Immaculate Is Still Religious Horror Done Right
“Life is so cruel. Only a man can be responsible.”
The line between religion and horror has always been thin. Religious love is somewhere between respect and fear, and that’s exactly where horror lies. From The Exorcist to Heretic, adoration and idolization have always been at the forefront of the horror landscape.
Back in 2024, Sydney Sweeney starred in a visually gripping religious thriller that deserved to be a breakout hit, but was struck down by bad timing and has been overlooked ever since. But the movie is now streaming on Netflix, and can finally have the moment in the sun it deserves.
Immaculate stars Sweeney as novice nun Sister Cecilia, who feels called to a higher vocation and is invited to a secluded convent in Italy that cares for dying nuns. But when she arrives, she realizes not everything is as it seems. At first, she chalks her unease up to not understanding the intricacies of the convent, but when it becomes clear that she’s pregnant, its true motives emerge.
The convent’s chapel houses a relic, and it’s not just the bodily remains of any old saint. The convent’s relic is one of the Holy Nails used to crucify Christ, and through DNA extracted from the nail, the convent is trying to impregnate nuns with a new Messiah.
Knowing that dark twist, it should be no surprise that much of Immaculate focuses on bodily autonomy. Director Michael Mohan, who previously worked with Sweeney on the Netflix series Everything Sucks!, changed the script’s original ending to one that’s much more visceral — and one that will keep you talking for hours after Netflix asks you what you thought.
Sydney Sweeney stars in Immaculate as Cecelia, a devout young woman who finds herself caught up in a devious plot.
Of course, there are also plenty of horror movie staples, from the jump scares to the ever-heightening film grain. Unfortunately for Immaculate, it arrived in theaters only a few weeks before The First Omen, a prequel to an established franchise that also centered on a nun forced into an unwanted pregnancy.
It was a predictable coincidence, given that both movies arrived just two years after Roe v. Wade was overturned and questions of what voice a woman has in her own life became worryingly relevant. Removed from that unfortunate quirk of timing, however, Immaculate might prove to have just as much staying power as The Omen did.
