A lot of movies (and TV shows) are too damn dark these days. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat down to watch something made in recent years to end up gradually getting frustrated that I can barely see anything on the screen. Usually, it seems intentional, like directors want you to struggle to see the image for some reason. It was jarring when we saw how dark Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem was, but now that seems to be normal. But the overwhelming darkness isn’t always intentional – for example, director Michael Mohan has taken to social media to let viewers know that his psychological horror film Immaculate (you can read our review HERE) was not meant to be as dark as it is on most streaming services.
X user Sgtzima complained, “Immaculate is comically dark. I’m watching it in a dimly lit room in the evening and can barely make out what’s happening on screen. Why would anybody do this intentionally?” Mohan replied, “I know, man. This was absolutely not done intentionally. We have no control over the compression specs of each platform. It’s a real problem that truly bums me out, and after comparing them all, iTunes is the closest to what we wanted / brighter than the rest.“
I knew movie theatres setting their projector lights too low can result in movies being dark, but I didn’t know streaming services were getting in on these darkening shenanigans as well.
Scripted by Andrew Lobel, Immaculate stars Sydney Sweeney, who previously worked with Mohan on the erotic thriller The Voyeurs and the Netflix series Everything Sucks! Sweeney takes on the role of Cecilia, a woman of devout faith who is offered a fulfilling new role at an illustrious Italian convent. Her warm welcome to the picture-perfect Italian countryside is soon interrupted as it becomes clearer to Cecilia that her new home harbors some dark and horrifying secrets.
Simona Tabasco (The White Lotus), Alvaro Morte (Money Heist), Benedetta Porcaroli (Baby), and Dora Romano (The Hand of God) are also in the cast.
Sweeney (who first auditioned for the project when she was a teenager, at which time the lead character was a high schooler rather than a nun) produced the film through her company Fifty-Fifty Films, alongside Jonathan Davino. Also producing are Teddy Schwarzman and Michael Heimler of Black Bear and Middle Child Pictures’ David Bernad, who developed the project with Sweeney after they worked together on the Emmy-winning series The White Lotus. Will Greenfield and Black Bear’s John Friedberg and Christopher Casanova serve as executive producers. Black Bear provided the financing.
Have you seen Immaculate the way Mohan intended it to be seen, or did you watch a too dark streaming version? Let us know by leaving a comment below.