Immaculate is a slow-burn religious horror with one Hell of a finish – pun intended. The movie also works thanks to its lead, Hollywood’s current it-girl Sydney Sweeney. Here, Sweeney itruly impresses in her divine turn. Trust me, by the end, she’s delivered a real tour de force performance with plenty of palpable anguish. Yep, the screams ring and sting and ring some more. I think we have a new “scream queen” on our hands, folks. The film is lucky to have her too, as Sweeney is needed to carry it through some of the more meandering parts. Luckily, the movie looks the part. It’s overcast colors and gothic Roman atmosphere hit the right spot. Unfortunately, there’s not too much in the way of big scares. Creepy imagery? Absolutely. Shocking actions? Of course. But genuine frights? Meh. It’s more psychologically unsettling. And hey, that’s totally fine – as long as you’re not expecting to be knocked to the floor in terror. The slow narrative build is pretty tedious though. There is also LOTS of messages to be taken from the ending. I won’t go into spoiler territory, but let’s just say this is ultimately a tale about a woman’s autonomy. You’ll see. Regardless of the not-so-subtle social messaging, Immaculate deserves a spiritual horror halo for its efforts.