"The Nun" Movie Review

    I really enjoyed "The Conjuring" when I finally got around to seeing it.  Regardless if you believe in what Ed and Lorraine Warren were investigating and how accurate their stories are, the film was based on real people and their experiences.  So, considering how successful "The Conjuring" has been on building it's cinematic universe with the "Annabelle" films, I was intrigued to learn that the franchise was expanding yet again with the release of "The Nun" based on the character who appeared in "The Conjuring 2".

    One important thing to note right out of the gate is that this film is based on an original story and is in no way based on actual events.  This is something that takes a little of the fright away from me.  I prefer horror movies which at least might be based on actual events.  It makes the horror elements seem that much more real.  Still, a movie can certainly be enjoyable and scary even if it is completely make believe.

    The film begins and ends with bookmarks which connect it to the original Conjuring film.  I thought that was cleaver and an easy way to remind the audience what universe the film is set in.  The film has a fairly simple story in which a demonic entity torments a church in Romania.  I enjoyed the fact that they actually filmed much of the film in Romania which gave it an organic and realistic feel.  (Plus being a fourth Romanian, it brought me joy to see most of the film was actually shot there.)

    The cast was decent and did their jobs but there were no real standouts to me.  It is interesting to note that the lead character of Sister Irene was played by Taissa Farmiga, real life sister of Vera Fermiga who played Lorraine Warren in "The Conjuring" films.  I guess it's good to have family connections!  Although to be fair to the actors, you could hardly see them throughout most of the film.  The cinematography and lighting was so dark at times that it looked like the projectionist left the lid on the projector.  I get that it was a dark church but it is hard to be scared when you literally can't see what is coming.  The darkness did, at times, help lend itself to it's spooky environment.

    The film relied a lot on jump scares in it's final act which I thought worked well for this film.  I know some critics disliked them, but I thought they were used effectively and sparingly enough throughout the film.
    I want to lastly point out how this movie succeeds in creating an expanding Conjuring universe.  Producer James Wan has really done a fantastic job where many other studios have failed.  While the likes of powerful name brands like Star Wars and DC are still struggling to find their footing (although I wouldn’t count either franchise out yet) and Universal’s Dark Universe has been dead on arrival (not once, but twice), the Conjuring universe just keeps going strong.  Wan was also instrumental in turning the Fast and Furious franchise into the monster franchise it has become and will soon be attempting to help turn DC around with his next film, “Aquaman”.
    Over all I thought this movie succeeded more in creating a spooky environment with some fun scares than in telling an original or complex story.  Audiences certainly will get entertained by the film but the film doesn’t have any qualities that stick with you.

Grade: C+