Directed by Corin Hardy (The Hallow) from a script by series regulars Gary Dauberman and James Wan, The Nun is the latest chapter in The Conjuring franchise that acts as both a prequel to all of the previous films, as well as a spin-off to The Conjuring 2 in particular. Set in an old abbey in the Carpathian mountains, the film follows Father Burke (Demián Bichir) and young nun sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) as they investigate the mysterious suicide of a nun, leading them to uncover the abbeys dark secrets. With names like Corin Hardy and Taissa Farmiga attached, as well as how terrified audiences were by The Nun herself in The Conjuring 2, this prequel/spin-off seemed fairly promising. Unfortunately however, The Nun never fully realises this promise.
The film opens with a creepy sequence in which a young nun is pursued down a dark hallway by the demonic silhouette of Valak (Bonnie Aarons), the titular nun. As Valak advances down the gloomy hallway, lights flicker out as she passes and this ominous vocal score plays out, making for a really eerie and memorable opening scene. Unfortunately this is the films high point, and what follows are a series of sporadic scares spread out across a fairly dull film. While it does show moments of promise, The Nun never really expands on these, and we're left with a rather lackluster entry into The Conjuring universe.
The film is built on this formula that consists of long periods of chatting and exposition, interspersed with ominous jumpscares that gradually just become predictable. Almost every jumpscare involves either a nun or some sort of nun-shaped object, making for a series of repetitive events that rarely manage to do anything particularly scary. The original Conjuring and its sequel became so successful due to the ways in which James Wan orchestrated each scare to catch the audience off guard, but The Nun never even feels like its trying to surprise you. What's probably the best jumpscare in the film is the one we seen in the trailer!
As for the cast, I felt Taissa Farmiga wasn't given much to work with in her role as sister Irene. In the beginning it seems as though she will have an interesting arc about questioning her faith and whatnot, but ultimately none of this ever really plays out. Demián Bichir is given a bit more to work with and does a fine job, Father Burke has at least some sort of backstory that allows us to empathise with him. Belgian actor Jonas Bloquet takes on the role of Frenchie, the films comic relief who mostly succeeds in doing just that. As for Valak herself, the titular nun, she's surprisingly underutilised. When she is onscreen, Bonnie Aarons has this really eerie presence once again, but the problem is that she barely gets any screentime! You'd think since it's technically her film that we'd get plenty of nun action, but unfortunately her role feels even more underplayed than in The Conjuring 2.
For all its shortcomings however, I will say that The Nun is one bloody stylish film. Hardy and cinematographer Maxime Alexandre make excellent use of Corvin castles gothic features, as well as the breathtaking sets that look as though they could have featured in an old Hammer film. Gloomy crypts, gothic towers, and tons of Catholic imagery, from a visual standpoint The Nun excels. There are times when the film feels like it's leaning into this gothic B-movie territory, with ghoulish zombies and demonic apparitions appearing, and these moments are where The Nun is at its strongest. Unfortunately they occur only every so often and the film never fully takes hold of their potential. Hardy is definitely a talented filmmaker with a unique vision, but here it feels like he is somewhat held back or restrained, which is a damn shame if that is the case. If one thing is certain though, it's that I'd love to see him tackle another gothic horror film from his own script.
Overall, The Nun never really manages to conjure up the scares that some of its predecessors did, and unfortunately has not much to fall back on either. The jumpscares are predictable, the plot isn't that engaging, and while there are some points where you feel that it does work, they are sporadic, and the film in general just ends up feeling inconsistent. Still, the cast work well enough with what they have, and from a visual standpoint I think this might be the best-looking film in the franchise, showing great promise for director Corin Hardy. While it's one of the weaker entries into The Conjuring universe, thankfully it's nowhere near as awful as the first Annabelle film.
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