“The darkest chapter yet”. That is what this film is being advertised as, but is it? I went into The Nun not only looking to see if it was the darkest in The Conjuring universe, but also how it compared to the rest of the films. To be completely honest, I’m not the biggest fan of The Conjuring films, I liked Annabelle alright, and I think The Conjuring and its sequel are well made, but they didn’t blow me away. So I was really hoping that this film would affect me in a way that the previous installments didn’t.
We open with a very chilling sequence between two nuns and a seemingly evil force at an abbey in Romania. From there we are introduced to a priest and a nun who both are sent to this Romanian abbey by the Vatican. Their purpose is to look into a nun suicide. As they enter the abbey and begin to investigate things get freaky.
The opening to this film is really great. It’s bone chilling and sets the perfect mood. I think it’s one of the best horror openings I’ve seen and the momentum continues full steam ahead throughout the rest of the film. You feel that wonderfully creepy feeling you’re supposed to feel the whole way through, which makes for a really fun experience.
Sound and visuals are both utilized well here. Both are extremely important for any horror film to get right. The visuals are old school creepy, with the old abbey and the lanterns. It’s a setting that really works for this kind of film and helps to build up that feeling of isolation and dread. There’s two things that they got right with sound. One is voices, there’s one character in particular who’s voice is an unsettling level of creepy. (There’s a reason for it, of course, but that’s a spoiler I won’t give away.) The other is atmospheric sounds, which helped contribute to the overall feel.
As far as acting goes, I liked everyone for the most part. Taissa Farmiga did well with the lead role; she didn’t wow me, but nonetheless I enjoyed her. Jonas Bloquet is a good fit for his character and was a very pleasant part of the film. I just really enjoyed his character and found him endearing, in a way. And the other actors do well too, it’s just that Farmiga and Bloquet were the most memorable in my opinion.
To be honest, the only negative about The Nun is that a handful of the scares are the typical jump scares that are obvious and you can see coming. But that’s in every horror film, so it’s not that big of a downside.
I think The Nun is the strongest entry in the series to date. It boasts an interesting story, intense scares, overall good acting, and great use of atmosphere. Others may disagree, but I was impacted the most by this one and I enjoyed it more than the other installments. It’s a very smart horror film because of the tense way in which it does things. It had me looking away several times, not because something was gross or graphic, but because of the tension. Anxiety and tension are two things a film like this must build, and this one does that well. It’s for sure one that I recommend, and I think anyone who enjoys this genre will have a really good time with it.
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