During an early scene of Immaculate, American nun Sister Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney)-who has recently transferred to a convent in the Italian countryside after her church in Michigan shut down-confides in a priest (Alvaro Morte) that she's still searching for the reason why God chose to save her after she nearly drowned after falling into a frozen lake as a child. Like its protagonist, Immaculate is unsure of its identity and purpose in the world of cinema. From the jump, director Michael Mohan attempts to make Immaculate something that dips its toes in the waters of mainstream supernatural, arthouse and gonzo camp horror at the same time. Not only does this vast genre stew led to some really bizarre, sudden tonal shifts, Mohan's direction is neither atmospheric nor forceful enough for the jump scares to provide impactful jolts and the script from Andrew Lobel doesn't have nearly enough weight behind it to offer up anything more than a surface-level exploration of its primary themes about the patriarchal structure of the Catholic Church and a woman's bodily autonomy.
What makes Immaculate's scattershot execution of an ambitious genre blueprint somewhat palatable is Sweeney's ferocious lead performance and a final act that goes exceptionally hard. Once the truth about how Cecilia ended up at this specific convent is revealed, Sweeney gets the chance to just go completely feral as the films turns into a full throttle exercise in exploitation. In a really fucked up way, Cecilia ends up finding herself as uniquely dangerous circumstances force her to urgently reckon with all of the fear, doubt and uncertainty she's been wrestling with since nearly died that day on the lake. It's a treat to watch Sweeney tackle the disturbing parade of macabre funhouse shit that happens to her character as the film reaches its biblically horrific conclusion with an incredible blend of intensity and eagerness to play in a wild B-horror sandbox. Her continued dedication to expanding her range as a performer is as strong as any young star working today and now that Season 3 of Euphoria is getting further delayed, Immaculate just might be all the convincing some other producer needs to cast her in another horror role ASAP.
Grade: B-
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