Sydney Sweeney fans are ‘honoring thy mother’ after sharing a clip of her reading a bizarre Bible verse ahead of her new horror movie Immaculate.
Religion is fertile ground for horror movies: in Saint Maud, a young woman falls victim to sadomasochistic worship as she’s taunted (and teased) by a malicious force from above; in The Exorcist, a priest struggling with faith is called upon to save a young girl from the demon that’s taken hold of her; and in Carrie, a high schooler’s home life is one of fanatical terror under her god-fearing mother.
Immaculate is the latest entry in the scary sub-genre, starring Sweeney as Sister Cecilia, a young nun who joins a mysterious covenant in Italy after a near-death experience leads her to believe she’s been marked for a higher purpose.
The movie’s marketing has been kicking into a higher gear ahead of its release — for example, in a new clip, she reads a bonkers verse from the Bible.
Sydney Sweeney reads Bible verse in new Immaculate promo
In “Vol 1: Mass Murder”, Sweeney reads from 2 Kings 2:23-24 (the new international version). “From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him,” she reads.
“’Get out of here, baldy!’ they said. ‘Get out of here, baldy!’ He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of the boys.”
It’s a pretty wild verse, and some fans don’t know what to think. “This has to be blasphemy,” one user posted. “Crazy how the Word is becoming a marketing scheme,” another tweeted. “Crazy how the Bible is used for marketing. Fear God,” a third wrote.
At the other end of the spectrum, one user joked: “Thanks to you for recovering my faith in the almighty lord.”
“I’m not kidding I’d pay $800 for an audiobook of her reading the Bible,” another wrote. “Sydney is embracing the meme, this is a quickening, brave yourself for awakening,” a third tweeted.
You can also read our review of Immaculate and find out when and where you can watch and stream it. Find even more amazing horror movies to watch here.
