The Nun Treads on Tired Ground
Corin Hardy, director of the ho-hum The Hallow, brings us another safe and formulaic commercial horror with The Nun.
Part of the equally impotent Conjuring universe developed in part by James Wan, who co-wrote The Nun, the story supplies the origin story for the nun behind the painting in The Conjuring 2.
Admittedly, the scene with “Sister Scary” in the anemic Conjuring sequel was the only worthwhile element of the movie. However, with a great character to work from, Wan and co-writer Gary Dauberman, who bottomed out with the dull Annabelle spinoffs, peaked with the Itscreenplay.
Although The Nun fails to deliver in story and suspense – yes, even the trope-filled scares are predictable – Demián Bichir’s far removed from his role on television’s Weeds. As Father Burke he’s confident, and unlike usual Christian and possession fare, he’s not questioning his faith. At the request of the Vatican (without the underhanded politics this time), the priest teams up with nun-to-be Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), a progressive thinking Catholic for 1952, to find out why another nun had committed suicide in a remote region of Romania. To help them, Frenchy (Jonas Bloquet), a French-Canadian in the region, who comes off like a comedic hipster from an insurance commercial, lends what little knowledge he has of the convent.
One could easily make a drinking game of The Nun: If you see a horror trope, take a drink. The only problem? You’d die of alcohol poisoning before the second act begins. How many times must we see someone on the ground being dragged off at high speed into the dark, or have candles come alight on their own, or watch crucifixes become inverted, and on and on?
We’ve been here before.
And that’s why I sat bored and dozed off three-times – once during a jump scare.
What Works and What’s Next
Besides some solid acting, the special effects are engaging, save the matte shot of the convent at movie’s end. The great Maxime Alexandre once again brings us great cinematography as he had done with High Tension, The Crazies remake, and many more horrors. But none of this is enough to salvage a tired tale.
I’m sure a sequel is in the works where we learn how Sister Irene will grow up to become Vera Farmiga’s Lorraine Warren character. Unless there’s fresh blood writing, boredom from trope-based repetition will ensue once more.
A couple of years ago, writer/director James Wan said he was done with horror films and wants to engage with other genres. Since the beginning, he’s played it safe with all his horror movies, never really pushing the boundaries of fear and terror like he could have (though Dead Silence brings much as a twisted horror/fantasy, and is his best film to date). This may have been by design to show Hollywood that he could play their game and work within their self-censoring parameters.
With The Nun, Wan proves he’s good-to-go with presenting wearisome and disposable stories. In its current state, Hollywood should love him and have Wan helm their next rom-com.
1.5 out of 5 stars
The Plot Sickens: Check out Billy Crash’s review of a different kind of slasher: Last Girl Standing!
Billy Crash
Also known as William D. Prystauk, he loves great, in-depth characters and storytelling in horror, and likes to see heads roll, but if you kill a dog on screen he’ll cry like a baby. Billy co-hosts THE LAST KNOCK horror podcast on iTunes, and can also be found on Twitter, LinkedIn, IMDb, Amazon, Behance, YouTube, Instagram, and Google+.
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(The Nun image from MovieWeb.)