20 Horror Movies Everyone Remembers For Just One Scene
15. Immaculate - The Birthing Scene
Immaculate tells the story of Sister Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney), a mild-mannered American nun who inexplicably becomes pregnant and, for the first 90 minutes or so, it's just fine. It's better than the marketing made it look, but is a fairly by-the-numbers Rosemary's Baby knock-off. And then, out of nowhere, it gives us its money shot, its exceptional ending, and thus secures itself a place in infamy.
It eventually emerges that Cecilia was impregnated by an insane priest who is trying to facilitate the birth of the Antichrist. After defeating the priest and his allies in a gory fight, Cecilia gives birth, and it is harrowing to watch.
It's shot mainly in an unbroken close-up of Cecilia's blood-soaked face, and Sydney Sweeney's brilliantly insane performance sells all of Cecilia's agony to gut-punching effect. Cecilia is also forced to bite through the umbilical cord with her bare teeth. Then, once the baby has been born, it appears to be demonic (judging by the unnatural sounds it makes), and so Cecilia crushes it with a rock.
The movie ends there, leaving everyone in shock and safe in the knowledge that they're never going to forget that ending, even if they'll probably forget the rest of the feature.