Immaculate (2024)

"Do you believe in God?" 
""Of course I do. Life is so cruel; only a man could be responsible."" 
- An absolute banger of a line from Benedetta Porcaroli's character

Sydney Sweeney's switch to the horror genre was definitely an interesting move and did not dissapoint, especially after seeing her in recent film "Anyone But You," which was a rom-com, obviously very different than a religious-horror. I didn't have high expectations, only seeing Sydney Sweeney in "Euphoria," "Madame Web," and "Anyone But You," where she plays relatively the same character. While she still keeps the innocent, sweet-girl persona that she typically has in this film, the difference in character development is extreme. In my own personal opinion, I think that Sydney did a great job with the role she was given and defintely showed off her range ability. It'll be interesting to see how her acting career develops as a result of this film. 

I find it fascinating that two extremely similar fimls with almost identical plotlines are being released so close together, "Immaculate" and "The First Omen." I may still go see "The First Omen," but opted to see Sydney Sweeney's "Immaculate" due to the constant advertisements and being released first. I also was more interested in seeing this film for Benedetta Porcaroli's role in a somewhat mainstream American movie set in Italy. 

I haven't seen a scary movie like this in a while. I think the last movie that genuinely scared me was A24's "Talk to Me." I don't think that this film was necessarily scary as much as it was just straight up frightening, to me. There wasn't a lot of cheap, cheesy jumpscares or shock-value horror, which I appreciated. It was just genuinely terrifying. I was holding my popcorn close and watching through my eyes for a decent amount of the movie. 

I wish they elabroated on certain aspects of the plot. For example, i was really confused for a while about the red-hooded figures, before finally coming to the conclusion that they were probably just members of the convent and that was the extent necessary to elaborate. I was also kind of puzzled at whether or not the baby was actually the second coming of Christ, or if it was the devil's spawn. It wasn't until afterwards when I was reading reviews that it didn't really matter which it was, only that the Book of Revelation states that it'll either save the world or end it, hence why Sydney made the bone-chilling decision that she did in the end. 

Speaking of the end, her acting was phenomenal, but the like. Excessively long scene of her screaming was quite agonizing to watch. I get artistic value, but it took away from the scariness for me, because the entire theater burst into laughter at Sydney Sweeney screaming bloody murder on screen for what felt like ages. To me, that made things better, because I wasn't as scared. For others, people may find it minimizing the horror aspect because of an artistic choice like that and dragging it out for so long. 

I think this film had plenty of interesting storytelling aspects, I really enjoyed the plot of this film and it wasn't just "a scary movie." I found myself actually interested in motives, backstories, and what the end result would be. The crosses on the feet, the reasoning for being chosen, what happened to those who rebelled against the convent; I think it was all interesting, and some really good unexpected plot twists with enough gore to satisfy (and disgust) the average user. 

I honestly enjoyed it for the time I sat down to watch it and would definitely watch again. I'm sure there are things that I missed that I would figure out on a rewatch or two. I can totally see myself sitting down with friends to watch at home with those who haven't seen it. As someone that doesn't necessarily enjoy or choose horror movies but is trying to expand my horizons, I thought it was a great film. An interesting plot that wasn't entirely predictable, amazing actors, a decent amount of gore; the suspense build-ups were insane compared to actually getting scared. I think it was definitely worth the watch and I'm glad I saw it, as much as I was watching through my hands and my heart was racing in my seat.