“Immaculate” is far from it, but a wild second half in which Sydney Sweeney shines makes it more than just another scary nun movie.

The rising Sweeney (“Anyone But You,” “Euphoria”) plays Sister Cecilia, an American who has been brought to Italy to join a fancy convent. Before long, she finds out she’s pregnant, despite being a virgin, and her new religious community labels it a miracle and treats her like a saint.

Obvi, this immaculate conception must be the second coming of Christ.

Except, obviously not. Nearly everyone there is shady, and as she learns the truth, the story grows more and more twisted, keeping me on edge with unexpected turns and surprising amounts of cringe-inducing gore.

It’s too bad it took suffering through a dragging start to get to the good stuff.

In the second half, Sweeney’s depiction of horror, despair, and primal rage are bewitching—a performance that’s sure to be talked about. In 2024 talk: It’s the stuff that memes are made of.

And yet, she was the cause of a lot of long blinks through the first half of the film. It’s because she has a way of sounding disingenuous with everything she says. And that’s not unique to this movie.

Again, she proves her acting chops by the end—with less speaking and more reacting—but the rough beginning had me questioning her leading lady status.

The script builds in intensity and culminates with one of the most memorable horror endings in some time.

Still, when the credits rolled, my first feeling was confusion. The religious implications weren’t clear. Certain connections weren’t made in the writing, so I was left wondering—why?

What I did find interesting was the peculiar framework for a commentary on a woman’s right to make decisions about her body and pregnancy.

“Immaculate” is cut from a different holy cloth—original enough to warrant a watch from fans of the genre, even if it takes a bit before Sweeney gets going.

3 / 5 Rosaries