[SXSW 2024] IMMACULATE -- Sydney Sweeney Horror Flick Is More Fun Than It Seems

Review by Sean Boelman

Photograph by Fabia Lavino, Courtesy of NEON.

Sydney Sweeney is one of our new generation of movie stars — one of the last of a few individuals whose participation in a project alone is enough to boost its profile. She also becomes a producer with Immaculate, a deceptively great new horror film that balances great crafts with entertaining storytelling.

The movie follows a devout nun who takes a position in a new convent only for mysterious things to happen, causing her to discover her new home's hidden, dark secret. Andrew Lobel’s script may not be the most original or developed, but it has one thing that many horror flicks these days tend to lack: it’s genuinely fun.

From the trailers and premise, one might have expected Immaculate to be just another religious/antichrist horror picture in the tradition of movies like The Omen or Rosemary’s Baby. Although the film uses some of that subgenre’s motifs and symbolism, it’s actually something much more exciting and refreshing. It certainly doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s not overly self-serious in the way that has drug down so many movies like it.

Much like the story itself, the characters are built around subverting expectations. For much of the first two-thirds, it feels like we are dealing with the classic archetypes of any horror film set in a convent. Once the third act twist hits, those characters become something else entirely — even if that other thing isn’t much less generic than what they were before.

Immaculate also fails to break much new ground thematically. The protagonist experiences the same crisis of faith that any devout protagonist goes through when they discover that the people of the cloth may not be as holy as they seem. While there is a bit more to the movie than that, it’s best not to discuss the additional themes to avoid spoilers — and they aren’t particularly original, either.

The biggest draw of this film is likely Sydney Sweeney, and her turn is somewhat uneven but often compelling. The final act really gives Sweeney a chance to shine — especially in the last ten minutes, where things go off the wall. Sweeney gives 110%, selling the absurdity of the explosive finale. The supporting cast is also full of very good performances, each actor playing their role in an unsettlingly alluring way.

And from a purely technical standpoint, Immaculate might be one of the best-crafted horror movies of the decade so far. Its jump scares and editing are somewhat conventional, but the film has an undeniable aesthetic beauty. The cinematography, production design, costuming, and score are all top-notch for the horror genre, perfectly paying homage to the genre's classics while immersing us in this limbo-like world.

Immaculate is a lot better than one would expect. It stands out from the slew of other religion-centric horror movies by being campy, genuinely enjoyable, and visually impressive. Best of all — it’s under 90 minutes. That alone makes this a better use of your time than most films in the genre.

Immaculate screened at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival, which runs March 8-16 in Austin, TX.

​Rating: 4.5/5