Immaculate movie ending explained: Why did Cecilia kill her baby?

The ending of Immaculate movie has rendered most people who have watched it speechless. This is because the movie's last few minutes undoubtedly depict one of the most disturbing and goriest scenes. In the last scene, Cecelia is seen birthing her child who is destined to be the Messiah.

However, soon after the child is born Cecelia kills the child with a huge rock. This is because, given the circumstances under which the child was born, Cecelia was unaware of the nature of the child, prompting her to take such a drastic step towards the end of the movie.

Disclaimer: The following article comprises spoilers for Immaculate movie. Please read at your discretion.

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What pursued Cecelia in the Immaculate movie to kill her child?

Immaculate is a prime example of what can go wrong in religious institutions. Cecelia, portrayed by Sydney Sweeney is a woman who had taken to Christianity at a very young age after having a near-death experience as a child. As an adult, she receives an invitation from a church in Italy to become a nun from Father Sal Tedeschi, which she willingly accepts.

However, soon after being indoctrinated into the church, she starts noticing certain trends that set off a red alarm in her head. Among them, the most worrisome is the fact that she became pregnant despite being a virgin. This prompted the other inhabitants of the church to treat her like an incarnation of Virgin Mother Mary who will give birth to the Messiah.

Through a series of several unfortunate events that involved the killing of those who opposed the idea of the rebirth of the Messiah, Cecilia was able to find out the truth behind everything that was happening.

As it turns out Father Sal Tedeschi, who previously was a geneticist, was carrying out experiments to impregnate the nuns by using DNA samples taken from the Church's Holy Nail to give birth to a new messiah. Cecilia tries to escape from the graples of Father Sal as soon as she finds out the truth. She fails several times, before finally succeeding. She also manages to destroy Father Sal Tedeschi's lab, ensuring that no future experiments can be conducted.

Tedeschi manages to find Cecelia but she stabs him with the Holy Nail during the confrontation. Following this, her water breaks and she goes into labour. After the child is born she has one look at the baby and realizes that something is not right with the child. The child is heard making terrifying noises, one that can be synonymous with a devil's and not a messiah's. After a bout of realization, Cecelia moves from the site to grab a rock with which she eventually kills her newborn child.

It seems that Cecelia was aware of the nature of the child after spending just a few moments with it. She did not want to take any risks with the child which was born as a result of several genetic mutations and against her will. Therefore, she wasted no time in killing it.

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What is the Immaculate movie about?

The official synopsis released by Neon for Immaculate movie reads —

"Sydney Sweeney (Anyone But You, Euphoria, The White Lotus) stars as Cecilia, an American nun of devout faith, embarking on a new journey in a remote convent in the picturesque Italian countryside. Cecilia’s warm welcome quickly devolves into a nightmare as it becomes clear her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors."

As already mentioned, the movie features Sydney Sweeney in the lead role. The movie also features Álvaro Morte, Benedetta Porcaroli, Giorgio Colangeli, Dora Romano, and Simona Tabasco in significant roles.

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Immaculate movie was released in the United States on March 22, 2024.