Cert – 18, Run-time – 1 hour 29 minutes, Director – Michael Mohan
Shortly after arriving at an Italian convent Sister Cecelia (Sydney Sweeney) is revealed to be pregnant, could she be carrying the returning messiah?
The final stages of Immaculate fly by with a mixture of potential influences. The lashings of crimson blood of the Evil Dead franchise, the fervour of Rosemary’s Baby and the escape attempts of Get Out. All contained within a gory search for answers as Sydney Sweeney’s nun Sister Cecelia frantically searches for possible answers as to what is happening to her. She’s been pregnant for most of the run-time, labelled as a miracle, a case of immaculate conception, Other characters claim that she’s possibly carrying the second coming of Christ, but could that really be the case?
The build-up may seem somewhat slow at times, despite some effective jump scares hidden in the walls of the Italian convent which Cecelia has recently been welcomed into after her church in America was closed due to low attendance, but thankfully at 89-minutes the film knows how to get to the point. We might have to tick some familiar boxes here and there, but thankfully writer Andrew Lobel injects some jet black humour into the early proceedings. From the bluntness of disapproving Sister Isabelle (Giulia Heathfield Di Renzi) coldly showing Cecelia around the convent looking after aging nuns at the start of the film to the smirk given away during a key reveal before the third act kicks in there’s a consistent level of engagement throughout, and indeed one which consistently grows, as Cecelia attempts to find out whether there’s something more sinister behind her pregnancy.
Sweeney throws herself into the role, especially during the gorier scenes – while earning the 18 rating this isn’t a frequent blood-fest, allowing the instances of splatter to have more of an effect – and truly sells the confliction going on in her character’s mind, and the growing physical struggle. Her surroundings grow increasingly threatening with the narrative allowing for developments to come through with good pace without feeling rushed. Apparently a passion project for the lead this comes through in the effective closing shots, which may well go down as influential themselves; acting as the tense highlights of the film. Capping off a well-tracked sequence where things flow effortlessly from one moment to another.
It’s well worth the wait, and indeed some of the more conventional moments the film has to offer – Cecelia told that she can’t leave to go to a regular hospital, the doctor who visits the convent on most days is trained enough, and delivers babies on Thursdays and Saturdays. Luckily, with the short run-time and the way in which things grow and develop, as mentioned, the film generally goes by quickly. Not all the jump scares or attempts to escalate tension may properly land, but for the most part there’s still interest to be found in the film and Cecelia’s journey in the unfamiliar location. Give it time for things to properly kick in and as the developments grow so does the overall quality of the film.
While it might have its conventional beats and faltering jump scares Immaculate grows in a short space of time, flowing into a seamless, bloody finale, stormed through by Sydney Sweeney, which is more than worth the wait.
Just A Little Bit Random 