Religious themes and symbols have always been popular topics for horror movies. However, these symbols are usually demonic rather than angelic.
Immaculate was first released on March 22nd, 2024, but the movie’s history goes back to 2014 when Sydney Sweeney initially auditioned for the film. The movie was not made until Sydney Sweeney became a producer for it. Between 2014 and 2024, Sydney Sweeney has been in The Voyeurs and Everything Sucks, which were both directed by Michael Mohan who coincidentally is the director of Immaculate.
The reason I chose Immaculate out of all the horror movies that are being dumped into theaters is because of how original everything felt. However, the movie reminded me slightly of the 1968 film Rosemary’s Baby, because both main characters became pregnant with a “supernatural” baby. But even this slight resemblance made this movie feel more original because Rosemary’s Baby antagonist is demonic like many other horror movies. Immaculate’s antagonists are religious figures themselves. I find this theme more daunting because the antagonists are doing everything because they believe it is for their God.
Immaculate is only 89 minutes long which causes the events to be extremely fast-paced. During the first 5 minutes of the movie, the religious theme is already established along with the horror elements of the movie. One of the reasons I found this film more uncanny than other horror movies is because the acts of violence are huma., I’m used to horror movies having supernatural and unexplainable events. But the violence in this movie feels unsettling because of how realistic it is, and how the abusers are regular people.
The lack of artistic choices in other horror movies might be why Immaculate is easy to be immersed in. Comparing other horror movies to Immaculate makes them feel superficial, but the music choices and weird scenes in Immaculate make the movie feel like it goes below surface level. For the music part of the movie, the reason that the music is so intense isn’t because of the lyrics or the instrumentals of the song, it’s because of how it inflicts during certain scenes. There are times in the movie when the music is so intense that it makes you feel a sort of panic like you’re bracing for something.
I think this movie also did a good job of blending the horror aspect with the artistic aspect. Such as the scene where Cecilia gets pulled out of the confession booth and into a room surrounded by nuns in red masks. Another scene that wouldn’t seem too bad to someone who hasn’t watched the movie, yet unsettling for those who know the context is the scene where Cecilia is assumed to be dressed as the Virgin Mary. It feels cultish when Cecila stands on a pedestal while the other nuns work to perfect the way that she looks.
First, I thought the acting in the movie was lazy and boring. But around the time that Cecilia takes her vows, I thought that the acting made sense for the movie. During the movie, it felt like no matter what type of emotion was being portrayed the line delivery seemed blunt. But I think this helped build suspense for the end of the movie, such as when Cecilia is screaming in the last scene of the movie. It finally felt like there was intense emotion.
I would recommend this movie to those who like to dissect what they are watching, and who don’t like horror movies that rely on jump scares and prefer a movie that is calculated in the fear it makes its viewers feel.
