A surprisingly effective religious-themed horror story that's largely carried by Sydney Sweeney's impressive performance as she continues to expand her acting resume. Immaculate's plot has Sweeney playing a young nun who is invited to reside at a picturesque Italian convention, only to discover that it's really a horrifying cultish congregation in secret. The film plays out as being an old-school type of horror that takes direct inspiration from Roman Polanski's 1968 psychological classic Rosemary's Baby. Although it does showcase moments of gore, it leaves much more to the audience's imagination by playing up the creepiness factor, especially during the films shocking climax. As far as performances go, it is Sweeney who shines through the material and carries the film largely on her shoulders as being a woman of faith caught in a terrifying nightmare. Playing this role gives the actress the opportunity to demonstrate her potential as a future scream queen with her gaining the audience sympathy as the church's sinister plot slowly unveils itself. Other strong performances from Immaculate's cast include Alvaro Morte as Father Sal Tedeschi, and Benedetta Porcaroli as Sister Gwen.
In addition to Sweeney's performance, director Michael Mohan surrounds her with immersive that easily become ominous backdrops for the story's sinister undertones and creepy violence. The latter contains a handful of gruesome moments that are mainly designed to shock the audience with bits involving a suicide, characters getting the body parts severed, and disturbing images involving a character having a nightmare where she is pulled through a wall by several pairs of hands when seated in a confessional. Though these moments are rare, they're enough to elicit a fearful response from audiences while helping generate some solid suspense. At 1 hr. 29 mins, the film remains steadily fast-paced while building up both the stories suspense and creepiness factor. With the writing, Immaculate plays out as feeling much more like a throwback to old school late 60's to early 1970's psychological horror stories while bearing timely commentary regarding a woman's autonomy in the era of post Roe vs. Wade as well as tackling themes regarding patriarchy, taking vows, immaculate conception, sacrifice, genetic manipulation, and asking what God's will is. One key question that's posed in the story is why God doesn't stop the horrible things being done at the congregation if he's aware of them. The dark and horrifying secrets hidden behind the convent are slowly revealed in a way that builds up the sheer terror of the situation. The side characters receive minimal development with much of their backgrounds being left a mystery. Sweeney's character is undoubtedly the strongest with the audience being totally sympathetic to her situation. While it can be said that there isn't much originality to the story as the film draws major inspiration from Rosemary's Baby and can be considered predictable with its first half, it still manages to craft its own horror tale that's surprisingly decent and ultimately better than what one expects it to be with a strong second half and a fantastic ending.
Final Verdict: A must watch for horror fans.
