From her breakthrough role on Euphoria to her acclaimed performance in last year's Reality, to her box office hit rom-com Anyone But You, to the massive flop that was Madame Web, Sydney Sweeney has made a huge name for herself recently. While her filmography is filled with big hits, it also features a lot of work in the horror genre, none of which has managed to make much of a mark. Immaculate changes that, as she reunites with The Voyeurs director Michael Mohan to produce and star in this wild religious horror that will certainly leave an impression.
The film follows Sweeney as Cecilia, an American nun who takes a role in a remote convent in the beautiful Italian countryside that essentially acts as a hospice for their elderly. However, the picturesque setting quickly reveals itself as a mask for something more sinister, as eerie happenings and a worrisome "miracle" befall Cecilia.
This film is really a tale of two halves. The first half is a mess, struggling to find its footing from a story standpoint and ultimately dragging along with a bunch of cheap jump scares and dream sequences for all its horror. The filmmaking is solid but it feels very meandering as it struggles to find any real plot. The second half however, is where the main storyline really kicks in and it becomes something pretty awesome. There is basically a big twist in the middle and everything beforehand is underwhelming and everything after is great. Once the shift comes we are treated to some gripping tension as well as some somewhat over the top storytelling that gives the film a kind of twisted darkly comedic side to compliment the horror. Without giving anything away, the climax of this film is really strong and it leads to a hilariously jaw dropping conclusion that I personally really loved.
While the first half of the film isn't great, there are elements that are consistently strong from start to finish. The most notable of which is Sydney Sweeney's performance. Early on she sells her kind of devout innocence really well, showing a near naïve faith that makes for a really interesting arc over the course of the film. When the horror comes she shifts her performance into full scream queen territory, with guttural screaming at one point that rivals Samara Weaving in Ready or Not, and that is some high praise from me I love that movie. The rest of the cast is decent, but really this is Sweeney's time to shine and she devours this role.
Along with Sweeney's performance, the crafts here are quite great. The production design gets a lot of help from how naturally beautiful the setting is, but the sets are nonetheless really well done and are often used in interesting ways. The costumes are largely typical religious fare, but the craftmanship on them is clearly strong as everything looks very authentic. The hair and makeup is also great, especially when things get a little gruesome and bloody.
If you go to see this I urge you to be patient. The opening half really isn't great and even I myself was getting pretty wary of the film. When things hit the fan though it becomes very worth it, delivering great tension, a terrific climax and one of the wildest endings I've seen recently. A great step in the promising career of Sydney Sweeney.
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