The Spring quarter has just begun here at Northwestern, and everyone is settling back in. I was attending my first classes and getting into the swing of things when I got word of a free movie screening for students by NEON, a production company you may not have heard of but are responsible for critically-acclaimed films such as Parasite, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Triangle of Sadness, and Anatomy of a Fall. One of my favorite films ever, Palm Springs, was also produced by NEON. The movie I went to see last week was Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney.
[Immaculate trailer]
If you couldn’t tell from that clip, it’s a horror movie. Sydney Sweeney, known for prominent roles in Euphoria and The White Lotus, actually auditioned for Immaculate a decade ago—before she gained fame from the aforementioned roles. The movie was never completed, but Sweeney must have taken a liking to the project because she produced this new horror movie herself once she had the resources to do so1.
[Immaculate trailer]
The plot follows an American nun, played by Sweeney, who moves to an Italian convent in the countryside. I won’t give any spoilers, but you can maybe guess at some plot points just from the title. I found it very entertaining, but the first word I’d use to describe it is shocking. Again, it’s a R-rated movie, so some gore or jump scares are to be expected. But, there are some scenes that may offend people depending on their worldview—more so than the average horror movie. In fact, one viewer had a particularly long commentary:
[Text to speech of a Tweet]
NEON responded by editing that review onto a t-shirt.
BEN: I don’t know man, it was pretty shocking. At first, I’m like, “oh yeah, it’s just some Catholic movie, some cheesy jumpscares.” But, after the movie, I don’t know. I’m pretty speechless.
I got some of my fellow movie-goers to give their thoughts. I talked to Ben and Mariana, two Northwestern undergraduate students.
MARIANA: Yeah, I thought it was pretty shocking as well. It’s a lot more, like, psychological than I expected it to be. But, overall it was a really intense movie, so I enjoyed it.
The cool thing about this film was probably the context in which we all watched it. Because it was a free screening for students, our theater was filled with my peers. Reactions were heightened, and there were multiple instances where someone’s blurted-out joke made everyone laugh.
B: It’s pretty funny. Obviously, at a theater, it’s just all silent or just small whispering. But, laughing or crying or getting jump-scared at the same time—I thought it was pretty fun. And, I guess also outside of the movie theater, we can still talk about it—the movie or just general stuff about it.
M: I agree, I think all the little remarks that people were making in the back just made the movie a lot better. Like, the whole experience was made better.
I asked if they had been to previous screenings.
B: No, this is my first time. I actually saw this on Plex. And, you know, Mariana and I, we decided it’s pretty cool, let’s check it out. And, after tonight, we will definitely show up to more events.
M: Yeah, I love free events at Northwestern. Especially because we are both FGLI (First-Generation, Lower-Income), so it’s really great to have these opportunities. You know, to just go out and stuff.
Seeing movies at the local theater has turned into one of my favorite activities here. I love movies in general, but seeing them with a crowd full of rowdy university students is a comedic and extraordinary experience.
VERONICA SILVOSA: I like to do them more in the AMC since it’s so close. And, I think it’s nice to bring people to the movie theater, I think it’s the best place to do so.
Veronica Silvosa is who we have to thank for these experiences.
VS: I’m Veronica Silvosa, I’m a sophomore RTVF major, and I’m the NEON campus ambassador.
A student herself, she connected with NEON due to her love of their movies.
VS: I was basically doing a lot of this on my own, just promoting NEON movies because I like them so much. So, I really just want people to get to see these movies—especially since a lot of them are international, foreign films, low-budget independent films, that I feel like a lot of people don’t see on their own, or wouldn’t be too aware of them.
Outside the realm of typical blockbusters that can tend to get stale, or the same remakes of old franchises that we really should just let die, NEON is taking the scene by storm with unique and bold feature films.
VS: So, I really like inviting people to these screenings and having them watch this and being in a space—I love being in a movie theater, I love it a lot and I really like the environment of it. And, it makes me excited to see people talk about these movies since I like to talk about them so much. And, I have seen a lot of people become more aware of NEON—which has been really fun. A lot of people have gone up and asked me, “Oh I saw NEON is doing this movie, are you going to screen that soon?” And, that makes me really excited because now people are aware of their movies.
It’s a pretty cool opportunity here at Northwestern, and I can’t wait to see what movies NEON will screen next. For WNUR News, I’m Max Milo.
Music from youtube.com
