Immaculate (2024)

If you're searching streaming and VOD services for something to watch, and feel you're looking for a film of restraint, Immaculate might be a choice for another night. Lack of restraint is a characteristic often referred to in the negative. In this case, it's quite the opposite. One of the distinguishing features of Immaculate is how deeply it commits to its story, subject and intentions, including Sydney Sweeney's performance as Celia, while also being disciplined in its storytelling.

At points Immaculate confidently walks up to a line, whether it's a line of good taste, a line related to what we expect from a film starring a young Hollywood up and comer or where we expect a horror film hoping for a mass audience will go, is subjective. The film, and the team who've made it, clearly understand those lines exist, and are playing with them. Immaculate walks up to those lines, waits a minute so that any seasoned moviegoer (especially horror fans) recognize the line it's standing in front of, then looks the audience directly in the eye and confidently strides right past it. At three different points, I laughed involuntarily because of the way it handles some of its gorier or more sensational story reveals. The laughter was in surprise and respect, "Oh, we're going for it!"

Immaculate manages to tread a few kinds of tricky lines too. It's gory and not afraid of a gooey practical effect. It's also just disciplined enough not to push it's way into extreme. It almost tips over into exploitation, both narratively and in terms of gore, but doesn't quite go there either. In some ways, I would compare it to last year's surprise hit, Talk To Me, in that both films feel singular. You can feel the fact that everyone involved was serving the same vision. As much as it may lack restraint, and be that weird paradox that is maximalist filmmaking for a mass audience, it's not without discipline, which is where many low budget or independent horror films that could achieve the same get off track.

The cinematography gives the film a great look. The candlelit scenes look beautiful. The camera establishes a sense of grandeur in the beginning, while also taking care of some exposition, and the use of the architecture to create this feeling of increasing claustrophobia was also a nice technique. The same can be said for the set design/dressing. I don't know if this is filmed on location or if these are mostly sets, but the combination of the camerawork and the design of these environments adds significantly to the experience. The locations are at points the stark aestheticism associated with religious orders who take a vow of poverty, and at times reflect the Catholic origins of the baroque and their love of showmanship and stylized ritual.

Expressing exposition on camera clearly helps, because Immaculate also flies along its run time. The pacing was as surprising as watching the story walk up to and cross so many lines. There are no dead spots in Immaculate. Directors and writers often talk about designing plots so audiences get a break or can catch their breath. Immaculate doesn't have time for that. It felt like it was less than five minutes between it building and executing each new reveal, scare or set piece. The pace is just shy of frantic.

The common wisdom says not giving the audience a chance to catch their breath wears them out before they get to the big finale, but Immaculate is in way using the pace to create the equivalent of high tempo in a song. It takes its final line step over the final line it means to cross, after most films of its ilk would end. This is not a "second ending" either. It's not the ending dragging on too long. Again, the pacing is among the films strongest elements and it has one more line to cross to execute the vision driving it the whole thing, as if cackling as it exclaims, "Yes, we're crossing that line too."

Immaculate is confidently, unabashedly a horror film. It's also a film made by people who know the horror audience and are well versed in the genre. They understand how to play with expectation and timing in a successful way. Sydney Sweeney isn't just starring in the film, but produced it because she wasn't interested in the roles she was being offered. This isn't just a young actress adding another credit and trying to capitalize on her growing recognition or trying to avoid being typecast by taking a turn in a weird, slightly lurid horror film from a major studio imprint. This is a young star producing a film independently and selling it to a mid level distributor, because it's among the things she wants to make. Immaculate is gleefully flirting with cult, exploitation and trash cinema. I don't know if Sydney Sweeney is a horror fan more broadly, but she understood the assignment. That she chose Immaculate to produce, and then commits herself so fully to this role says a lot about her desire to make this film.

She goes all in as Cecilia. This role an unusual choice for an actor in her position, and her performance is another entertaining piece of Immaculate. It's likely filming was somewhat grueling because of some of what she has to play. The story and the character go to some wild places. Sweeney carries the film without any signs of strain. She makes it look like an easy lift. What her choice to produce it says about her perspective on her career, as well as storytelling/filmmaking, suggests we can expect some more interesting choices from her in the future. Slot me in as looking forward to the roles that sensibility leads her to.

Immaculate also shows director Michael Mohan's skill in pulling all of this off so well. This is a horror film, taking place in a convent, that goes to some outrageous places. Part of where the commitment to this film shows is in knowing just how seriously to take itself. Immaculate is a very fun ride. Part of it's charm is that it is so fun, while taking itself deadly serious. This is going to leave it open to a camp reading, which is good news. It isn't arch in the way of films like Orphan: First Kill, it never winks at the audience, but the plot and story go to places just outrageous enough for it to fit that niche of campy, cult-ish good fun. There's an almost Hammer Films quality to it, but not kitschy or nostalgic. Like the Hammer films of the 70's, the self seriousness doesn't make it dour. Because this dead pan seriousness is rubbing up against some high concept, outrageous plot elements and story, it gives the whole thing a bit of carnival funhouse ride feeling. Where it differs from other films which play so seriously, is Mohan's grasp on using short periods of time to maximize suspense, and using that pacing to keep the audience on the back foot. Mohan understood the tone and pace needed to be able to achieve Immaculate's intentions, and executes it well.

There's also a fun way to read the film which would place it on the angrier end of the spectrum in relation to feminist horror. Celia is a nun, in a convent. Catholicism (arguably the foundation for patriarchy in Western civilization) hangs over every aspect of the film, and it takes an interesting turn, pulling in another aspect of misogyny and patriarchal attitudes toward women, their bodies and autonomy. I hope there's more discussion of the film from the many excellent film writers, scholars and horror experts with a feminist bend. I'd be interested to know how many of them read it in that context.

There's a high likelihood I'll rewatch Immaculate with some regularity, making it part of the rotation of horror films I return to purely because I enjoy it and respect how well the filmmakers succeed in making the film they set out to.