The Reel Review
Cecilia, a novitiate fresh off the airplane from the U.S., arrives at an Italian convent only to find herself surrounded by oddly behaving local church officials. When she finds out what is really going on, she realizes she must do anything necessary to escape. Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, Anyone But You) stars in this horror/mystery which she also produced.
As far as spooky nun movies go, this one without a doubt has one of the most modern but totally bonkers reveals in its second act. It is more unintentionally laughable and implausible than it is even shocking or scary. Nonetheless, a very game Sweeney goes all-in as sweet pious Cecilia, except for a few puzzling moments of dialogue in which our beleaguered novitiate sounds more like her character Cassie in Euphoria, something later underscored by her character’s sudden evolution into a ferocious badass in the film’s twisty third act.
There is also a surprising amount of gross out body horror and gore for aficionados. But the otherwise bland story that borrows heavily from other, way better horror films (Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, etc) quickly builds up in the third act only to land with a disappointing thud in its final moment.
REEL FACTS
• In 2014, a 16-year-old Sydney Sweeney auditioned for this film which never materialized. So several years later, Sweeney acquired and drastically revised the screenplay, hired a director, found financiers and sold the film to Neon. It has grossed $24 million on a $9 million budget.
• Immaculate director Michael Mohan previously directed Sweeney in 2018’s Everything Sucks! and 2021’s The Voyeurs.
• Sydney Sweeney says her two grandmothers appear in the film and can be seen standing next to Mother Superior on the front row as her character Cecelia is crowned and everyone is singing.
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