Immaculate ending explained

Sydney Sweeney’s new horror movie explores the tense tale of a young nun who finds herself caught up in a supposed miracle — here’s the Immaculate ending explained.

Sydney Sweeney is proving herself to be a genre sensation. Her newest venture (and first producing round) in horror has received a positive reception. Fans are thrilled to see her take the lead in a more challenging role, and critics are generally impressed with the results.

Yes, Immaculate is firming itself up as a solid entry in 2024’s horror movie slate. But, as audiences are now finding out, not everything as it seems in his beautiful, ancient convent.

To clear-up any confusion over what went down in the movie’s final act, here’s the Immaculate ending explained. (Warning: major spoilers ahead!)

Sister Cecilia makes her escape

So, first things first. At this point, Sister Cecilia has joined an Italian convent, fallen miraculously pregnant, and discovered that the priest, Father Sal, purposefully impregnated her in an experiment under the guise of a miracle. Not a great time to be a nun!

After seemingly coming to terms with her eventual fate, Cecilia undergoes an ultrasound. She’s heavily pregnant at this point, and Doctor Gallo and Mother Superior are pleased with the baby’s health. When the doctor disappears, leaving the Mother Superior to finish the scan, Cecilia spots her golden opportunity.

Spying a heavy cross at the bedside table, she reaches over and slams it down onto Mother Superior’s head. It takes a few brutal tries, but Cecilia eventually (and unquestionably) kills the Mother Superior. She quickly tries to leave, but as soon as she steps out of her room, her water breaks. Irritated and panicked, she continues on.

Neon

On the balcony, she finds the Cardinal Franco Merola. Unseen, she reaches around and strangles him with a Rosary — a tricky task, but she manages it. When she turns around, Doctor Gallo is there. Thankfully, he runs away, leaving her a chance to go downstairs to Father Sal’s laboratory.

Cecilia vs. Father Sal

Pouring a highly-flammable liquid over the room, Cecilia prepares to set the whole thing ablaze. But — of course — Father Sal finds her there before she can. The two brawl, with Cecilia just about managing to run out the room and lock him inside.

Father Sal grabs her hair, preventing her from running, but Cecilia breaks his fingers and ignites the lighter, setting everything in the room (including Father Sal) on fire. From inside, his screams echo out. Overcome by a wave of pain, Cecilia collapses on the floor.

But there’s no time to rest, because she’s soon horrified to hear Father Sal putting out the flames with a fire extinguisher. As he throws himself against the door, Cecilia crawls away. Eventually, the door breaks and he comes falling out.

Escape from the convent

In hopes of escaping, Cecilia climbs down into the forbidden catacombs that run underneath the convent. It’s pitch black, with only her lighter to guide the way. Behind her, she can hear Father Sal on her tail, so she climbs into one of the tombs and hides. He seems to disappear, but she gets a scare when she lights her way and sees a corpse right in front of her.

Cecilia continues to make her way through the catacombs. Finally, she reaches a small opening, from which beautiful sunlight streams in. But as she’s crawling out, Father Sal yanks her back into the dark. Grabbing a knife, he intends to get this child born one way or the other. He begins to cut her open, Cecilia scrambling to escape.

From her pocket, she retrieves the crucifixion nail stolen from the convent’s chapel, and stabs Father Sal in the neck. This time, his death is certain, and he collapses to the ground. Finally, Cecilia is able to climb out into the world.

Final moments

The catacombs open up into a rural field, far from the convent. As she stumbles outside, it becomes clear that the baby is coming. Cecilia hunkers down and screams bloody murder as she gives birth. Soon, we hear the horrific sound of a baby being born. We don’t see the newborn, but — à la Rosemary’s Baby — we know from the gurgling and hissing sounds that this is no baby. This is a monster.

Exhausted and weakened by the ordeal, Cecilia hobbles over to a decaying wall and grabs a large rock. Standing over her obviously evil spawn, she raises it above her head and slams it down, killing the demon child.

There you have it — the Immaculate ending explained! For more on Sydney Sweeney’s new movie, find out how to watch Immaculate, and get to know the age rating or learn whether it’s based on a true story.