THE NUN: Silly Jump-Scare “Nun-sense”

Your reaction to Corin Hardy’s The Nun will depend on how you set your expectations to the Conjuring Universe, because this is quite the polarized series. On one end, James Wan gave us two of the most memorable horror films this decade by modernizing the traditional haunted house storyline. On the other end, the 2014 spin-off Annabelle was so dull, it felt like my soul was leaking out of my mouth – I could not wait for that movie to end.

So when it comes to watching a second spin-off, I just wanted The Nun to be better than Annabelle. On that front, I did get what I wanted. But I still have a sacred duty to report that objectively, The Nun is not a good horror film. But I must confess. The film was so silly and committed to its own premise that I would be lying if I said I didn’t have any fun.

Admirable Production Design and Dedicated Performances

The film’s advantage is its simple plot. A priest (Demián Bichir) and a novitiate (Taissa Farmiga) in 1952 travel together to Romania to investigate an abbey, only to learn that it is the birthplace of an ancient evil – the titular nun Valak. As you can guess, most of the film takes place in the abbey, which gives a strong visual contrast to the rest of the films in the Conjuring Universe.

Unlike a typical family house that slowly deteriorates in condition, the abbey is full of rooms and hallways that look like they belong in a Bram Stoker novel. Hardy tries to make the most out of the film’s location, and for the most part, the production value is quite high. With a budget that’s nearly twice the amount for Annabelle, The Nun looks like a film with admirable art direction and set design. Just don’t watch it on a CRT television, because you’re going to see your own reflection 80% of the time, praying that Valak isn’t standing behind you.

Another factor that shows potential in the film is its dedicated cast. Bichir turns up a solid performance, but the stage is largely owned by Farmiga, who exhibits an on-screen performance that will eventually rival her real-life sister Vera Farmiga, lead actress of the two Conjuring films. Though Gary Dauberman’s script doesn’t give enough time or backstory for the audience to care about Farmiga’s character, she sells the protagonist role on screen.

The odd one out in the cast is Jonas Bloquet as Frenchie, a sidekick character whose comic-relief existence confuses the tone of the film. Imagine Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson’s side characters in the Insidious films and that’s pretty much who Frenchie is – the guy who makes us laugh a bit, and you’re not sure if you should be laughing because the rest of the movie is trying to be so grim.

Audio Fade-out, Loud Jumpscare, Rinse and Repeat

Despite the adequate location and potentially interesting atmosphere, The Nun settles for loud jump scares instead of taking its time to build true suspense and dread. On the positive side, none of the jump scares are false. On the contrary, almost every single jump scare could be predicted simply because the audio fades out right before it lands. Why else would the sound of crickets chirping suddenly go away? Why else would the ominous music suddenly fade out?

With only a couple jumps involving dead nuns that actually worked, the majority of The Nun is a darkly lit ordeal in which the audience squints through a lot of menacing music and then occasionally gets startled by a loud sound. There’s also a handful of classic horror clichés like when characters investigate a mysterious sound when they really don’t have to, characters get separated, and characters reach for an object in the slowest way possible.

Unfortunately, the script does not have an intriguing story or meaningful characters to keep the viewer invested. It’s missing the clever camera tricks in Annabelle: Creation and the emotional heft of the Conjuring films. Even the final explanation of exactly what is going on and how to stop the evil is explained so quickly, nothing feels grounded or believable. If you think too long on the logic behind a specific haunting, things don’t really add up.

The Nun: Bland Disappointment or Harmless Entertaining Schlock?

It’s not until the last twenty minutes where The Nun finally embraces the loud, almost action-packed finale that made Wan’s Conjuring films so much fun. Surprisingly, elements that didn’t work in the first half start to work here. Suddenly, I’m laughing at Frenchie’s bad joke. Suddenly, I’m having fun at the idea of someone using a shotgun to blow dead nuns to pieces. It is the film’s climax where I realized that had The Nun been cheesier, I would’ve really liked it.

At the end of the day, The Nun does not offer any new insight on the origins of Valak, nor does it offer that much filmmaking flair in the horror genre. To some viewers, it will undoubtedly be a bland disappointment. That being said, I have seen way too many terrible horror movies to call The Nun a terrible movie. The pacing is quite fast, so the film is never boring. Farmiga kept my interest from start to finish. Valak is fundamentally creepy because… nuns are fundamentally creepy. The climax is pretty entertaining, and the ending connects some dots back to the Conjuring franchise that makes sense.

In the end, The Nun is one silly “nun-sensical” roller coaster ride of jump scares. It can be annoying, but it’s also harmless schlock, so I might as well find some entertainment in it.

Did you see The Nun? What did you think of it? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

The Nun was released in the US and UK on September 7, 2018. For all international release dates, see here.