LoginHave an appreciation for horror, remember really liking 'The Conjuring' films (though they need a re-watch) and liked the idea. The advertising also suggested a quite creepy film if done right. Seeing that 'The Nun' was not positively received, critically and by word of mouth, however lowered my expectations somewhat, being one of not many to have respect for critics opinions.
Seeing 'The Nun' with an open mind, with the intent of actually liking the film and going against the grain (as has actually been the case quite a number of times, though often do agree with general consensus), for me it was not as bad as many have said and it is not one of the worst of the year. It's not even among the worst of the horror genre. It was though a disappointment and managed to be worse than my lowered expectations, far from being one of the best of the year as well.
'The Nun' at least didn't insult my intelligence (on the most part), it is not that amateurish and didn't get the sense it was completely not trying, while thinking that it could have tried harder. From personal opinion, 'The Nun' does have similar problems as 'Slender Man', except it's a better film.
Found 'The Nun' to be a good-looking film, very spooky in setting and atmospheric in lighting. It's slickly photographed too and the effects not cheap. The music does have an unsettling ambience and doesn't sound cheap in how it's recorded or orchestrated.
It started off very well, the beginning was unnerving and did have dread and tension.
However, 'The Nun' did go downhill quickly too early and struggles to recover. One is told too much and far too soon, which completely diminishes the suspense and makes things very predictable. The direction is both leaden and disorganised and while the actors try gamely they have nothing to work with, with clunky dialogue galore and poorly developed clichés passing for characters that are both bland and annoying.
Dialogue throughout has no natural flow and reeks of cheese. The story is very poorly paced, mainly dull, and the back-story is far too ridiculous, clichéd and with bland atmosphere and nothing new to engage with it or take it at face value. It is not fun, with comic relief that is not funny, sometimes not tasteful and features too much. 'The Nun', like 'Slender Man', feels like a short film over-stretched to breaking point for a feature film, the content is just too little and the titular character is far too underused and is more so what than scary when revealed. 'The Nun' also fails at being scary or interesting, the too thin story and deadly dull pacing kills the tension, suspense and dread, making the atmosphere bland throughout, while there is too much of an over-reliance on jump-scares that are too random, senseless and obvious to be creepy.
On the whole, not terrible but disappoints. 4/10 Bethany Cox
The Nun Reviews
The less than creepy nun
Posted : 1 year, 4 months ago on 7 January 2023 04:17
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An average movie
Posted : 3 years, 10 months ago on 23 June 2020 10:09
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since I did like ‘The Conjuring’ franchise, I thought I might as well check this spin-off/prequel. Last week, I actually saw ‘Annabelle’, the first spin-off based on ‘The Conjuring’ and, to be honest, I had a really hard time to care about the damned thing. With this in mind, I seriously lowered my expectations with this flick, especially since it didn’t seem to have a stellar reputation. Well, eventually, I thought it was not so bad after all, at least, it was much better than ‘Annabelle’. In my opinion, what mostly worked with this flick was the fact it was from the beginning until the end really creepy. Indeed, this movie had a really nice mood and this nun was a solid bad guy. Furthermore, Father Burke and Sister Irene were both some charismatic characters but, to be honest, even if these 2 characters were interesting, they were actually barely developed at all. I thought it was also a little bit confusing that Sister Irene was played by Taissa Farmiga who is actually Vera Farmiga’s sister. Indeed, Vera Farmiga had played Lorraine Warren in ‘The Conjuring’ franchise and, since both characters had some visions as a kid in combination with the timeline, it seemed possible that Taissa was playing a younger version of Vera’s character but, obviously, these two characters were eventually not related whatsoever. A bigger issue was that, even though the story was at first pretty straightforward, unfortunately, it became increasingly messy. Seriously, towards the end, they were more and more scenes which barely made any sense. Anyway, to conclude, it is possible that my rating was actually generous here movie but it was actually fairly entertaining and I think it might be worth a look, at least, if you really like the genre.
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A watchable horror movie, despite its flaws
Posted : 4 years, 11 months ago on 4 June 2019 07:47
The latest addition to the vastly profitable Conjuring-Verse, 2018's The Nun represents another spinoff that further exploits an evil entity originally introduced in one of the franchise's main movies. Putting away the Annabelle doll for a change, The Nun flashes back to the early 1950s to reveal more about the demonic nun figure from 2016's The Conjuring 2, with long-time series screenwriter Gary Dauberman (Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation) endeavouring to write an entire feature film based on this anaemic concept. It's not the worst Conjuring spinoff to date (that dubious honour belongs to 2014's hastily assembled Annabelle), but The Nun underwhelms despite a generous budget and ample talent behind the camera. Although the film is occasionally effective, a threadbare story and an over-reliance on loud bangs handicaps it, though that is just scratching the surface of the problems therein.
In 1952 Romania, villager Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet) discovers the decomposing corpse of a nun hanging outside a remote abbey, the news of which promptly spreads to the Vatican. Concerned about the incident, and determined to learn why a pure soul committed the ultimate sin, Vatican officials send Father Burke (Demián Bichir) to Romania, pairing him with Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) who is preparing to take her vows and pledge a life of service to the church. Burke and Irene enlist Frenchie as their chaperone, travelling across remote terrain to the abbey in order to investigate the suicide, but the situation immediately appears even more ominous than originally assumed. Looking into the abbey's tragic history, Burke identifies a sinister threat in demonic entity Valak (Bonnie Aarons), who seeks to unleash pure evil on the outside world.
Whether the result of reshoots, rewrites or simply Dauberman's original script, The Nun lacks a proper, discernible, soundly conceived narrative, as there is not enough plot to guide the picture through a traditional three-act structure. Indeed, once the main characters arrive at the abbey at the 20-minute mark, the remainder of this spinoff amounts to a meandering collection of scenes involving characters wandering around dark, shadowy locations waiting for an inevitable jump scare. The Nun admittedly works to a certain extent during its first half, but the set-pieces grow repetitive and monotonous, with the limitations of this regrettably slim plot becoming more and more apparent. Although ostensibly an origin story, The Nun barely touches upon Valak's origins beyond an arbitrarily short (one-minute) tale told by one of the characters, though it leaves room for any sequels to bridge the gap between this story's conclusion and Valak's appearance in The Conjuring 2. Furthermore, dialogue is not a strong suit, as lines are often clichéd or obvious, from characters calling after apparitions in the dark ("Hello! Who's there?") to the announcement of "You will find the answers you seek."
Overseeing his second feature film, director Corin Hardy (2015's The Hallows) rarely delivers the type of horror capable of getting under your skin; for the most part, The Nun amounts to repetitive loud noises and jump scares, none of which will stay with you after the end credits expire. Worse, moments of obvious CGI sneak into the picture, which spoils its otherwise old-fashioned aesthetic bolstered by gorgeous Romanian locations and gothic production design. However, Hardy does deliver a few effective set-pieces, such as Frenchie encountering the evil in a darkened forest at night, or another extended night-time sequence involving a cemetery. Unfortunately, these bright spots exclusively occur in the movie's first half, after which the film grows more laboured and lazy. The Nun needed more subtlety and nuance, as opposed to things simply jumping out of the darkness.
In terms of casting, Bloquet's presence as Frenchie unquestionably cheapens the material, preventing The Nun from becoming a truly dark and sinister horror flick. Visibly written to appeal to the younger demographic, his antics are neither witty nor funny - he even has a groan-worthy catchphrase. On a more positive note, Taissa Farmiga (younger sister of The Conjuring star Vera) is credible and sympathetic as Sister Irene, while Bichir makes for a convincing Father Burke. Additionally, The Nun further benefits from Maxime Alexandre's exquisite, measured cinematography - composition and lighting is consistently eye-catching throughout, building a rich sense of atmosphere, while Abel Korzeniowski's original music is suitably intense. It's slick and nicely made, as to be expected from the reported $22 million budget, but there is little else to care about or latch onto aside from the impressive technical specs.
Frustratingly, The Nun actually hints at, and glosses over more interesting narratives. There is surely a worthwhile story to be told about the nuns who inhabited the abbey when Valak took over, while the tale about the abbey's medieval history would likewise be fertile ground for an entire feature. But with such a feeble and underdeveloped narrative in place, The Nun simply cannot sustain itself over its 90-minute runtime, though it does have its moments and it's not a complete bust. As a surface-level contemporary horror movie, it's still watchable for the most part, though your mileage will inevitably vary based on expectations (and viewing conditions, probably).
6.3/10
6.3/10
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