Immaculate director Michael Mohan expresses agreement regarding a complaint from a viewer. Released in theaters earlier this year, the horror flick stars Sydney Sweeney as Cecilia, a young nun who joins a seemingly picturesque Italian convent only to discover that something sinister is going on beneath the surface. Immaculate earned mostly positive reviews from critics, with Sweeney’s performance cited as a major highlight.

Now, following Immaculate‘s release on digital platforms, Mohan responds to a user on X, formerly Twitter, who expresses frustration regarding the film’s presentation on select VOD services. The user in question calls the movie “comically dark” and writes that he “can barely make out what’s happening on screen.” Check out Mohan’s reply below:

“I know, man,” writes Mohan. “This was absolutely not done intentionally. We have no control over the compression specs of each platform. It’s a real problem that truly bums me out, and after comparing them all, iTunes is the closest to what we wanted/ brighter than the rest.”

Immaculate Isn’t the First Title To Be Criticized For Being Too Dark

Why Is It So Hard To See What’s Going On In Some Movies & TV Shows?

There’s a reason why physical media enthusiasts tout the medium as the best possible way to experience a movie or TV at home. Streaming services and VOD platforms use compression algorithms that result in a degradation of a title’s audio and visual quality. While the difference is not always noticeable during scenes in broad daylight, dark scenes seem to exacerbate the issue. The Immaculate ending and much of the rest of the film is very dark, unfortunately, meaning the title is particularly affected by this problem.

The first major example of a streaming title catching flak on social media for being too dark is probably Game of Thrones, with episode 3 of season 8, “The Long Night,” being widely criticized online. The episode features a major battle sequence, but many viewers seemingly found it too dark to enjoy or understand. Spinoff series House of the Dragon on Max as met with similar criticism in 2022 for an episode in season 1 that takes place largely at night. Other particularly dark recent titles include The Batman and episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale.

It’s worth mentioning that streaming service compression could also be working in tandem with more casual viewers not having home viewing setups that creators had in mind when creating their movie or TV show. More casual viewers might, for example, not have their TVs calibrated properly, the TVs might not be of high quality, or the room in which viewing is taking place isn’t sufficiently dark. While it’s a complex issue that doesn’t appear to be getting any better, Mohan’s latest post suggests that those looking to check out Immaculate at home are best off watching it on iTunes.

Source: Michael Mohan