If true, this does add credibility to the originality in the story, because if this came out a year or so before ‘The First Omen’, I truly believe this would be more widely beloved.

It’s spooky, beautiful, mysterious, and well performed. It’s a fun film that feels like a throwback to the exploitation days of grindhouse, while keeping some arthouse and modern approaches.

4/5
“Immaculate” is now available on Vudu, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV.

‘Til Next Time,
Mike Cleopatra