Since resurrecting the erotic thriller with 2021’s respectable and sinister drama “The Voyeurs,” it’s been clear that Sydney Sweeney and director Michael Mohan were in favor of a second coming. So it was only a matter of time before they turned their attention to Christ himself in “Immaculata,” a satisfying if uneven horror movie cut cut from a slightly different cloth than its spiritual brethren, with an interesting change of pace. her star as a virginal nun whose pregnancy evokes questions beyond the child’s well-being and an incredible ending.
Refreshingly free of the pseudo-theology that often plagues films set in church, “Immaculate” just means that My Wife of Sorrows is no place for a young woman. Rest house for the older sisters to spend their last days, it seems that the nun (Simona Tabasco) tries to escape in the energetic opening sequence, age does not prevent the novices from dying there too. However, Sister Cecilia (Sweeney) is blissfully unaware of any of this after arriving in the Italian countryside from Michigan, and it’s clear that she won’t hesitate to serve her lord when dealing with overly nosy customs officials. “What a waste,” someone says backwards in language the American can’t understand, but Mohan and Sweeney are well aware of what they will do if they put the wily blonde bombshell into behavior.
Sister Cecília is interested in several causes for the presiding priest, Father Sal Tedeschi (Álvaro Morte). He tries a little too hard to relate to his latest import, confiding that, like her, he had an unusual path to My Woman of Sorrows, initially learning biology before dedicating himself fully to God. Although faith and science don’t normally go together, they become a new mix for the Molotov cocktail that author Andrew Lobel concocted as soon as Sister Cecilia contracted morning sickness.
“Immaculada” really takes off in the second half – or as the film airs, the second quarter – when doubts arise within Cecília and also in her stomach. Even before Father Sal and his flock are more brazen in their attempts to stop her from leaving the place along with her miracle on the way, she proves to be more resourceful and less shy than they could have imagined as the film progresses well into a tense survival thriller.
In an effort to get there, the film leans inorganically on some well-executed but hollow scares and unusually loud sound effects to disturb, including the specter of those black-hooded figures with red masks who look cool but whose presence and reach don’t. are only addressed. Much more practical is the presentation of the convent, superbly filmed by “Columbus” cinematographer Elisha Christian, as an endless collection of corridors from which Sister Cecilia must finally escape. Although you will rarely see the same space twice, such an effort seems futile.
After auditioning for the role a decade earlier, Sweeney eventually produced “Immaculate” and starred in it. Not only does she have the star power now to get such a project greenlit, but the film shows how she can actually hold the screen. After dispatching one of her captors, an extended shot that runs the gamut of emotions from what she did to whether she saved herself along with her actions with the camera lingering on her face is extraordinary, only surpassed by a riveting ending where her reactions say it all – and probably spare the film an NC-17 score.
Benedetta Porcaroli, highlighted with her mischievous performance in the comedy “Amanda”, by Carolina Cavalli, also impresses as Sister Gwen, Sister Cecília’s only friend at the monastery. She is not willing to bow down to anyone, and although this is a lesson that takes time for Sister Cecília, much of the “Immaculate”’s satisfaction comes from witnessing someone discover religion in themselves.
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