Immaculate (2024)
Directed by Michael Mohan
Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney) nearly drowned in a frozen lake as a child. She was saved by a miracle, an act of God, leading her to choose a religious path. This sets the stage for Immaculate, a film by Michael Mohan hitting theaters on July 11, distributed by Leone Film Group. As a nun, Cecilia accepts an invitation from Father Sal Tedeschi (Álvaro Morte) and arrives at a remote Italian convent caring for elderly and dying nuns. Here, she meets Sister Gwen (Benedetta Porcaroli), encounters strange phenomena, and discovers she is pregnant—a seemingly impossible event since Cecilia is a virgin, remaining “immaculate” as per the original title. Is she a modern Virgin Mary? And how can the unsettling events be explained?
Immaculate dives into the realm of religious horror, a sub-genre since the inception of horror itself. It presents a young woman in a disturbing situation within the theoretically safe confines of a convent, only to realize she’s the victim of a conspiracy. As noted by Davide Pulici, Immaculate could easily serve as a prequel to The Omen—specifically Richard Donner’s 1976 original—more so than the recent official prequel, The First Omen. Both the screenplay and the visual storytelling follow this pattern, crafting a horror story around a “malignant birth,” with a woman made pregnant by others, leading to ultimate, primordial terror.
Sydney Sweeney shines as the lead, an actress in full ascent, without prejudice, wholly committing to the genre project. Her idyllic and starched appearance, framed by her fair complexion, heightens the terror and reinforces her resilience to survive. From Rosemary’s Baby onwards, miraculous pregnancies never bode well… It’s challenging to discern if the “gift” is from God or the Devil. The film builds escalating tension following genre rules: the declaration of belonging is musical, with the soundtrack of The Red Queen Kills Seven Times by Bruno Nicolai, evoking Emilio Miraglia’s 1972 film and paying homage to the golden age of Italian horror.
The fear emerging from the dark, sudden apparitions, and gruesome deaths do the rest. Cecilia, prey to the gradual encirclement, raises her head and chooses to react, asserting her independence: she gives birth and uncovers the truth about the sinister “plan” surrounding her, which has been repeatedly attempting to achieve its unholy result. In the pre-finale’s whirlwind of killings, the demise of the mother superior stands out with splatter exceeding the norm for a commercial production. The fate of the child—whether it brings a new dawn or apocalypse, dead or alive—is left unknown as the film closes ambiguously. Ultimately, nothing groundbreaking but competently crafted, with an actress who carries it well and a lingering unease beyond the screen.
Emanuele Di Nicola
Cinematografo, July 9, 2024
