The Nun (2018)

Warning: Some mild spoilers are contained within this review. Thank you, and enjoy.

'The Conjuring' back in 2013 was a breath of fresh air for horror fans. After a decade of found footage films and torture porn, it was nice to go back to basics without resorting to cheap gags and jump scares. 2018's follow-up film 'The Nun' is sadly none of those things but rather just feels like a film the studio needed to churn out quick to keep their 'Conjuring Universe' alive. The film's story is yet another prequel, this time set in 1952 where a priest and a nun are sent to a mysterious Abbey in Romania after a supposed suicide of one of their residents. Once there, they find that an evil presence has trapped them and is looking for a human host to escape. 

The biggest issue with 'The Nun' is that it has to be connected deeply with the 'Conjuring' and 'Annabelle' films, to the point that the screenwriters and filmmakers have no creative freedom as the story and its ideas are already carved in stone. This is a problem that plagues many prequel films, but last year's 'Annabelle: Creation' proved that if done well and by a good director you can get a great final product. Here we simply have a jump scare fest that takes far too long to get going and by the film's climax, you simply don't care anymore. The film's continuity with the others in the series cause giant holes in the film, such as the priest being unable to use the Nun's true name to fight her, or explaining how one of the nun's from 'Annabelle: Creation' managed to escape while the rest did not. None of these are ever answered along with a lot of other plot holes.

What I did like was Taissa Farmiga as the young nun in training, who like her older sister Vera is very likeable and I felt the most connected with her. The priest played by Demián Bichir also did well, but the material he's given to work with is extremely weak. His character basically boils down to a really cliche rip-off of Damien Karras from 'The Exorcist' and the film would probably play better had he had a better contribution to the overall story. Speaking of 'The Exorcist', this film just apes everything about that classic film without bringing anything new to the table. You get the violent twisting and contorting, you get animals attacking, you get objects thrown all about, and everything else in every other demon movie. 

While I won't say 'The Nun' was worse than 'Annabelle', it's a huge disappointment that strays far away from the high quality films that preceded it. It's a good example of showing that we maybe don't need a cinematic universe for every little thing nowadays. 'The Nun' shows all the cracks and they can only get bigger from here. I think it's time to give this series a rest and try out something new.

2/5