Sydney Sweeney Speaks On Immaculate’s Long Development And Cultural Relevance

Sydney Sweeney explains the long development of Immaculate while speaking on its important cultural themes. Immaculate is an upcoming horror film from NEON that follows the story of a devoutly faithful woman named Cecilia who discovers dark secrets after accepting a role at a covenant in the seemingly placid Italian countryside. The film is directed by Michael Mohan and features a leading cast including Sweeney, Álvaro Morte, Simona Tabasco, Benedetta Porcaroli, and Giorgio Colangeli.

Speaking with Variety, Sweeney provides details surrounding the production of Immaculate. According to the actress, the film’s script has been in development for ten years. Sweeney originally auditioned for the film when she was sixteen years old, which at that time had “a very different draft.” In the soon-to-be-released draft, Sweeney commented that “there are so many different themes and points of conversation” that audiences can draw from the film, including themes of bodily autonomy that are “sadly, [] still a topic of discussion today.” Check out the full quote from Sweeney below:

So the script has been around for 10 years — I auditioned for it when I was 16. And it was a very different draft. I called the writer, Andrew Lobel, and got the clean, original draft, then reworked it to fit who I am today, keeping a lot of the same themes and storylines. And one of the biggest ones that carried over was something innately in the project that, sadly, is still a topic of discussion today.

What’s so cool is that there are so many different themes and points of conversation for people to draw their own conclusions or assumptions. That’s what I love — when a film doesn’t try to drive one message into an audience’s mind and tell them, This is what you need to believe. I love when a film has a variation of ideas and concepts and allows people to conclude their own opinion.

How is Immaculate Being Received Thus Far?

Immaculate is a big role for Sweeney in that it is another chance for her to break out into the film industry, for she is best known on television (Euphoria, The White Lotus). As of yet, critics are responding more positively to Immaculate than they did Sweeney’s 2023 rom-com Anyone But You. At the time of writing, Immaculate holds a 71% on Rotten Tomatoes with 34 critics’ reviews in. By comparison, Anyone But You had a 56% approval among critics.

The film recently premiered at SXSW, where it was also met with positive reception. Many praised Sweeney for her role in Immaculate, calling her a film star in the making. A number of people, including the Variety interviewer, also noted the shocking and bold nature of the horror film’s ending.

Immaculate releases this Friday, March 22, so it is yet to be seen how wider audiences will react. The early reviews, however, seem to suggest that Immaculate will, at the very least, be a source of discussion among audiences about both the ending and timely themes. If things go in Immaculate’s direction, it could become the first big horror hit of 2024.