The best spin-off from the highly successful Conjuring franchise thus far, The Nun is a knowing, lovingly crafted bit of B-movie silliness that finally allows room for some levity and fun in a franchise that’s normally gloomy and resolutely serious. Blending some choice shocks and scares with a surprisingly pronounced and purposeful funny bone, The Nun is the kind of horror movie blast from the past that’s few and far between these days. It’s just scary enough to generate a few jolts, and it’s savvy enough to know that it’s all completely ridiculous.
The year is 1952, and seasoned priest Father Anthony Burke (Demián Bichir) has been contacted by The Vatican to investigate the apparent suicide of a nun at a remote abbey in Romania. Once known as a “miracle hunter” that the church trotted out to prove the existence of God in seemingly extreme or peculiar situations, The Vatican requests that he pair up with Sister Irene (Tassia Farmiga) for the journey, a young novitiate working as a school teacher in London. Sister Irene has been chosen because she possesses the gift of visions, and her skills might provide the key to figuring out if the Romanian abbey remains holy. Spoiler: it’s not, the locals all think the area is cursed, and it’s not long before the missionaries are targeted by an evil and deceitful presence that preys on their deepest fears.
In case you couldn’t figure it out, that presence that I speak of is a nun, but there are actually many spooky and potentially evil habit wearing ladies peppered throughout the latest from veteran music video director Corin Hardy (The Hallow) and screenwriter Gary Dauberman (the Annabelle spin-offs from the same franchise). Truth be told, I can’t actually explain – even after seeing The Nun – exactly how the main character operates or why anyone would be crazy enough to investigate such a form of pure evil in the first place. Dauberman’s screenplay is a mess from the start, but it’s keenly aware that none of this needs to add up perfectly for the film to work. Hardy and Dauberman have allowed plenty of room to have fun this time out, and the change of pace that The Nun represents for its branching franchise is a welcome respite from the straight-faced horrors of previous entries. There are some truly horrifying images that should shock and delight genre purists, but it’s all done with tongue firmly in cheek. The Nun wants to scare you, and it will at some points, but it also wants to remind you that everyone is here to have a good time. It starts off with a lot of energy, sustains its quick sense of pacing, and always gives the audience something to have fun with.
From the opening scenes that in ominous forests that seem to have been made with an army of smoke and fog machines that have been cranked to eleven, it’s clear that Hardy wants to make something that’s more akin to a Hammer movie throwback (with shades of Wes Craven and Sam Raimi for good measure) than The Conjuring 3. The dialogue from Dauberman has been tailored to match, boasting more than a fair share of subtle one liners, room for sight gags that aren’t meant to make viewers leap from their seats, and even makes room for a resourceful and much needed comic relief character: a French-Canadian local named Frenchie, played by Jonas Bloquet in a scene stealing turn that probably would have been played by Bruce Campbell if this film had been made in the 80s or early 90s. Sure, there are plenty of ominous crows, creaking doors, ghouls that pop from the pitch black shadows, and moments where everything will go quiet before a demon of some sort pops out to say hello as loudly as possible, but The Nun is made with the full knowledge that sometimes these kinds of movies are meant to be light, fun, and a little bit goofy, instead of always being high minded blockbusters.
Bichir, Farmiga, and Bloquet commit to their roles fully, even the silly bits, and it’s nice to see that all three are given surprisingly detailed and well rounded characters to work with. They, like everyone else involved behind the camera, seem to be having a good time. The performances are better than material pitched at this level normally gets, and they all seem to understand that tone here lies somewhere between modern horror and classic, gothic camp. They acclimate themselves well to the Hardy’s spookier set pieces, and are willing to make themselves look a little silly in the service of some tension breaking laughs. A mission to find a vial of Christ’s blood hidden within the Abbey manages to offer up not one, but two of the best comedic moments in any film this year, and thankfully both are obviously intentional.
It’s not high art or a reinvention of the genre in any way, but The Nun is a welcome respite from a recent spate of high minded horror movies that take themselves way too seriously. It’s a predictable film that doesn’t quite nail its sequel spawning ending all that well, but I’d vastly prefer something with a cheeky sense of humour about itself that’s been made by people who believe in their material than any number of sour and dour chillers. Even the jump scares and shocking images that don’t work as well as they probably should have are clearly crafted with great care and love for a specific form of genre filmmaking that has all but died out. The Nun will never be mistaken for a great film, but it’s certainly a fun pre-Halloween night at the movies.
The Nun opens in theatre everywhere on Friday, September 7, 2018.
Check out the trailer for The Nun:
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