Immaculate Reviews (original) (raw)
Summary Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney) a woman of devout faith is warm welcomed to the picture-perfect Italian countryside where she is offered a new role at an illustrious convent. But it becomes clearer to Cecilia that her new home harbors dark and horrifying secrets.
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Summary Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney) a woman of devout faith is warm welcomed to the picture-perfect Italian countryside where she is offered a new role at an illustrious convent. But it becomes clearer to Cecilia that her new home harbors dark and horrifying secrets.
Giving life to a horror vision that would not have nearly the same power and potency without her at the forefront of it, Sweeney has never been better than she is here. What a darkly beautiful yet brutal, bloody and bold film this is for her to wield.
There are and have been countless Hollywood actresses for whom this role would be particularly resonant, but for this moment, there’s no better person to tell this story than Sydney Sweeney. And, thankfully, she gets to tell it on her own terms.
Much better than Late Night with the Devil, this is a great horror film that actually delivers with the horror. Sydney Sweeney is solid as are the supporting cast, script and direction - and the whole thing doesn't overstay its welcome. Trust me, the ending alone is worth the popcorn money - 10 stars!
I went into it it was just gonna be another horror film, started off ok, but got better and better as the movie went on. The movie did not go howI expected it to. My heart was pounding at the end and still as I’m writing this review. Good job Sydney Sweeney!
It’s a straightforward piece of genre silliness, an 89-minute thrill fest crammed with the requisite jump scares and creepy religious imagery. But it’s also part of a larger body of evidence that Sweeney, unlike the guileless characters she often portrays, is carefully constructing her career in ways that suit her skill set.
Entertainly, director Michael Mohan, who worked with Sweeney on the 2021 thriller The Voyeurs, twigs that the Catholic Church isn’t just a source of spiritual tension, but a terrific arsenal too. Immaculate makes imaginative use of crucifixes, rosaries, and at least one crucifixion nail in all kinds of ways the Papacy didn’t intend.
While its penultimate scene returns to its affections for shock and gore, there remains a feeling that it’s been apologetically tacked on to a final act that is, overall, lacking in any other sort of fun or thrilling narrative twists and turns.
Immaculate works best when it abandons its attempts to be a kind of surrealist portrait of Catholic terror and leans into the campy horror of B movies.
Despite the tantalising set up, Immaculate is a dull, predictable affair, composed of far too many inconsequential jump scares in lieu of sturdy storytelling.
Very beautifully filmed and well acted film. Always been a fan of Sydney and she did a great job in the role her.
Produced by Sydney Sweeney and directed by Michael Mohan, “Immaculate” is an intriguing mix of body horror, religious thriller, psychological drama that moves from a dark and conspiracy-minded vision of the Church to the indecipherability of Good and Evil, from the mysteries of faith to the importance of freedom of choice and self-determination (the female body and the denial of the right to dispose of it freely). The screenplay, however, is too superficial in its treatment of these complex themes and collapses under the blows of its ambition. Despite this, the staging manages to effectively and skilfully organize growing tension and anguish, and at times it becomes spectacular and hyperbolic. In fact, the film, even on a technical and stylistic level, can offer extreme and disturbing macabre visual solutions, accurate photography (signed by Elisha Christian) which makes good use of natural light, a disturbing scenographic apparatus, an excited rhythm and an effective use of prosthetic makeup. An unequal film therefore, discreetly made, which at least can boast a credible Sydney Sweeney in her role as protagonist (as she is able to give us with conviction a human and sensitive characterization of Cecilia); some noteworthy sequences; as well as a sinister, macabre atmosphere, full of mystery and anxiety. A work that does not give anything original or innovative to the genre and genre to which it belongs, but which can be considered acceptable, albeit partially successful, all things considered. To be compared with "The First Omen" (2024, by Arkasha Stevenson) for the similarities of plot and setting, and with "Omen" (1976, by Richard Donner) of which “Immaculate” may seem like a prequel. Rating (in tenths): 5.50 / 6.
Having heard a very positive review of this film on the Kermode & Mayo podcast, I thought I would venture out on a Monday night to catch it before it disappeared from the multiplex. The 90 minutes runtime also meant I wouldn’t be that late on a school night. I soon begun to wonder how they would fit it all in the limited time allotted given the slow procession to get to any action. In the end they reached a conclusion which seemed more fitting of someone sitting an English exam who knew he had to wrap it up because time was nearly up. It left you asking questions of why the antagonists behaved in a certain way and with an ending which made you just want to say “oh okay”. Not sure what made Kermode go crazy for this but I guess personal taste is exactly that.
Nothing original or intriguing to say in a genre ran into the ground, not even going to discredit Sweeney's horror potential cause there is nothing to work with here.
I feel like i lost out on valuable time I could have been sleeping. Lackluster
Production Company Black Bear, Fifty-Fifty Films, Lupin Film
Release Date Mar 22, 2024
Duration 1 h 29 m
Rating R
Tagline Deliver her from evil.
Astra Midseason Movie Awards