THE NUN (15) REVIEW

The latest instalment in the ever-expanding Conjuring Universe sees a spin off of the figure last seen in THE CONJURING 2. In this case THE NUN follows a priest and a nun as they investigate the suicide of a fellow nun at a Romanian convent which has been shrouded in mystery with many of the locals, including, the horses afraid to go anywhere close. THE NUN stars Taissa Farmiga (sister of Vera), Demian Bechir and Jonas Bloquet. THE NUN is directed by Corin Hardy whose most recent directorial feature was 2015’s THE HALLOW.

                               

                                          

                                                                Keeping it in the Farmiga family 

                       

The marketing for THE NUN has been most unusual with only the one, short at 90 seconds trailer released. James Wan, who started this entire franchise and has produced every entry so far, even went on record as to say this was deliberate with the intention of hiding the plot in secrecy. On reflection this was a smart move to have. The problem with many films recently, and especially horror is the over marketing. Nobody wants to go see a horror movie knowing where all the scares are coming, more or less. The lack of marketing helped the experience of watching the movie and seeing the story unravel much more effective.

Whilst an integral part of The Conjuring universe THE NUN manages to stand alone in large part due to its tone. It manages to nail the gothic horror vibes rather well further highlighting the impact that the likes of Mary Shelley continue to have on the horror genre. From the opening frames in the abbey you get the sense that there is a particular reason for the setting of THE NUN in Romania. It is easy to set a tone but to maintain it throughout and not fall into any inconsistencies is another matter entirely. In this aspect THE NUN rises to the top. The atmospheric periodic tone keeps the movie alive even when it falters. The majority of the feature save for a few minutes throughout the movie takes place in a convent and Corin Hardy manages to portray the feeling of entrapment one would have if they were being chased by a demon throughout a convent. The entire plot taking place in a convent does have its own drawbacks though as the lighting becomes awkward at times. Of course, this is not necessarily the filmmakers fault, and it might even have been intentional but it did not quite work for me often becoming distracting.

Whenever one is heading into a horror movie we should expect some scares, without scares it fails to be a horror movie. In this regard, THE NUN is a mixed bag. Some of the scares are well earnt and genuinely catch you off guard. However, others are expected, and you are just waiting for them to pop up onscreen. On more than one occasion the scares were laughable, which is perhaps the worst thing to occur in a horror movie. At no point during the feature should the audience ever be laughing. Fortunately for THE NUN these moments are scarce though they do exist on an occasion or two.

        

                                               

                                                                       Not one for the feint hearted

Much like the scares within the film the script itself is a mixed bag. One of the strengths of the main Conjuring series was the strong scripts. Many see 2013’s THE CONJURING as one of the best mainstream horrors of the 21^st century and all of that starts with a strong script to build the movie upon. Written by Gary Dauberman who is best known for writing IT and the two Annabelle features, writes THE NUN. The biggest weakness with this script in particular is it feels rushed which it should not because production of the movie was not, THE CONJURING 2 was released over 2 years ago now. Some of the dialogue feels clunky and written by a first timer with a bit too much exposition. Furthermore, plot holes exist, in large part with the setting up of the plot in the first act. Both Sister Irene (Farmiga) and Father Burke (Bichir) are sent to Romania not knowing why. This would not be an issue if the movie had resolved these questions, but it is left open ended. It may sound as though the script is awful however this is not the case and there are a couple of redeeming factors. THE NUN is its own story but, much like the MCU, it connects to the overarching Conjuring world rather neatly by the end. A major strength of the spinoffs has been the way in which they connect back to the main series whilst being their own story and the producers and filmmakers deserve a large potion of credit for this. Furthermore, a sense of mystery is maintained though I think this is apportioned to secretive marketing in addition to the gothic tone which created a tense atmosphere throughout the film.

One of the distinguishing aspects of a horror feature is the score whether it be subtle or bombastic. THE NUN has a subtle nature to it until the final 15 minutes when it turns bombastic. Now this may feel normal as it’s the grand finale where they face their demons, or so to speak. But for me THE NUN was simply trying too hard in its score to be Carpenter-esque or something from THE EXORCIST. It does not necessarily bring the overall quality of the film down but the score in the final act did stick out to me like a sore thumb.

THE NUN is by no means spectacular, but it remains a solid addition to the expanding Conjuring franchise which has become a rather valued one both critically and financially. Not as good as the main Conjuring spinoff but of a much higher quality than ANNABELLE.

Score: 3/5.