Despite the germ of a good idea and an eerie atmosphere, “Immaculate” misses its mark. Instead of a satisfying slow burn to a somewhat simple script, the film opts for a fiery finale that betrays its quiet, creepy horror movie make up.
Sydney Sweeney stars as Cecelia, a young nun assigned to a convent in the Italian countryside. More old-timey castle than convent, it’s sort of a Holy Hannibal- a place where elderly nuns go to die. Cecelia and some other young nuns like the outspoken Gwen (Benedetta Porcaroli) and the perpetually scowling Mary (Simona Tabasco) spend their time training to help the sickly sisters before they shuffle off the mortal coil. During training, Cecelia begins having disturbing dreams and even awakens to find an elderly nun taking a sample of her hair.
Stranger still for Cecelia is the arrival of Cardinal Merola (Giorgio Colangeli) who, along with resident priest Father Tedeschi (Alvero Morte)., questions Cecelia’s chastity. Though Cecelia claims she is a virgin (backed by in-house Doctor Gallo’s (Giampiero Judica) examination of Cecelia), she is nonetheless found to be pregnant as confirmed by the convent’s ultrasound machine. Why did a convent order an ultrasound machine for the Cardinal’s unprovoked accusation? Did they expect Cecelia to be expecting?
Because of her immaculate conception, Cecelia is treated like the queen of the convent. Dressed in finery for all of the other nuns to worship, Cecelia draws jealousy from Mary and makes Gwen vocally lash out at clergy for perpetrating a conspiracy. Naturally (or rather unnaturally) for Mary and Gwen, they soon find messing with the miracle of a new Virgin Mary to be a no-no. And as for Cecelia seeking outside medical attention as her child’s birth approaches, she’s told she’s stuck inside.
Sequestering Cecelia to keep her conception a secret makes Cecelia begin snooping. Clues come into light, like a Corinthians bible quote, that force Cecelia to question whether she’s carrying the modern-day Messiah. “Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light,” the verse explains. Is Cecelia actually carrying the antichrist instead?
Though it’s a neat twist questioning what conduit role Cecelia is actually portraying (today’s Blessed Mother or real-life Rosemary of “Rosemary’s Baby” fame), the movie abandons answering this question in favor of Cecelia embarking on rebellious retribution to wrap up the convent’s wrongdoings. In addition to be tonally jarring, it seems unlikely for Cecelia to perform this energetic endeavor given her water had just broken and her actions might be complicated by contractions. To not explore the mystery behind the miracle seems a mistake on “Immaculate’s” part.
While most might go to see “Immaculate” for Sweeney’s divine anatomical blessings when she’s not hindered by a nun’s habit, many will find the movie only offers a glimpse of that miracle too.