IMMACULATE: Midsommar Meets Rosemary’s Baby
Image: Fifty-Fifty Films/Black Bear
In the wake of prequels, sequels, and re-imaginings about possessing demons and the antichrist, Fifty-Fifty Films and Black Bear have produced a horror movie from a different angle. A harrowing tale about a girl poised to give birth to the second coming of Jesus.
After her local church in America closes, Cecilia (Sydney Sweeny) receives an invitation to join a convent in Italy that specializes in the palliative care of elderly nuns. After touching a holy relic she starts having strange nightmares and appears to have fallen ill. The resident doctor confirms that she is pregnant, and the leaders of the convent are convinced it’s an immaculate conception of the second coming of Jesus.
As her pregnancy progresses, things only get worse as she has to deal with the over-protectiveness of the leaders and the jealousy of the nuns. But when she sees hints of a secret cult within the convent, Cecilia becomes increasingly distressed and paranoid about what it is she’s going to give birth to.
Like a mixture of Midsommar and Rosemary’s Baby, Immaculate is a well-paced, slow burn of creeping dread. It is a good balance of various horror themes, oppressive environments, unsettling conspiracy, and some key moments of grounded gore and special effects.
What is truly impressive about Immaculate is this is the first experience with the horror genre for everyone in the major cast. Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria and Everything Sucks!) has previously shown good intensity with the lackluster script of Nocturne, but this movie has given her the freedom to show just how intense she can go. Alvaro Morte (Money Heist) is exceptional as Father Sal Tedeschi and comes across as genuinely charming and his gradual shift to a more oppressive and overprotective demeanour is quite subtle.
Director Michael Mohan (Everything Sucks!) had previously written and directed the thriller “The Voyeurs”, but now he’s taken the big leap into horror, and he’s also showing a serious talent for it. The same can also be said for writer, Andrew Lobel. Not only is this his first horror script, but is actually his first major motion picture.
Even the two primary production companies are new to the horror genre. Fifty-Fifty Films (which was founded by Sydney) is still just starting out, having only previously produced one other major motion picture, Anyone But You. Black Bear has essentially specialized in biopics (The Imitation Game) or crime-dramas (I Care A Lot).
Image: Fifty-Fifty Films/Black Bear
And the movie does have the best kind of ‘newcomer’ vibe to it. There is a freshness to every part of the story and production, as it wasn’t made by people who have an established style or rhythm for making horror films. There is a lot of care and attention devoted to every scene, and how everything flows together.
Some stylistic and experimental scenes feel like they were trying to add something extra to what was a fairly standard conspiratorial horror plot. Most of these scenes play with a kind of religious art motif and iconography, and essentially fit with the growing fanaticism over Cecilia’s pregnancy. I think they work well enough, but the somewhat arthouse-style of them does feel at odds with the atmosphere of the rest of the film which maintains a grounded depiction of a convent, albeit shrouded in a suspicious, haunting atmosphere.
Image: Fifty-Fifty Films/Black Bear
However, the overall film is wonderfully scripted, well-acted and a surprising achievement for such a complete cast of newcomers to the genre. Though it may not break new ground, it is still worth your time, and a must for those that especially like their religious-themed horror.
Immaculate may still be in cinemas, depending on where you are.
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