Director – Corin Hardy (The Hallow, Gangs of London)
Starring – Demian Bichir (Machete Kills, Alien: Covenant), Tiassa Farmiga (The Final Girls, American Horror Story), and Jonas Bloquet (Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Orphan)
Release Date – 2018
Rating – 3/5
I love it all when it comes to horror. Over the years I’ve found myself enjoying sub-genres I usually ignored while further diving deeper into the other sub-genres I love. I love big budget and no budget films but I love them for different reasons. No budget has more laughs and unique stories while big budget has more visually stunning scenes with more generic stories.
A few years back I went and watch The Conjuring in theaters and absolutely loved it. A yea or two later I had to watch the sequel as well. I love the films so when the spin off, Annabelle was announced I was excited. I missed the theatrical run but I was able to check it out on blu and was very disappointed in it. When The Nun was released I was skeptical about checking it out. I missed the theatrical run but when the physical releases hit store shelves I was able to get one for review. I’m glad I did.
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows a priest and a nun that hasn’t taken her vows yet who are tasked with visiting a missionary in Romania where a nun has killed herself. While investigating the missionary they learn that the old castle has a very dark passed and the nun didn’t kill herself but sacrificed herself to stop a much bigger evil from escaping. Now the priest and the nun must stop this evil force before it can take their souls.**Spoiler Alert**
I wasn’t expecting much from this one but I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it. The Warrens are what the original series so much fun but this one does a great job at bringing in new characters while capitalizing on the popularity of the demonic nun.
The acting in this one is not bad. I actually enjoyed it for the most part. I’ve watched a few seasons of American Horror Story and I’m not ashamed to admit that Tiassa Farmiga is my least favorite thing about that show. It seems like she struggles with showing emotions but that is not the case with this film. She does an outstanding job in her role. I really enjoyed Demian Bichir’s character. He was a strong lead and his character was great. It fit the film very well and he did an outstanding job bringing him to life. The supporting cast is solid as well. Some of the characters are more entertaining to watch than others but everyone serves their purpose in the story.
The story for this one was fun but did get messy as the film came to a close. We start with a dark segment before backing out to a more lighter tone that slowly built tension and suspense. These scenes are slower but worked very well to establish the characters and the setting. This was a fun ride but when the film entered the final act it became over stimulating with everything thrown at the viewer at once. It took away from the impact on some of the gags and actions. The writing needed to be a light tighter here.
Finally, this one does have some blood but this is not a bloody gore film that more horror fans want. There is some great practical effects and not so great visual effects. They don’t mesh well together to enhance the overall look but doesn’t take away from the film either. Overall, The Nun was not a bad experience. I actually enjoyed the film but there was several things I would have changed. This is a solid popcorn flick that fits well in The Conjuring universe.
