Immaculate review: Religious horror for a new generation

Immaculate is the latest movie from production company NEON, who is known for movies with heavy subjects such as I, Tonya, Border, and Parasite. Their latest offering is no different, as they delve into the complicated world of religious horror.

Sydney Sweeney leads the story as Sister Cecilia, who nearly died at a young age after she almost drowned in a frozen lake. Because she survived the ordeal, she believes that God saved her for a purpose, and became a nun to serve him.

Cecilia receives an invitation from Father Sal Tedeschi (Álvaro Morte) to join an exclusive convent in Italy, and she travels there and meets some of the inhabitants. It all seems to go well at first before Cecilia realizes she's pregnant. Considering she has never had intimate relations with a man, she is baffled about how this has happened.

Due to the seemingly miraculous nature of Cecilia's pregnancy, the other nuns begin to regard her as the next Virgin Mary, where she is well looked after and even worshipped by those around her. This does little to calm Cecilia, of course, who is terrified about the baby.

While she is given special privileges, her life is anything but calm as her primary focus is on the baby, meaning she has plenty of time to overthink the whole situation. While she's coming to terms with it, dark forces seem to be at bay.

The movie has a creeping sense of dread throughout and as Cecilia's pregnancy develops within the walls of the convent, strange things start happening. It makes for some great gory special effects and some scenes that will stick with you for a while, but unfortunately, there is this over-reliance on jump scares that the horror genre is often criticized for.

Still, despite the fact the jump scares could've been reduced, it is still a very strong entry into the horror genre. There's plenty of scary religious imagery that's often very gory in nature, and Immaculate can take its rightful place among other religious horror hits such as Saint Maud, The Omen and Rosemary's Baby, offering a fresh take on the genre while still leaning on elements that make it so great.

There's also body horror, especially when it comes to pregnancy. The idea of someone or something growing inside you is a trope that has been used throughout horror, with the aforementioned Rosemary's Baby being a prime example of this. The film tackles this subject very well and will absolutely have audiences talking.

Sydney Sweeney's performance is particularly memorable. Since she's filmed some pretty heavy scenes in HBO's Euphoria, she has proven she can do the horror genre too, tackling some incredibly challenging scenes, especially in the final act of the movie. Cecilia is being tormented both mentally and physically, which Sweeney conveys brilliantly.

The small supporting cast involving other nuns and the Mother Superior are all great too, but with a cast list of only six names including Sweeney's, the movie feels very small and intimate, and her performance really elevates the overall movie.

The score and cinematography work in tandem to hammer the horror home, even if you want to look away you often feel like you simply can't, because you need to experience what's going on with your own two eyes. It's a horror lover's dream as there's so much to take in, that it will likely benefit from a subsequent viewing to fully appreciate all the details.

Ultimately, the less you know about Immaculate the better. There are plenty of shocking secrets to be revealed and an ending that I'm still thinking about days after watching. Nothing can quite prepare you for Immaculate, and it definitely brings a lot to the table.

Immaculate is playing in theatres now.