The Nun

As September often is, the theaters are sparse with many worthwhile films for weeks on end. 

Kids are back in school, the final remnants of summer blockbusters are over, and the general public will start caring about movies again come the holidays when there's a mix of big films and Oscar films headed their way. 

This weekend it was slim pickings with The Nun and Peppermint (which I couldn't even find showings for...). Interested to see if The Conjuring universe could continue its unlikely formation of mostly good films, off to see The Nun I was! And it was even one of the chosen films to see with MoviePass this weekend! Lucky me! /sarcasm

For some background, Valak aka "the nun", was a terrifying foe in The Conjuring 2 which in itself is a very good horror film. A scene in the film that takes place with a painting of the nun is still one of the most terrifying (and clever) horror scenes I've ever witnessed. It's one that vividly stays with you long after you see it and was "fun" in how stressful it was in the moment. 

Given my weakness to terrifying nuns with glowing eyes I figured that I might be especially susceptible with The Nun, driving some of my personal curiosity in it. The first trailers were scary enough too. 

The Nun is truly one of the more forgettable horror movies I've seen, though I admit my horror expertise is still minimal. Specifics will come throughout the post, but for featuring such a terrifying villain it plays out rather tamely and feels a lot longer than it actually is. 

Where have I seen this before...hmmm...

Where are you Van Helsing?

The film starts off well enough with an intriguing setup and location change to Romania. We meet Irene, about to become a nun, and eventually -- more like somehow because it's not explained all that well -- her and a priest from the Vatican end up at an old convent. I was surprised that the setting was actually the early 1950s mainly because I had assumed it would be set much, much earlier, but it made it slightly more intriguing to start off. Once they reach the convent it's your typical haunted house proceedings, none of which are done all that effectively. There are a handful of cheap jump scares, which I'll get to in a second, but everything else seems awfully uninspired and mundane. Even our key villain, Valak, looks less terrifying in this film with the truly chill-inducing moments coming from early scenes picked from Conjuring 2.

Part of this is tied to the lack of technical skill behind the camera as The Nun looks and feels much more B-grade than the original Conjuring films. Part of that is because Wan directed those, yes, but it still stands out. The other really annoying aspect, and where I truly began to detest The Nun, is with its insane overuse of a particular horror trick. You know? The one where the camera pans, you see a scary shape or thing behind a person, the camera pans again, comes back to the same frame, and scary thing is gone? The Nun does that, right hand to Jesus (pun somewhat intended), no fewer than 10 times. Probably more. In general the only way it aims for scares is to pan the camera a bunch and use frame manipulation to try and get the cheap jump scare. It got old really quickly and frustratingly lazy even sooner after that. 

Our key characters and the setting fare a little better among all the mediocrity. The sets feel comparably unique given the time period and location. Despite not being captured all that skillfully on camera, it's still eerie to see a bunch of upside down crosses hanging in a dark hallway or a tall stone tower of a castle. Taissa Farmiga, sister of Vera (and not to be confused as a young Lorraine, the main character of The Conjuring, which I totally did until someone told me I was wrong), is just as skilled as her sister and plays the role of terrified, but strong woman well. She gets a kind of cool/kind of corny final fight with Valak during the climax of the film and seems to be an endearing character. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing more of her in future Conjuring films. 

"That Windex spray is a load of s**t!"

The Nun is a small disappointment from my original expectations because it drops the ball with an awesome antagonist and doesn't do much to add quality to the Conjuring universe. Many claim that it's the only "successful" universe outside of the MCU -- which I think is up for debate, especially after this film (depending how it does commercially). The repetitiveness of the tricks is shocking in how blatant it is and you soon find yourself growing frustrated with The Nun, more than just not enjoying it.

CONS

• Not a very well made film overall. Certainly a lot of elements cant hold a candle to The Conjuring films
• Insane overuse of camera panning for scares
• Valak somehow looks less scary
• Feels longer than it actually is
• Forgettable and very average

PROS

• The setting and time period lend to some unique backdrops and environments
• Has a few scary moments and Valak still creeps me the hell out
• Solid cast, especially sister Farmiga (hey, a nun pun!)

    Rath's Review Score | 4.5/10