Fans already can’t get enough of – but Sydney Sweeney as a mysteriously pregnant nun in a creepy convent in the countryside? Now that has people rushing to secure their to the star’s latest project, Immaculate.Â
Directed by Michael Mohan and written by Andrew Lobel, the new terrifying horror film premiered this week at the SXSW festival in to rave reviews.
Some are even saying that Sweeney was born to be a ‘scream queen’ and that she’s a perfect final girl, a horror movie trope that refers to the last girl alive to confront the killer and the one left to tell the story.
The screening audience was on the edge of their seats throughout the premiere, jumping and even screaming aloud as Sweeney gave a performance that’s being hailed as the best of her career.
Sweeney plays Cecelia in the film, a young nun who is offered the opportunity to move into a beautiful convent in the Italian countryside. Cecelia soon discovers her life at the holy house may not be as peaceful as she expected as dark forces come after her.
Immaculate is a passion project a long time in the making for the star. Sweeney auditioned for the film back in 2014, but according to IMDB it ‘never materialised.’ So, almost a decade later, she decided to produce the film herself, securing financial backers, helping to revise the script, and hiring a director.
‘I think that you really truly care about the characters and story,’ Sweeney said during the talk-back session after the screening. ‘Yes, we wanted you guys all to jump in your seats and be hopefully horrified sh**less. But you still care about the story.’
Sweeney, who looked immaculate in a custom Richard Quinn gown, also shared with the audience that she didn’t mind the pregnancy belly she wore for much of filming: ‘It was a lot of fun,’ she remarked.
‘I had a little pouch inside that had candy!’
To give a sense of the film’s haunting atmosphere, a choir of scary nuns opened the evening at SXSW with renditions of hymns, preluding the scary thriller to come.
Attendees at the premiere have taken to X to share their excitement about the film, many hailing Sweeney as the ‘final girl for a new generation.’
User wrote, ‘Hoo boy. Just watched the premiere of IMMACULATE and Sydney Sweeney is a final girl and scream queen for a new generation. Bloody, intense, and beautifully shot. Nunsploitation lives!’
chimed in: ‘Whatever the next level beyond Scream Queen is, Sydney Sweeney gets there in IMMACULATE. The trailer’s promise of Rosemary’s Baby in a convent doesn’t even begin to cover it.
‘A gauntlet of gore with some righteous fury behind it. Sweeney is a horror heroine for the ages. #SXSW’
Others have commented on the shocking conclusion of the film, wrote that Immaculate has: ‘THE BALLSIEST ENDING of any mainstream horror you’ll see this year. I can’t believe they went there.’
Many even predicted that Sweeney has a bright future in horror movies. wrote: ‘Immaculate went so hard and blew me away. A beautifully shot film and well crafted. Sydney Sweeney gives a performance of her career! A new horror icon has emerged! I’m happy to say that this movie delivers the horror. I’m actually smiling so hard right now!’
Immaculate also stars Simona Tabasco (known for The White Lotus), Àlvaro Morte (Money Heist), Benedetta Porcaroli, Dora Romano, and Giorgio Colangeli and Giampiero Judica.
Immaculate is in cinemas March 22.
