Novitiate Sister Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney) accepts an invitation to take her religious vows in Italy, and take up resident in a convent specially to the care of elderly and terminally ill nuns. As she tries to fit in to her new situation, she begins to notice strange happenings and a culture of secrecy that appears to hide a terrible truth.

Religion and horror perennially go hand-in-hand – particularly when it comes to Catholic horror. Sometimes it seems as if one cannot go six months without finding another variation of exorcism thriller or creepy nun movie in cinemas. That is certainly the case in 2024. Out now on DVD and blu-ray is Michael Mohan’s unsettling new thriller Immaculate, which boasts more creepy nuns and untrustworthy priests than one can shake a crucifix at. It hit American theatres back in late March, just two weeks ahead of Arkasha Stevenson’s higher profile but remarkably similar The First Omen. Both films send young American novitiates to Italy, both feature unsettling happenings in a convent, and both spend much of their running time addressing female bodily autonomy in the context of religious conservatism. It strikes me as an independent filmmaker’s worst nightmare: to spend years bringing your film to the screen, only to have a studio-backed competitor overshadow your work at the finish line.

Immaculate suffers in the comparison. It is a much smaller, less ambitious work, and unlike the regular terrors of The First Omen tends to keep its most horrific elements for the final act. When the climax unfolds, it is remarkably confrontational and transgressive, but Mohan takes  a very sedate method of getting there. In truth, the first two-thirds of Immaculate drags rather badly. There is a pronounced lack of momentum in its early scenes, despite a running time of less than 90 minutes. One cannot help but feel that there was a stronger film to be found in the editing suite.

This is not state Immaculate is necessarily bad. There is a pleasing giallo influence both in its Italian setting and nostalgic musical score – courtesy of Will Bates. It is visually very well shot by cinematographer Elisha Christian. The performances are generally quite impressive. Sweeney is particularly effective, and it is a performance that gets better as the film itself does. There is strong supporting work by Benedetta Porcaroli and Giulia Heathfield Di Renzi as other nuns Gwen and Isabelle. Spanish actor Álvaro Morte struggles by comparison, although in part he seems to be more a victim of weakly written character than anything else.

Despite the film’s slow build-up, it is the last half hour that works the best. It is probably a stretch to claim the wait is worth persevering, but it does at least provide a satisfying note of horror on which to climax. Indeed for some viewers I imagine Immaculate will prove highly entertaining from beginning to end. Personally I felt the need for a little more energy or intensity to drag the viewer through.