What actually happens
Sister Mary and the missing keys
The movie opens with Sister Mary stealing keys from a superior's bedroom to escape from a Catholic convent. Four hooded figures catch her, break her leg, knock her out, and bury her alive in a coffin. Then it moves on to Cecilia, a young novice who was declared dead for seven minutes after falling into a frozen lake, and who is sure God saved her for a purpose. Father Sal Tedeschi invites her to an Italian convent whose job is caring for dying nuns, and she takes her vows. She befriends Sister Gwen and notices odd details, like an elder nun with cross-shaped scars on her feet. The chapel keeps a relic, a Holy Nail from the crucifixion of Jesus. After nightmares about hooded figures, Cecilia finds out she is pregnant. The convent starts treating her like the next Virgin Mary.
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A lost tooth and a refused hospital visit
Sister Isabelle, jealous, tries to drown Cecilia and later takes her own life. Cecilia vomits up one of her own teeth, her health gets worse, and Father Tedeschi refuses to let her go to a hospital. Gwen objects to this in public, so Tedeschi and Deacon Enzo take her away. That night Cecilia sneaks around, finds her own file with details of her childhood accident and a karyotype, and hears a woman screaming. She sees the worst of it in the middle of the movie: she watches a hooded figure cut out Gwen's tongue. An elder nun finds her, silences her, and tells her that she will never leave.
The messiah project
Cecilia fakes a miscarriage to get to a hospital, but her trick is discovered and she is tied up. Tedeschi explains himself: he was a geneticist before he became a priest, and he has been using DNA from the Holy Nail to make nuns pregnant in the hope of producing a new messiah. Cecilia is not the first attempt. The earlier ones failed, often with malformed fetuses. After that, Tedeschi brands a cross into the soles of Cecilia's feet, the same mark the other nuns have.
Fire safety, convent edition
Cecilia tries to escape again. She beats the Mother Superior to death with a crucifix, her water breaks soon after, and she strangles the cardinal with her rosary. She then soaks Tedeschi's lab in ethanol, and when he arrives to stop her she sets it on fire with a lighter and gets away. Tedeschi puts out the flames and chases her into the catacombs under the convent. There she finds Gwen's body and a hole in the wall. Tedeschi catches up with her just as she is about to get out, and he tries to cut her stomach open. She drives the Holy Nail, which she took from the chapel earlier, into his throat.
The last scene, with a rock
After Cecilia gets out of the catacombs, she gives birth alone and bites through the umbilical cord herself. The baby makes strange animal noises, and she is horrified by the sight of it. She staggers toward a nearby rock, lifts it, and crushes the baby with it. This is the last scene, and it happens at the very end of the movie, so you can stop watching before it starts.
The ending, explained
Cecilia gets out of the catacombs alive. Sister Mary is buried alive in the opening, Isabelle takes her own life, and Gwen has her tongue cut out and ends up dead in the catacombs. Cecilia beats the Mother Superior to death with a crucifix and strangles the cardinal with her rosary. Tedeschi dies when she drives the Holy Nail into his throat. She then gives birth alone, bites through the cord, and crushes the baby with a rock. The movie ends there.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Immaculate scary?
Yes, Immaculate is a 6 out of 10. It has jump scares, a convent full of people who know more than they say, and a body-horror final act, and the dread lasts about a night.
How does Immaculate end?
Cecilia kills the Mother Superior, the cardinal and Father Tedeschi on her way out of the convent, then gives birth alone and crushes the baby with a rock. She is the only one left standing.
Does the dog die in Immaculate?
No dog dies in Immaculate. A chicken is slaughtered, and a crow hits a window and is shown dead afterward.
Is there a post-credits scene in Immaculate?
No. Immaculate has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
What is the Holy Nail in Immaculate?
The Holy Nail is a relic in the convent chapel that was used to crucify Jesus. Father Tedeschi used DNA from it to make nuns pregnant, and Cecilia later uses it to stab him.
