After escaping relatively unscathed from the horror show that was Madame Web, Sydney Sweeney is going full scream queen this week in an actual horror flick, Immaculate. It’s one of this spring’s two nunsploitation flicks, and it’s beating The First Omen to theaters by two weeks. Sweeney also produced Immaculate, which casts her in the leading role as Sister Cecilia, a deeply religious young nun who is invited to live at a remote convent in Italy.
Of course, Immaculate wouldn’t be a horror film if Cecilia’s new home was idyllic, and let’s just say that the movie’s name wasn’t randomly chosen. But assuming that you have seen Immaculate and that you enjoyed it, we’ve picked the three horror movies that you should watch next — and none of them are The Nun.
The Convent (2018)
Thematically. The Covent has a lot in common with Immaculate, although the films are set in very different timeframes. This story takes place in the 17th century, as a young woman named Persephone (Hannah Arterton) has been accused of witchcraft and condemned to burn at the stake by the Magistrate (Michael Ironside). Persephone’s life is only spared when a nun, Sister Margaret (Katie Sheridan), gives her a chance to serve alongside her in the Sisters of the Eucharist.
Persephone is grateful for the reprieve, but she can’t help noticing that strange things are afoot at the convent. Many of the nuns are stricken by fever, and Sister Margaret doesn’t have much tolerance for anyone who questions her about it. But Persephone is soon convinced something evil lurks in the convent, and she has to find a way to save herself and her new sisters.
Watch The Convent on Prime Video.
Saint Maud (2019)
The title character of Saint Maud is no nun, and she certainly isn’t a saint! Katie (as played by The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘s Morfydd Clark) was a nurse who did everything that she could to save one of her patients. When she failed, Katie reinvented herself as Maud and became devoutly religious.
That’s why Maud is convinced beyond all reason that it’s her job to save the soul of her new patient, Amanda Köhl (Jennifer Ehle), a terminally ill woman who is both an atheist and a lesbian. Maud can’t wrap her head around either of those things and the harder she pushes Amanda about eternal salvation, the more Amanda pulls away from her. However, Maud simply won’t take no for an answer, and her religious visions suggest that she’s either been touched by the divine or she’s out of her freakin’ mind.
Watch Saint Maud on Prime Video.
Verónica (2017)
There is a nun nicknamed Sister Death (Consuelo Trujillo) in Verónica who eventually got her own prequel movie. But this film centers on Verónica (Sandra Escacena), a 15-year-old girl living in Spain with her family. Because Verónica desperately misses her recently deceased father, she participates in a séance gone wrong during a solar eclipse.
Sister Death warns Verónica that an evil spirit has attached itself to her, but no matter what Verónica tries, she simply can’t shake its influence. Now, Verónica’s friends are shunning her, her younger siblings are afraid of her, and she may only have days to live if she can’t cast the demon out of her body.
Watch Verónica on Netflix.
