Title – The Nun (2018)

Director – Corin Hardy (The Hallow)

Cast – Demian Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Bonnie Aarons

Plot – After a nun meets a grisly end, Father Burke (Bichir) and Sister Irene (Farmiga) head to Romania to uncover the reasons as to why the nun’s covenant is dealing with some unholy matters.

“I’m afraid there is something very wrong with this place”

Review by Eddie on 11/09/2018

There’s no point mincing words, the utter terribleness and blandness of The Nun legitimately surprised me.

Taking what was one of the most memorable and unnerving aspects of the great Conjuring 2 , in the form of demonic nun and in need of a dentist Valak, The Nun felt like a nice natural step forward for James Wan’s horror universe, but thanks to this effort, this universe feels placed in a precarious position outside of the Warren’s fight against evil, despite The Nun rounding up some resounding box office figures over the weekend of its initial release.

Making 2014’s Annabelle look like a cinematic horror masterpiece, The Hallow director Corin Hardy directs Valak’s story, that focuses on Demian Bichir’s Father Burke and Taissa Farmiga’s nun in waiting Sister Irene’s journey to Romania to investigate a convent that isn’t all the holy, without an ounce of imagination or creativity, making this 90 minute exercise an arduous and increasingly over blown outing.

Amounting to what seems like endless scenes of Father Burke and Sister Irene wondering around the (incredibly smoky and foggy) convent grounds chasing shadows, shaking off hands in the walls and staying far too long at an Airbnb that doesn’t allow for a normal night’s sleep, The Nun is an almost scare free exercise in how to turn a frightening character into a lame and tired supporting act.

In the cinema screening I attended on opening night, you could sense the dwindling interests of audience members, while unlike The Nun’s polished forefathers, the lack of screams or nervous laughter was a sight to behold.

So silly and unbelievable are many of The Nun’s set-ups that it’s impossible to feel any real sense of danger or unease, which is due to a number of glaringly obvious factors such as a lack of character engagement, frequently daft narrative movements and sign-posted scares that take away any potentially potent moments that The Nun may’ve provided it’s unfortunate paying audience members.

Come the film’s shockingly overblown and fright free finale, you know well and truly that The Nun is a product of not a lot of thought or care, an example of the worst of what modern day horror can offer when done wrong.

Final say –

Take away the connection to the Conjuring brand name and The Nun would’ve been a straight to home release low-budget nasty. Ruining the character of Valak and tarnishing the future of further Conjuring spin-off’s, The Nun is an unholy mess you’d do well to avoid.

1 vial of blood out of 5