What started off as a story about real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, The Conjuring (2013) became a smash-hit at the box office and a franchise was born. The Amityville Horror was their most famous case, yet it turned out that there was way more to their works than most of us knew. Warner Bros. took this gift and ran with it, all the way to the bank. Now comes the time where greed and sight overreaching have come into play and the franchise is starting to become a bit watered down. The hope is that another spin-off, The Nun will have what it takes to resurrect things and get this terror train back on track.
After reports that a nun has taken her own life, the Vatican sends Father Burke (Demián Bichir) to investigate. He has also been tasked to bring Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), well she’s not actually a Sister yet, along to provide unique insight into this investigation. The circumstances around the deceased nun are more than just unsettling to say the least. As the investigation churns forward, the presence of supernatural forces becomes more and more evident. If the pair are to unlock the secrets of this cursed facility, they are going to need some divine intervention of their own.
As usual, I was hoping for a few more scary moments than what was offered. The Nun brings with it a few jump scares but nothing that would be considered truly terrifying. And that’s a shame given the creepy universe of The Conjuring in which it resides. The main antagonist donning the all too familiar religious attire in which we’ve come to recognize in previous movies about Ed and Lorraine Warren, finally gets to tell her origin story. The foundation is here and it is the hope that director Corin Hardy could build upon this great legacy. Hardy struggles slightly in his execution of the horror hopeful.
With four previously released connected movies, The Conjuring (2013), Annabelle (2014), The Conjuring 2 (2016) and Annabelle: Creation (2017), the franchise has zigzagged through a non-linear timeline while filling in the blanks along the way. The next piece of the puzzle has arrived with The Nun but it lacks some of the quality that made other chapters so compelling. The story of the cursed religious figure is out to strike fear in traditionalists.
For the most part The Nun makes for an interesting story, just not enough to sustain this rather short (96 minutes) chapter. There is entertainment to be had but it is also one of the weakest films in the franchise. It seems as though that franchises are doomed to make the same mistakes as the ones before it. Quit while you’re ahead. No matter what though, you’ll have to see it if you’re a fan of the franchise and genre.
