The Nun: Review

‘The Nun’ is a gothic and ghastly tale that focuses on the origins of the demon nun Valak, first seen in ‘The Conjuring 2’ and is directed by Corin Hardy (‘The Hallow’) and written by James Wan (‘The Conjuring’, ‘Insidious’, ‘Saw’) and Gary Dauberman (‘Annabelle: Creation’). I have been a big fan of the ‘Conjuring’ franchise since it’s inception and I personally feel that aside from 2014’s ‘Annabelle’ that it has been an enthralling and enjoyable series!

In ‘The Nun’ we follow the journey of Father Burke (Demián Bichir), Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) as they investigate an abbey in Romania alongside Maurice “Frenchie” Theriault (Jonas Bloquet), a French-Canadian traveler who has since settled in a village near the supposedly cursed abbey. What follows is a dark and gothic story as our protagonists attempt to bring peace and holiness to this foreboding location.

The acting performances in ‘The Nun’ are very strong, particularly the performance of Taissa Farmiga (‘American Horror Story’) as she gives us a warm and vibrant character that we grow to care for greatly, which is always an important factor for myself in any film.  Jonas Bloquet (‘Elle’) also gives a very enjoyable performance as the charming and somewhat comical (but not to the detriment of the film) relief character of the film. Demián Bichir (‘Alien: Covenant’) also gives a decent and convicted performance as he gives his all to the story.

That’s where the downside of this film comes in however. The writing as a whole is rather uninspired as the characters do lack any sort of arc, a lot of situations come about as part of a scare and are then left unresolved. Also, Valak itself seems really inconsistent when it comes to who it harms or kills and how. The story as a whole is rather predictable, as the plot progressed, I found myself already knowing what was about to happen and then being proven right.
The setting of a dreary gothic abbey in easter Europe definitely isn’t anything new, however, I don’t feel that it necessarily needs to be something new. I don’t think there is anything wrong with using an old concept as long as it is done right, and the location and setting  work very well for this story as the location oozes character that is highly reminiscent of classic Hammer horror. This is not to say that the writing of the film as a whole is bad, I enjoyed the story of the film well enough, I would sooner describe it as unoriginal and in some places, uninspired, rather than bad.

The set design is something that deserves major props (pun fully intended) as this film looks fantastic, each set created for this film feels real and lived in with an immense amount of details paid to every nook and cranny! Similarly, the design of The Nun and other paranormal entities and locations that appear through out the film all look brilliant, bar one particular CGI looking shot that felt very out of place in comparison to the high quality effects present in the rest of the film. My one issue with this film in terms of the visuals is that when things get dark, in some scenes the lighting seems way too dark, while still appearing as though you are supposed to watch the events taking place as opposed to a scene that intentionally goes dark to leave the audience in fear alongside the protagonist. As a whole, the effects, set and prop designers for ‘The Nun’ deserve a great deal of praise!

Also the score and sound design for the most part are enjoyable, the only factor that really lets things down is the typical loud jump scare sound effects that are common place in blockbuster horror films these days.

But is ‘The Nun’ scary? The film contains a great deal of jump scares, however they are rarely if ever a false scare. Every time a jump scare takes place, the focus of said scare is something that we as the audience are supposed to be afraid of. If you are like me these scares are all well and good as long as they are paired with tension and a sense of dread which this films does great. There were many scenes that had me on the edge of my seat that were highly intense and moments that had me jumping where I sat and it felt totally earned, as a result of which I really enjoyed those moments, as opposed to feeling foolish for falling for an unearned scare. There was also a scene in the third act that chilled me to the bone and I absolutely loved the scenes in this film that hit that level of terror!

‘The Nun’ is not a by any means a perfect movie, the story itself is very unoriginal and the plot is rather paint by numbers but what saves it is a great set of performances, chilling imagery tied together by strong direction from a promising up and coming director. While it is nothing new or original, ‘The Nun’ was still a highly enjoyable film and a solid entry in the ‘Conjuring’ franchise. I may have went hard on the negatives in the review but thats only because they stood out against all of the strengths and potential the rest of the film had. If you enjoyed the other films in the series, I have no doubt you will enjoy this gothic nightmare too!

I’m going to give ‘The Nun’ 75%!

Have you seen ‘The Nun’ yet? If so what did you think about it? Let me know in the comments and lets talk about it! If you have read this whole review before ever looking in to anything about this movie then you can check out the trailer below!
Stay creepy and thanks for reading!