Movie Review: ‘The Nun’ Blu-ray

Review by Lauryn Angel

The demon nun Valak was definitely the standout character from 2016’s The Conjuring 2. For me, the scene with Lorraine Warren and the painting in Ed’s office was the creepiest scene from the film. It’s no mystery, then, why The Nun gets her own film. And while the film is better than 2014’s Annabelle, The Nun relies too much on jump scares and not enough on plot to be memorable.

The film is largely set in Romania in 1952 and actually filmed in Bucharest, Romania. The scenery is beautiful and appropriately creepy. When a nun at the abbey of St. Carta commits suicide, the Vatican sends Father Burke (Demian Bichir) and a young novitiate (Taissa Farmiga) to investigate the circumstances. They are joined by the man who found the young nun’s body, Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet), whose presence in the film seems to be largely to provide comic relief. It quickly becomes clear to the group that there is a sinister presence in the abbey, which they must fight to contain before it spreads to the village and beyond.

The first issue I have with the film is the so-called comic relief. Most of the jokes are one-liners that just fall flat or seem ill-timed. The bigger problem, however, is that the story is disjointed and the episodes don’t really connect. Visually, the film is interesting and sets a creepy aesthetic that seems perfect for mystery, but aside from a few jump scares, there’s very little to fear here. Even the titular Nun (played chillingly well by Bonnie Aarons) is mostly seen as a shadowy shape in the background or flitting across a corridor. A good horror film builds tension and should have at least one scene (preferably more) that raises the hair on the back of your neck or makes you squirm in discomfort or disgust. Sadly, there’s none of that here.

It’s a shame, really, because Farmiga and Bichir make the most of what they’re given to work with. I’ve always enjoyed Farmiga’s turns on American Horror Story, and her turn as Sister Irene gives the film what little sense of anxiety and urgency it has.

The Nun has a little twist that fits it neatly into the world of The Conjuring, so fans of the franchise will likely want to see it. And with the Halloween season approaching, it’s likely to satisfy viewers who like jump scares, but ultimately, the film just serves to keep the franchise fresh in our minds while relieving our pockets of cash.