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Immaculate

I want to start this review in the most professional manner possible. I want to, more than anything, but I can't. Because I have to assure you that I have not seen Immaculate because it features Sydney Sweeney, who, for those who live in a world of her own, is the actress of the moment that everyone is talking about. And yes, I won't deny it, she is certainly very beautiful, but she is also good as she has already proved in the past and in this film.
I saw Immaculate because of all the hype, due to the aforementioned presence, that it generated. I must sadly admit that I fell right into the trap. Immaculate is not a bad film, but neither is it a memorable one.

Once again we find ourselves among nasty nuns, corrupt priests and maniacs living in dark, ancient convents between whose thick walls things happen that would not please God. In Italy, of course, the best place for stories like this, featuring a young nun with the best of intentions.
Cecilia, that is Sydney Sweeney, is a young American who moves to Italy to take her vows ('what a waste' two Italian policemen tell her). The convent, in which there is immediately a strange atmosphere, is run by Father Tedeschi (Álvaro Morte) flanked by strange nuns and a cigarette-smoking Cardinal Giorgio Colangeli (recently seen in C'è ancora domani).
The protagonist immediately suffers from nightmares and sees strange things, including nuns wearing purple masks. And one day she discovers she is pregnant. After due diligence, her pregnancy appears to be a miracle.
From here on, events grow in intensity and horror as it becomes clear that something strange is going on in there. As always, there is someone who tries to rebel and that never works in a horror film. Classic ending with fight scenes and half cliffhanger for a possible sequel.

Immaculate takes its cues from nunsploitation, from the whole horror strand related to priests and nuns, as already mentioned, to a hint of mad scientists. Its horror side, however, is rather dull, and various bleedings, chicken heads, nails and torn tongues are good for a mainstream work but certainly don't send shivers down the spines of hardcore fans of the genre.
Slight spoiler: not forgetting the absurdity of the protagonist fighting like a lioness and in labour, against a severely burnt character also in full force.

Despite all this and despite the fact that I expected much more, Immaculate is not a bad film. Michael Mohan as director shows he knows how to create evocative images and moments, (see the masked nuns who deserved a little more space but, apparently, some scenes were cut). He knows how to manage rhythms and highlight the most dramatic moments. It also has the good fortune to have a rather good cast on its hands, led by Sydney Sweeney and a sombre Álvaro Morte and supported excellently by Giorgio Colangeli, Benedetta Porcaroli and Simona Tabasco (whom we remember with great pleasure in White Lotus).

Sydney Sweeney, besides being beautiful and here without make-up, proves she has a certain talent for horror roles and could easily be a respectable new Scream Queen. The American actress is not only the star but also one of the producers of the film. She said she first read this script ten years ago. The project then never got off the ground and she later called writer Andrew Lobel and asked him to revise the entire script.