Immaculate,starring and co-produced bySydney Sweeney, is the most recent addition tothe ever-popular horror subgenre dubbed “nunsploitation”. As Sweeney and directorMichael Mohanrecently shared with Letterboxd,Immaculatetook inspiration fromBlack Narcissus,Possession, and nunsploitation filmsMother Joan of the AngelsandThe Devils. Sweeney and Mohan also cite the 1968 horror classicRosemary’s Babyas being especially influential both for Sweeney’s character Cecilia and the film as a whole, and it’s easy to see why.Immaculateabides byRosemary’s Baby’s decision to never actually show the monstrous baby delivered by their respective heroines but also subverts its ending in a shocking yet fitting conclusion for Cecilia’s character. WhileImmaculatemakes more direct critiques of the inherently patriarchal structure of the Catholic Church,Rosemary’s Babydepictsthe dangers of cultsand the subtle yet insidious grooming process used to recruit new members.Both, however, show women whose pain goes ignored as they’re stripped of their bodily autonomy and how they fight back to reclaim it.
Immaculate
Cecilia, a woman of devout faith, is warmly welcomed to the picture-perfect Italian countryside where she is offered a new role at an illustrious convent. But it becomes clear to Cecilia that her new home harbors dark and horrifying secrets.
How Similar Are ‘Immaculate’ and ‘Rosemary’s Baby’?
On the surface,Immaculatedoesn’t immediately evoke a film likeRosemary’s Baby, instead more closely resembling traditional nunsploitation films like those Mohan listed as inspiration.But as the events ofImmaculateunfold, anyone familiar with the 1968 horror classic will find their similarities, both in story and theme, impossible to miss.Both Cecilia and Rosemary (Mia Farrow) are fish out of water in their respective environments – Cecilia in the convent and Rosemary in the Bramford apartment building – and find it difficult to fit in. As an American nun still learning Italian, Cecilia struggles with both the language barrier and dealing with her mentor, Sister Isabella (Giulia Heathfield Di Renzi), who takes an instant dislike to her. Both Cecilia and Rosemary are violated in their sleep – Cecilia by Father Tadeschi (Álvaro Morte) andRosemary by her husband Guy(John Cassavetes) – and are forced to endure nightmarish pregnancies that wreak havoc on their bodies and mental health.
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Neither Cecilia nor Rosemary have a strong support system, and those whodotry to come to their aid are quickly eliminated by those attempting to exert total control over them.Though Father Tadeschi tries to make Cecilia feel welcome in the convent, this is strategic, as she is their next best candidate to carry the second coming of Christ, though her fellow sisters are not as friendly. She does, however, find a friend in Sister Gwen (Benedetta Porcaroli), who joined the convent for more practical reasons rather than out of an intense devotion to God. She doesn’t hold back in questioning and criticizing the church, especially after Cecilia gets pregnant and Sister Isabella takes her own life soon after. As a result, Cecilia watches in horror as Gwen has her tongue cut out and later finds Gwen’s dead, mutilated body as she makes her escape. Similarly, inRosemary’s Baby, one of Rosemary’s only confidants is her former landlord Hutch (Maurice Evans), the only person in her life who expresses concern about the Bramford’s dark history and tries to warn her about the coven. He also winds up dead thanks to a curse placed upon him by the cult, leaving Rosemary with no one to turn to, as Guy has already isolated her from her female friends.
‘Immaculate’ Subverts the Ending of ‘Rosemary’s Baby’
Though Cecilia and Rosemary have similar arcs,Immaculatedeviates from the ending ofRosemary’s Babyin a bold way. The end ofRosemary’s Babysees Rosemary visibly horrified as she finally discovers the truth that she was taken advantage of by the Bramford’s Satanic coven and has given birth to the Antichrist.Though the baby is never shown, Rosemary’s wide-eyed terror and panicked question, “What have you done to its eyes?” are all that’s needed for this spine-chilling reveal.Immaculatetakes a similar route when Cecilia gives birth to her own baby who may or may not be the Antichrist. When she finally escapes the walls of the convent,a close-up shot of Cecilia’s blood-soaked face(followed by her biting through the umbilical cord) isa moment of catharsis that epitomizes the physical and mental trauma she suffered throughout the filmand her resilience in overcoming it.Immaculatealso decides against showing Cecilia’s baby on screen, instead using disturbing gurgling sounds that suggest her baby is just as monstrous as Rosemary’s.
Immaculatesubverts the ending ofRosemary’s Babyby having Cecilia kill her baby rather than care for it as Rosemary does, and it’s this choice that highlights how Cecilia and Rosemary are robbed of their bodily autonomy in distinct ways. Rosemary actively wants to be a mother and endures excruciating physical pain, believing it will all be worth it once she has her baby in her arms. This ultimately informs her decision to stay and take care of her child despite him being the son of Satan; exhausted, traumatized, and willing to fall in line out of unconditional love for her child and herdesire for motherhood. As a nun, Cecilia’s position on motherhood is entirely different. By joining a convent, Cecilia vows to remain celibate and thus, childless, and she doesn’t see her inexplicable pregnancy as a blessing from God like Father Tedeschi and the other nuns do.
By definition, Cecilia had chosen to live a life unencumbered by romantic relationships and raising children, devoting herself to God instead.Carrying the second coming of Christ and being labeled the next Virgin Mary doesn’t change her mind, and unlike Rosemary, Cecilia doesn’t soften once she lays eyes on her baby for the first time and instead kills it with virtually no hesitation.This is Cecilia’s final act of rebellion after destroying Father Tedeschi’s lab, killing him and Mother Superior (Dora Romano), and escaping the convent. It is her twisted way of reclaiming her bodily autonomy while sparing the world from the potentialhorrors her baby could unleash.
‘Immaculate’ Updates ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ for the 21st Century
Immaculateshatters societal expectations of motherhood and storiesaboutmotherhood.As a spiritual successor toRosemary’s Babyreleased over 50 years later,Immaculategives its heroine a more empowering ending that’s as much a sign of the times now asRosemary’s Babywas in the late 1960s.Rosemary’s Babywas released just five years before the landmarkRoe v. Wade decision in 1973, whileImmaculate’s release comes less than two years after it wasoverturned in 2022, though general attitudes in the United States havetrended in support of abortion rights in recent years. Rosemary is a bastion of traditional femininity and gender roles that were especially prevalent at the time, which made her the perfect candidate to carry the Antichrist. A wholesome, all-American girl from Nebraska, Rosemary is a doting wife and homemaker looking forward to raising a baby. Even with her excruciating pregnancy, she refuses to entertain the idea of having an abortion. This makes the ending ofRosemary’s Baby, though contentious, not altogether surprising, and her decision to embrace her role as a mother to her demon baby was more in line with expectations towards motherhood at the time.
Immaculateand its violent, bloody ending has certainly elicited itsfair share of outrage, and the film itself offers an empowering update toRosemary’s Baby. Cecilia is not a demure housewife, but an independent woman choosing to devote her life to finding her purpose through religion, and childbearing was never a part of this plan. Some of the most popular recent female-led horror films ditch the notion of the female victim in favor of the female survivor, even allowing them toenact revenge on their tormentors, andImmaculatefollows suit. Cecilia goes on a killing spree as she makes her escape from the convent, and despite the shock of watching her pick up a large rock, knowing what she intends to do with it, her decision to kill her monstrous child is the natural conclusion for her character.It’s a choice made out of both selflessness and self-preservation, the destruction of a potentially evil creature, and the physical evidence of her trauma.
Immaculateis in theaters now.
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