By: JWBM
When growing up, some people realize—either through word of mouth or experience—that there are places that come with certain vibes. There's a little bit of the good and bad in every place. Though some areas come with more of a tip to that balance. In the world of "The Nun," unholy forces seem to utterly dominate an abbey deep in the wilderness of Romania. It's the kind of domain where crosses and holy scriptures are strewn about, but it might not be enough for this kind of festering evil.
The Vatican sends in two of their own—a priest with knowledge of exorcisms, and a nun-to-be with special visions—to investigate. They meet a feisty foreigner who drops them off by horse and carriage at the abbey and points them in the direction of a resent death there. From then on out, the trio must find some answers before the sinister forces gain the upper hand.
There are plenty of set ups for scares and attempts at atmosphere with "The Nun." This makes full use of its budget for some elaborate sets and locations, not to mention some effort was put into the grisly effects. Though one can't help but sense a formula going on here to the point that it feels more a tingling head rush than it does something more substantial to walk away with. The sets are drenched in fog, shadows, and more crosses than one can count. It's a play of your nerves with spirits so vile that they were able to corrupt even the holiest of the holy. Some devote catholic viewers might be on edge just for the sake of it. Though some devote horror freaks might have crossed arms that get tighter and tighter.
There are some genuine surprises and unique scenes sprinkled about, such as a neat set up with dormant nun-zombies with their faces covered and one of the characters must slowly walk by without disturbing them. It was like "The Exorcist III" stepped into a "Silent Hill" nightmare. Yet there are plenty of others that rinse and repeat. Such as constantly having the characters walk into similar scenarios of the did-I-see-that-did-I-not variety. Till, yes, you did see and hear that. Stop repeatedly following spirits into traps! The comic relief with the foreigner made this go from potentially against the grain with an evil nun angle, to dulling its edge by making an obvious attempt at being a well-rounded film to sell tickets.
The character motivations and backgrounds—villains, good guys, the lot—feel quickly thrown together. It's to the point that if one were unaware of the later films—"The Conjuring" series—you could easily replace the characters with anyone else with official looking clothes to fill their shoes. It's the difference of making this world feel real and with a driving point, or..."Hey, what time is it? I've got things to do tomorrow."
There's little tension of why they should stay and torture themselves despite there being an obvious evil manifestation that's well over their heads. Yeah, there's the truth, sure, but not at a convincing cost that the story lays out. Eventually, there's the whole good must triumph and oh-crap-we're-finally-trapped reasoning, but with everything leading up to it, it felt more a forgetful and formulaic amusement park ride than it did an all-around convincing or credible tale to get fully invested with.
Rating: 5/10
Director: Corin Hardy (The Hallow)
Actors: Taissa Farmiga, Demian Bichir, Jonas Bloquet
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: YouTube trailer
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