By John Corrado

Director Michael Mohan’s new “nunsploitation” flick Immaculate, a passion project for star Sydney Sweeney, seems mainly intended as a throwback to the Italian Giallo genre. But beyond this aesthetic inspiration (Dario Argento is chief among its influences), the film is a mixed bag that lacks some of its own ideas or identity, and ends up feeling more like a copy.

The film follows Sister Cecilia (Sweeney), a young nun who arrives at a remote convent in Italy to take her vows. The convent serves as a hospice for older nuns to live out their final days in peace, with the younger ones expected to help care for them (the death and rebirth allegories seem obvious but bizarrely underexplored).

But there is something darker at play, revealed to us in the opening sequence showing another young nun attempting to escape. It’s not long before Cecilia starts seeing visions of nuns with red masks covering their faces, and discovers that nobody is really meant to leave this place. The story mainly hinges on a discovery that happens partway through and changes the course of the film.

Sweeney is a strong presence in the role, especially in the Scream Queen last act, showing that she is continuing to push herself as an actress across different genres. But her character lacks depth and feels underdeveloped. Early on, Cecilia informs her superiors that she felt called to devote her life to the Lord following a drowning incident on a frozen lake as a child when she was miraculously saved. But this is all we ever really know about her.

The problems with Immaculate lie in its execution. At 89 minutes, the story feels rushed, yet it also drags somewhat in its first half. The screenplay by Andrew Lobel toys with theoretically interesting ideas, but doesn’t do enough with them. Many aspects of the characters feel underwritten, and the film never digs deep enough into its surface level religious allegories to justify the more incendiary and potentially controversial content. Lobel instead offers a weird Roe V Wade allegory that somewhat backfires and isn’t as clever or convincing as it wants to be, with the film overly telegraphing where it will end up.

There was a lot of potential here for a stylish, visually striking film given the setting – and there are some atmospheric moments heightened by a creepy soundtrack – but the cinematography can look somewhat flat and overly digital. The time period is also never made clear to the point where it becomes frustrating trying to place it; at times this feels like a period piece, which makes the presence of modern elements like cellphones a distraction, with characters occasionally talking in a way that feels too modern and trying to be hip.

Fans of religious horror in particular might find some moments to enjoy in this sort of Suspiria meets Rosemary’s Baby, and the ending is certainly disturbing and sure to be talked about. But Immaculate too often feels like it was crafted simply for shock value, relying on cheap jump scares instead of properly engaging with its deeper religious ideas. We are left with a film that feels like it would have gone to direct to streaming were it not for Sweeney’s recent theatrical success with rom-com Anyone But You and her role as a producer driving the project. So if you’re going to see it, see it for her.

Film Rating: ★★ (out of 4)

Immaculate opens exclusively in theatres on March 22nd. It’s being distributed in Canada by Elevation Pictures.