“Immaculate” Film PR Team Reminds Us to Raise Hell

People love horror movies, they love being scared, disturbed, even horrified. I am not exempt, I love a good jump scare, but more than that, I love being terrified , yet not able to tear my eyes away from the screen. I’ve seen a lot of horror movies and I have found it harder and harder to find ones that truly scare me or do something new that I haven’t seen before. I had heard of Immaculate starring Sydney Sweeney and thought, I’m sure I’ll see it but it was nowhere near the top of my watchlist. That was until I saw the new posters they released with quotes from an audience you might not expect.

So many horror movies have come out in the start of 2024 alone, it’s hard to get your film to stand out amongst the masses. Immaculate’s team is being praised for their promotion of the film, some even going as far as saying it’s the best marketing they've seen for a horror film in years. I not only would agree, but I would also add that this form of disruptive PR is a prime example of a new trend expected to become more popular in the world of public relations.

Now back to the aforementioned posters. Horror films will always elicit strong reactions from viewers, and I usually do not see a film before reading at least a couple reviews. I never would've expected a negative review of a film to be the thing that drives me to the theater, but here we are. Several conservative viewers took to twitter after viewing the film and did not hold back their negative opinions.

“Libs saw how the anti-woke crowd embraced Sydney Sweeney as their new darling and right away had to shove her in this blasphemous, Satanic, feminist, pro-abortion, anti-life movie degrading Christians. This movie also debases Mary, mother of the Christ. Don’t bother watching.”

My personal favorite poster, shown above, is a strongly worded review of the film by @carrioncauldron. I read that and I said, “Now that’s a film I gotta see”, and I was not alone. Fans across social media platforms are sharing their support and praise for this PR tactic saying, “This is the best endorsement Immaculate could’ve ever received.” This strategy was unconventional and ballsy which are two words I would also use to describe the film itself.

While these reviews may horrify a certain audience, my mother included, their intended audience is eating it up. There’s nothing like good old fashioned satanic panic to put butts in seats.

Courtney Beaver is a senior at California State University, Northridge pursuing a bachelor degree in Journalism: Public Relations. She is a trained theatre actress and current co-host on the podcast Three Hungry Animals. She has a background in communications and has worked in various roles at Warner Brothers and Universal Studios. Courtney has a passion for travel, food, and the entertainment industry. She has experience in event planning, social media management, graphic design and public speaking.