“The Nun” is the latest and fifth installment in “The Conjuring” cinematic universe. The film follows the origins of the demon featured in “The Conjuring 2”. The previous films gave me high hopes, but I had to wonder if the film would end up being holy or just another piece of horror schlock.
Set in Romania, 1952, the Cârța Monastery is seen by the people of Romania as cursed and is almost completely abandoned. When the local delivery boy, Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet), discovers the body of a nun hanging in front of the monastery, the church quickly gets involved. The Vatican sends veteran exorcist Father Burke (Demián Bichir) and young novitiate Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) to investigate the site and decide whether it is still a holy ground.
“The Nun” would have made a fantastic fifteen-minute haunted house experience. It is packed with visuals that will be sure to make your skin crawl, however, the directors didn’t seem to know how to make a very coherent story out of the images.
Poor direction from Corin Hardy makes moments in the film that should be terrifying laughable. The film is very reliant on jump scares, a cheap tactic that leaves the viewer wishing for something more than a momentary surprise.
One of the few saving graces of “The Nun” was its cinematography by Maxime Alexandre. Shots constantly looked impressive, accentuating the unsettling beauty of the haunted abbey. This was highlighted by stellar visuals, makeup and effects that always kept up the creepy atmosphere of the film.
The main cast of this movie is all over the place talent wise. Demián Bichir’s performance was ridiculous and less than desirable. I could almost never take him seriously. Jonas Bloquet was mediocre, giving a fine but forgettable performance as the comedic relief. Taissa Farmiga was one of the best acts in the film, giving a wonderful performance as a young nun with odd connections to the demons of the Cârța Monastery. Bonnie Aarons also gives a noteworthy performance as the titular nun.
The film, as is common with many other horror movies, is full of “Why did that happen?” and “Why would they do that?” moments that left me constantly being pulled out of the movie. The generic score by Abel Korzeniowski didn’t help either; Gregorian chanting can only get you so far.
“The Nun”was exactly what I expected it to be: a mediocre horror movie that provided a few laughs and gave very little real scares. If that is your cup of tea, I think you’ll enjoy “The Nun” quite a bit. If you’re actually in search of a good horror film, you won’t be finding much substance here.
1.5/5 Stars
