Immaculate (2024)

Immaculate takes so long to get going that its payoff only shows up right before the credits. Until then, it’s Sydney Sweeney doing all the heavy lifting inside a very familiar convent. She plays Sister Cecilia, an American novice who was declared dead for seven minutes after a childhood plunge into a frozen lake and is convinced she was spared for something. Father Sal Tedeschi brings her to an Italian convent that cares for dying nuns. She befriends the outspoken Sister Gwen, notices strange scars on an older sister’s feet, and learns the chapel keeps a relic said to be a nail from the crucifixion. Next come bad dreams about hooded figures, and after that, a pregnancy nobody can explain. Critics landed at 72% on Rotten Tomatoes, opening crowds gave it a C CinemaScore, and honestly both have a point. A 5.6 because Sweeney is ferocious and the build is sluggish. $313 says you plan your next trip to Italy and quietly cross every convent tour off the itinerary.

What works: Sydney Sweeney is fierce and fully committed, and her lead performance is the one thing critics agreed holds the whole movie together.

What doesn’t: The first two-thirds lean on stock convent-horror moves like nightmares of hooded figures, and the story takes far too long to reach its payoff.

Who it’s for: Horror fans who can sit through a slow simmer for one fearless lead performance and a wild final act.