The scariest part is realizing that you paid money to see this movie!
“The Nun,” the latest film in the Conjuring movie franchise, revolves around the mysterious events leading to several deaths in a Romanian Abbey. The film stars Vera Farmiga’s little sister, Taissa Farmiga, as Sister Irene (a nun in training) and Demian Bichir as Father Burke. The film is a prequel to the first two Conjuring movies, but it’s really a direct prequel to the events that occur in The Conjuring 2, as the main antagonist of that movie is the demon nun, Valak, from this movie.
To begin, there were several major aspects about this movie that I really liked! Farmiga and Bichir are not only exceptionally good in their roles, they also have a great onscreen chemistry together, so much so you will root for them to make it out of the abbey safely. The nun, Valak, was also pretty scary. Bonnie Aarons, the same actress who played Valak in “The Conjuring 2,” once again does a frighteningly good job portraying Valak, even if the character is one-dimensional. The special effects were also pretty intriguing. The Nun had a great mix of both practical and computer-generated effects that complimented each other. While I could tell at certain times which effects were computer generated, several shots left me contemplating whether or not the effects used were practical or not. The movie deserves so recognition on that aspect alone. Computer-generated effects have become some commonplace that it’s fun to see practical effects again.
Now, the many things that I did not like about this movie. With some exceptions, the majority of the scares in this movie are cheap and predictable jump scares, especially in comparison to the original previous Conjuring movies.
“The Nun” adds nothing new to both the Conjuring franchise and horror movies in general. Everything in this movie, you’ve seen in better, scarier movies, such as the first two Conjuring films, “Ouija 2,” and “Insidious.”
The Nun has some grotesque imagery, but there’s not enough focus on it to truly make the audience terrified of what they’re watching. Compare that to the best horror movie this year, “Hereditary,” which takes grotesque imagery, such as severed heads, bugs consuming flesh and dead animals. It forces the audience to look away or endure it, making them feel sick, disturbed and truly scared. Now, I’m not saying that “The Nun” needed to out do “Hereditary” to be a good movie (in fact, I believe the opposite) but since “The Nun” relies on too many jump scares to deliver “frights” and doesn’t focus at all on genuinely upsetting the audience, it almost becomes boring. It is certainly a completely forgettable film.
“The Nun” was not a good movie, but it was not excruciating; it is just a forgettable factory-made movie that audiences can afford to miss. I did not hate this movie, but I should once again restate that I did not like it. I will forget it by the end of the weekend but I will remember that I wasted roughly $11 on this ticket. It wasn’t even bad enough to enjoy making fun of, which is the true tragedy here. I didn’t hate this movie but it’s not a movie that I’ll ever remember or need to see again in my life. Your life will not be any better if you see this movie, and the only thing that will have changed is the fact that you spent around $11 for 96 minutes of average entertainment. “The Nun” is certainly a movie that you can miss for the rest of your life.