SXSW 2024: Sydney Sweeney Proves She’s A New Scream Queen in Immaculate

Sydney Sweeney is known to push herself in every role she’s had thus far. She’s proved herself a force to be reckoned with and a powerhouse figure in the industry already. At this year’s SXSW Film Festival, Sweeney divulged that she didn’t take her role as producer on Immaculate lightly, as she had a say in every step of the way, from ideation to completion. As an actress that’s committed to her craft, it was no wonder the first horror film her production company Fifty-Fifty Films touched was sensational, disconcerting, and horrifying — in the best ways.

Immaculate gives us Sweeney as the sweet Cecilia, an American woman of devout faith searching for a new place to call home. She finds it, or so she thinks, at a picturesque Italian countryside where she is offered a new role at an illustrious, remote convent. Though, her warm welcome fades fast as it becomes evident to Cecilia that her new home harbors dark and horrifying secrets.

The mission of Sweeney’s new production company Fifty-Fifty Films is to amplify voices that have traditionally been sidelined. Her company also focuses on narratives from female authors, emerging directors, and up-and-coming screenwriters, with an aim to bring fresh perspectives and untold stories to the forefront of cinema. Immaculate seemed as though it was an homage to said mission — bringing in a director whom Sweeney trusted and has worked with throughout her career, casting brilliant, talented woman such as Simona Tabasco and Benedetta Porcaroli, and giving a voice to her character in the most appalling, and dare I say, gratifying way.

Sweeney’s love for the horror genre shines through in this film for every horror aficionados dream of goriness, jump scares, and an isolated, foreign backdrop that hones in on religion for a more than eerie feel. This was certainly a passion project for her and I’m not complaining. While audiences know Sweeney is talented, the shift from her usual pick of the drama genre to horror was a jump scare itself. But, Sweeney proved she may be the new Scream Queen of this generation. Alongside Porcaroli, she gave a gut wrenching performance of a woman who is so desperately trying to claim her own identity and feverishly find meaning in the world.

As a longtime fan of the horror genre, I also appreciate that a star as big as Sweeney put her hat into the horror ring and killed it.

Immaculate will be in theaters on March 22.