IMMANCULATE 2024 | RECAP | MOVIE REVIEW | ENDING EXPLAINED
The movie starts in a convent in Italy. We see a young Sister Mary praying in front of Mother Mary's portrait. She wrote something behind this portrait and grabbed her bag, then she entered Mother Superior's room and stole the keys. She wanted to run away from this place so she ran like hell, but soon some red-masked nuns started chasing her. They got her in front of the main gate where she was struggling to get out. They pushed her down and broke her leg by placing it between the gates. Later we see sister Mary buried alive in a coffin where she was struggling to get out. These nuns punished sister Mary for escaping from this place. They didn't kill her directly, they broke her leg first and then killed her.
Next, we see a new young sister Cecilia who wanted to join this convent. She was from America and this was her first time in Italy. Her Italian was a bit rough so she needed a translator. The customs officers were amused to see her as she was way too young to be a nun. Then one guy from the convent introduced himself to Cecilia and took her to the convent which was frankly far away from the city. This convent was very deep inside the countryside which also surprised Cecilia.
In the convent, the Mother Superior welcomed Cecilia and introduced her to sister Isabel who who seemed unhappy seeing Cecilia there. Cecilia is a replacement for sister Mary and this convent is an old age home for nuns. Many sisters here are suffering from all kinds of different illnesses and death is very common here. Every other week one or two nuns pass away and serving them will be the life purpose of Cecilia from now onwards. Here one old nun stumbles upon Cecilia and asks her whether she saw her dad. Many old sisters here were suffering from dementia and handling them was an art. Isabel took Cecilia to her room and said, there is still time. you have not taken your vows, if you want you can change your mind. god will not punish you, you can leave all this for a comfortable life. Cesiilia was sure about her decision as her belief in god was very strong and she was ready to do whatever it took in his service. This determination of Cecilia frustrates Isabel as she thinks she would be better off leaving this place.
Late Cecilia meets sister Gwen who too was new here. She didn't have much faith in god but she needed a place to stay. She was homeless and came from a tough place where suffering cum abuse was common. She was surprised to know the backstory of Cecilia who even after having all the means of leading a good life chose this path. It is expected that women in the most helpless situations would decide to become nuns.
In the evening, the convent was ready to welcome its new members. Here we see Father Sal Tedeschi who was at the forefront of recruiting new nuns. Cecilia takes vows to adhere to the evangelical counsels from Cardinal Franco and becomes a nun. She kissed the ring and accepted the rosary, this will be her home from now onwards. Similar to here few more new sisters take their oath and all of them enjoy a great meal after this. Later Father Sal and Cecilia started chatting where he narrated his background. His first career was as a research scientist at a famous biology lab, he wanted to discover life at its root. But down the line, his faith ignited, and chose the path of service. Cecilia in her backstory says when she was twelve years old she fell into a frozen river while playing. Her heart stopped for seven minutes.
She woke up like Christ and started believing that her new life was a gift from god. From then she dedicated her life to Christianity and was certain that god had saved her for a specific reason. To understand this she had decided to become a nun. When her local church closed down in America, Father Sal offered her a position at this convent.
After some time at the dinner, Cecilia heard some voices coming from the main hall. When she went there to check on it, she found a nun lying on the ground. She was crying as well as praying. Upon a closer look, it's revealed to be the nun with a red mask. Cecilia in panic tried to bring some help but she stumbled upon Mother Superior. When she explained what had happened mysteriously the red nun had vanished. Mother Superior took Cecilia to a place and showed her a holy relic. It was the nail on which Christ was crucified. This convent had it in its position and they were worshiping it. As soon as Cecilia touched it, she felt uneasy. She fell down and became unconscious.
Next, we see her at a confession booth where she confesses to drinking more wine at the dinner. She believed this might have caused her to black out. She thought the cardinal would forgive her sin but strangely he vanished in thin air. Then suddenly two hands grabbed her from behind and tired her to a bed. In the room, five red nuns were there. All this was Cecilia's nightmare with which she woke up. In the next few days, she learned the routine of this convent, mainly handling the patients, cleaning the dishes, cleaning the clothes, and cooking. Sister Gwen was able to kill a chicken but Cecilia was not ready. Meanwhile, another nun passed away which made Cecilia sad. She started adjusting to this new life. Here we see Doctor Gallo who was the attending doctor. He is a gynecologist who sees patients at his clinic from Thursday to Saturday. on the remaining days, he works here to take care of these old nuns.
At night while Cecilia is sleeping in her room, we see one old sister beside her bed. She cuts her hair in an act of delusion and says we all are praying for you. Cecisila thought this was an episode hence she took her to her bed. After making her comfortable she noticed a peculiar thing. Sister's feet were branded with a cross mark. This shocked and amused her as no one to do such things to themselves. walking on the cross is the greatest sin. The next morning while taking the bath Cecilia started vomiting. Dr Gallo examined her with blood and urine samples. while she was waiting for the test results she saw the same red nuns outside the convent. Just then a reven bird crashed at the window and died. All this seemed strange to Cecilia as she was not understanding what was happening.
After seeing the test results cardinal Franco asks Cecilia whether she ever forgot her vows. Whether she ever was in a relationship with a man before coming to this convent. Cecilia denied all this and confirmed her celibacy. Dr. Gallo also confirms that her hymen was intact when she arrived at this convent. she was immaculate. The reason for Cecilia's sickness was that she was pregnant. It was an immaculate conception like Mother Mary. It seemed a miracle had happened here. Dr. Gallo showed her the baby on screen.
Cecilia was shocked and confused as to how this could have happened. She couldn't believe that god had chosen her for this role even though she was not fully sure whether this was truly a immaculate conception or not. This biology scientist-turned-father consoles her by saying this might be the reason why God saved you all those years ago. This is the opportunity for you to serve God, and believe in him. He will guide you. Here Cecilia observed that Mother Superior had a case file with her with a photo of her. She thought these guys were hiding something from her and they were not completely faithful to her. As news spread in the convent, all the nuns started praying. They considered Cecilia as the new mother Mary, the mother of the savior. But Isabella and Sister Gwen were not sure about this they had their doubt.
Now we see Cecilia in her second trimester. Her health was going down, she started vomiting her tooth. She needed a real medical hospital for a proper check-up. When she went to take her breakfast all the nuns in the convent stood up in her honor accept sister Gwen and Isabella. Isabella was particularly upset with all the nuns giving special treatment to Cecilia. The next day she attacks Cecilia in the bathtub and tries to kill her. Other Sister quickly saved her and dragged Isabella away from there while going she utters in anger. She says it should have been me in your place. They should try with me once again. This means something sinister is going on in this convent and nothing seems right. Cecilia for the first time fears for her life as all of this doesn't add up.
Doctor Gallo examines her and says thankfully baby is okay. But Cecilia was not feeling right she demanded to go to a hospital in the city where she could get a proper medical checkup. Father Sal refuses this idea by saying you are perfectly alright here. If you go out and the word spreads out then it will be a great danger, for you as well as your baby. It will be difficult to handle the crowd, it is better you stay here and we will ensure that you will get proper medical checkups. Cecilia didn't agree to this logic completely but she agreed to its consequences. The next day Cecilia saw the red nuns again and just then Isabella jumped from the rooftop. From her dead body, it was clear that she was tortured. Her legs and face were brutally mutilated.
All this frightens Sister Gwen, who warns Cecilia about this place. She says something is not right here, we can't trust these people. She openly shouts against the nuns and says Cecilia needs a doctor, you all are lying and hiding something. Father Sal didn't take her revolt lightly, he forcefully removed her from the funeral progression. Cecilia now started worrying about her safety. At night while sleeping the mother Mary's portrait started wobbling because of wind and Celicia discovered Sister Mary's message. It was a verse from the bible which meant sometimes satan may show himself as a savior. This cements Cecili'a's doubt about this place. She decides to check on her file which is at the office of Mother Superior. In that, she sees her history, right from the drowning incident to the closing down of the church. Father Sal had always kept an eye on her like a hawk. Just then she heard the screaming voices of Sister Gwen from the other room and upon checking sneakily through the keyhole Cecilia was horrified.
Many red nuns had tied Sister Gwen to a chair with the braces on her face. They were cutting her tongue for speaking out of line. Cecilia understood that the red nuns were real and these guys were killing nuns who were not toeing their line. Now suddenly the elder demented nun Fransisca saves Cecilia by grabbing her from behind. She says you can't escape from here. All of this horrifies Cecilia who had made up her mind about leaving this place.
The next morning she wakes up in a pool of blood with screams. It appeared she had a miscarriage so Father Sal decided to take her to the nearest hospital. Since it was Saturday Dr.Gallo was unavailable. While Cecilia was in pain in the car, Mother Superior saw a dead chicken below Cecilia's bed. She had tricked all of them into believing that the blood on her body was of hers while in reality, it was of chickens. Cecilia was not in pain. Father Sal received this info on his mobile and Cecilia jumped out of the moving car to escape. She ran like hell but soon got caught. Father Sal brings her back to the convent.
After she gets cleaned he narrates the real story of this convent by showing her the holy nail. This nail contained blood drops, tissues, and bone pieces of Christ which helped this farmer genetic scientist to extract genes. Father Sal showed his lab to Cecilia where for the last many years he had been trying to create the holy baby. From trial and error, he had come this far to achieve success with Cecilia. Meaning all the nuns at this convent were once subjects like Cecilia and that's why Isabella said try with me once more. This is a well-planned cult where they recruit vulnerable girls in the garb of serving god. The wine served to Cecilia at the dinner was of medicated one which knocked her out. During her blackout, Father Sal must have impregnated her with his research.
Now he brands Cecilia with a cross on her feet so that she can't run for the next three months. We have seen the same branding on sister Francisca's feet also implying she too had tried running once. That's why she said there is no way of getting out from here. If they do then will be killed. Cecilia was chained for the next three months and now her due date was near. After suffering for the last nine months Cecilia had made up her mind of getting out of this place by any means. Her body was rotting from the inside as she could peel her nails easily. She says to Cardinal Franco that this is no child of god. This is wrong. He replies if this was wrong then god would have stopped us a long time ago.
Cecilia was now ready to die to prevent the birth as she was sure this baby was no savior. During one test, she sneakily attacks Mother Superior with a cross and mutilates her. Next, she strangles Cardinal Franco on his rosary while Dr. Gallo narrowly escapes. Then she grabbed the holy nail and went straight into the lab to burn it down. As she sprinkled ethanol Father Sal came to stop her. She somehow tricked him then locked him inside the lab and then ignited the fire. With him, all his research started to burn while Cecilia's labor pain was agonizing her. Her water had already broken so she was moments away from giving birth. Just then half burned Father Sal escaped from the lab by breaking its door which forced Cecilia to run into the underground tunnels.
As she was searching for her way out she found sister Gwen's body down there. Soon Father Sal pinned her down and started to deliver the baby by C-section. Cecilia once and for all killed him by poking the holy nail in his head and escaped the tunnels through the outlet. Outside she gave birth and cut her cord. She was horrified to see the baby as it was not of human origin. His crying was also not normal hence she kills it with a boulder. With this, the movie ends.
So, Cecilia was pure in her heart. Her faith was strong, she truly believed in the service. Father Sal and brainwashed fanatics exploited this belief. Tested it to the core. Initially, she couldn't even kill a chicken but by the end she killed many. Perhaps God had chosen her for this act of liberating old nuns. Most of them were here due to their personal needs like Sister Gwen. They volunteered for this experiment. When it failed some accepted their fate while others feared for their life. They too had faith and prayed daily. In the end, through Cecilia, they got their freedom. The movie highlights the human fanaticism towards a religion. How it will force people to do unspeakable acts. But the karma will catch everyone, one day.
