SXSW EXCLUSIVE: 'Immaculate' Review: Another Creepy Step For Sweeney’s Rise [SXSW 2024]
Jump scares and atmosphere carry sydney sweeny to a decent horror film poised to crush the box office
It is always fascinating to watch the rise of an “It Girl.” Usually the rise is driven by studio execs trying their best to push a chosen face as far as they can as fast as they can. This time around it seems that America has chosen their new icon on their own in the form of Sydney Sweeney. After hot starts in her career in the form of roles in HBO’s Euphoria and The White Lotus, she put in two criminally underrated performances in Reality and Americana before blowing up the box office in the Romantic Comedy Anyone But You alongside Glen Powell who is finally getting his own due. She stumbled a tad after being tricked into making a Sony superhero movie but is looking to rebound with a crowd-pleasing horror film in the form of Immaculate. Honestly, there is nothing stopping this film from being another box-office hit. Horror films typically do well compared to their budget and despite her recent flop, a well timed appearance on SNL will keep her name meaningful when the film comes out. The film does nothing egregious and is a decent film but will probably just come and go to end up as a forgettable title on Sweeney’s filmography.
The plot is fairly straightforward. Some quick word association of the film’s title will make the plot somewhat obvious but if there is still some mystery going into the film, that mystery is stripped away by the end of the first act. From there it is a very straight forward ride to the end. In fact, the film feels sort of like the Haunted Mansion ride at Disney World, the ride is on rails so there is no mystery where you are going but every now and then something pops out at you for a little scare. There is an issue with more than a few plot moments are just disregarded by the end of the film like disappearances of certain characters, magical items in a scientific plot, and things done to prevent her escape having no effect when convenient. The final act is a chase/escape sequence with a decent moment or two but the final few minutes are go far to make up for it to say the least. Nothing really comes as a surprise in this story. The twists that are there are very blatantly telegraphed early on by expository details that are too specific not to notice. In spite of the blemishes in the plot the story does manage to remain engaging solely because of the character moments that come from the one off obstacles thrown in Sister Cecilia’s way. Overall, the script is what keeps the film from being great and the pieces around it elevate the film from expected mediocrity.
If Sydney Sweeney were bad in this film then the film would be bad, it is not. The film is not particularly great either. The issue is not Sweeney’s acting, she is very believable in the emotions that she does portray, the problem is the direction of her acting. Her character exists in only two states: quiet curiosity and hysterical screaming. There is a brief montage towards the beginning of the film that shows some sort of range but the moment passes as quickly as it came. When she isn’t screaming bloody murder, her character is in a perpetual state of confusion by progressively stranger aspects ranging from the language barrier to embalming jars. In the final act she manages to have some agency which is almost a little too late but she rallies you to her side for the finale to end the film on a high note. Overall, Sweeney does well with this vehicle but the vehicle fails her somewhat. To really illustrate the film’s lack, compare Sweeney’s Sister Cecilia to Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley in the star making film Alien as a vehicle that only adds to a stars performance.
The cast around Sweeney does well enough what they were given but their presence is limited by the nature of their “character for a purpose” approach to their inclusion to the story. There were two notable members of the surrounding cast that are worth mentioning. Álvaro Morte plays the physical oppressor to Sister Cecilia in Father Sal Tadeschi. He is the physical manifestation of her entire situation which is a nice little plot device to represent her situation. The end attempts to turn him into the movie monster which kind of works and kind of doesn’t because it feels a tad too familiar. Benedetta Porcaroli plays the “cool kid” in the convent, the rebel nun who smokes and swears. Her purpose is to be the voice of the audience as well as Cecilia’s only friend. Porcaroli is almost too qualified for the role, there is a realism to her that points to an acting giant lurking underneath the nun outfit. I wouldn’t be surprised if she pops up in a high profile role in the future.
The film is beautiful. The location is very victorian and lends immense production value to each shot. In fact, the overall look of the film exceeds the quality of every other aspect of the film. Atmosphere carries most of the tension and “horror” in the largely benign story. The production of the film was led by Sweeney herself. With her starpower, she is able to assemble great people to support this weak script. They are able to elevate it to a degree but the bones of the film are too weak for it to stand taller than just a passable horror.
This movie is a bit of a passion project for Sweeney, she was originally cast in this role in 2014 but the film never got off the ground. After years of growing her profile she was able to build the film herself but it is hard to see why she fell in love with this story in particular. Maybe something was lost in the ten years from origin to release when the original script was reworked due to Sweeney’s age. But it is hard to imagine a huge increase or drop in quality due to a setting change. There is no reason not to watch the film. It is worth the ride even though it may not last with you beyond the initial viewing. It is hard to call this a misstep for Sweeney, Immaculate will not derail or hurt her career in any way, but be warned that too many of these “just a movie” titles on a person's filmography and people will begin to question why that person is so popular in the first place. For now, Sweeney is safe to continue her rise to super stardom.