The Nun (2018)

Back in October, I watched The Conjuring movies for the first time and I loved everything about them which is why, despite James Wan not being the director and the negative reviews I read, I decided to check of the latest spin-off of the series, The Nun.

The story is set in 1952 Romania and follows Father Burke (Demián Bichir), a priest with a haunted past, and Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), a nun in her novitiate, as they investigate the death of a young nun (Charlotte Hope) who took her own life and confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun, Valak (Bonnie Aarons).

Saying that the plot to The Nun is basic would be a tremendous compliment as there barely is a plot and it feels as if the writers just threw stuff together. What could have been an interesting origin story of one of the iconic villains of The Conjuring series ends up being a sloppy, predictable, and boring story that goes absolutely nowhere for most of the film’s running time.

The characters are just as thin. Poor characterization and lack of development result in uninteresting, uncompelling characters you don’t care about. Not to mention that they barely contribute to the plot. It doesn’t matter how hard the cast tries —Vera Farmiga’s sister Taissa does a wonderful job as the novice nun and makes the character way more compelling that it is on paper—, they are bland and forgettable. Even Valak. Especially Valak.

Warner Bros. Pictures

The worst part though is that The Nun is a jump-scare feast. The film is filled with so many (predictable) jump scares that it feels like watching “scary” short horror videos on the internet and, after a while, it gets exhausting. I pretty much shit myself while watching The Conjuring; I died of boredom while watching this.

And it truly is a shame because the setting of the abbey really helps to create the haunting, creepy atmosphere the film needed to succeed. There’s a good use of lights and they really help set the mood. It does manage to build some suspense at the beginning and a few jump scares are effective but eventually the repetition of these scares, along with the pathetic, cringe attempts at humour, completely kills the atmosphere and tension.