Immaculate focuses a lot on violence, on blood and in this aspect the film shows and does not skimp, however, we notice that Mohan is neither a great director nor a horror director with a skilled hand.
In many situations we opt for jump scares, even rather phoned-in and banal ones, there are also moments where when we have to show the horror we cause an involuntarily ironic effect, for example with the nun with the red mask.
A few more moments there is a suggestive and better managed camera movement which, starting from the shoulders of the protagonist Sour Cecilia, approaches her and goes to the foreground, moments where the photography is most striking however overall the setting of the convent is not too exploited to create atmospheres.
Much more could have been done on the narrative and the characters, the key moment of the film is when Cecilia becomes pregnant, here there is no reaction from the nuns and above all, Gwen, Cecilia's friend, has very few moments, she too fleeting interactions with the protagonist, their friendship practically fails to be experienced, so even when the drama arrives this is not so strong despite the scene itself which focuses on showing violence.
Even the mother superior does not appear not explored at all, his presence fails to disturb and therefore to create mystery.
Mohan, perhaps aware of not having the management of tension and esoteric atmospheres as his strong point, focuses everything on blood and violence.
The direction doesn't really focus on the esoteric, the mystical, there isn't the classic real-not real game, the narrative is also fast so the mystery about Cecilia's pregnancy doesn't manage to have the right strength.
The same management of Sister Isabelle perpetually sulking, with an acting management that is not at all impeccable, culminates quickly, with the usual appearance behind her with an understandable outcome, we understand the reasons why you can't stand Cecilia, but in fact everything with little depth .
On the actor's management mentioned just before, Gwen also has moments of involuntary irony and the key scene where she is the protagonist, her reactions to screaming "help" "what the fuck are you doing" kills the staging quite a bit.
The character of the cardinal is very caricatural.
The figure of Father Tedeschi is where the film tries to focus a little more, nothing sensational and a character with not exactly great depth.
As written there are some slightly more intriguing situations, the shot of Cecilia while she is immersed in the bathtub where her motherhood is highlighted and also the shots during the vows where Father Tedeschi and the cardinal are placed high up, while the nuns at the bottom clearly make us understand everything and the hierarchy.
What is missing is a mystical push, esoteric atmospheres or even just well-developed drama.
In fact, the nuns with the mask redhead disappear from the film, it is not clear who they are, their role, purpose, they are presences as an end in themselves which after a while are no longer even framed in the slightest.
Yes, the religious objects that become weapons for the slaughter, nunexploitation is there and there is no doubt that it is where the film aims most and where it wants to find its strength. I therefore do not deny that someone will also be able to have fun because of these aspects, but here too, everything is all too fleeting and violence without knowing how to build who knows what atmospheres, enhance and make the characters interesting, it is not enough.
Of course, I respect to The Nun, recent Blumhouse films and others from the Conjuringverse this is better, but I don't consider it promoted.