The Nun
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 Witness the worst movie chapter in The Conjuring Universe.
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The Nun is a 2018 American gothic supernatural horror film directed by Corin Hardy and written by Gary Dauberman from a story by Dauberman and James Wan. It is a spin-off of 2016's The Conjuring 2 and the fifth installment in The Conjuring Universe franchise. The Nun premiered at TCL Chinese Theatre on September 4, 2018, and was released in the United States on September 7, 2018, by Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema.
The film received a sequel on September 8, 2023, called The Nun II.
Bad Qualities
- The film is a massive and blatant jump-scarefest. All of the jump scares are planted everywhere and are overused to the point where the movie's not scary anymore.
- Besides that, the film isn't even scary, despite the dark atmosphere.
- The plot is poorly constructed. We are left with loads of filler in the 1st and 2nd acts, and finally, something happens in the third act. Up until that, the film was very boring, despite being 96 minutes long.
- Also, the film's tone is inconsistent. It goes from dark and dreadful to downright silly at times, despite the trailers, TV spots, and posters saying "The Darkest Chapter in The Conjuring Universe". Even CorderyFX says it is so dark that he couldn't see a goddamn thing when the trailer says.
- There is no reason to make this movie about Valak, even if she was in the post-credit scene from Annabelle: Creation. While she was the main antagonist and did get a fair amount of screen time in The Conjuring 2, she barely even did anything and was only there in the movie to set up this prequel, similar to Annabelle.
- Valak's character design is not good and makes her look like Marilyn Manson in drag.
- The film reveals everything way too early in the movie. Not only do you see Valak in the first five minutes and see her jumping every 10 minutes, but you also hear her screaming, attacking victims, etc. repeatedly throughout the movie.
- There is no tension whatsoever in this film, as it is all ruined by the cheap jump scares.
- It tries to introduce a comic relief character in the movie but fails miserably as the character takes away all of the tension in the movie.
- What's the deal with The Nun always screaming like an angry hyena whenever she appears on screen?
- Plot hole: It is highly improbable that Sister Irene, with such a slim and petite figure, could dig Father Burke out of the grave so easily as depicted in the movie.
- There are those who feel that the Covenant nuns are underused for being dead all along and that the movie would have been stronger with more people actively struggling against Valak at the end.
- They made an unskippable YouTube ad that showed up before videos to promote the film, tricking the viewer into believing that their volume was being turned down before a jump scare occurred. This could have caused hearing damage or a heart attack in elderly people or people with heart conditions if they fell for the audio trick and turned up the volume.
Good Qualities
- The performances are decent.
- The CGI is amazing and better than expected.
- The cinematography is dazzling, just like in other films from The Conjuring Universe.
- The setting is well done, though it isn't enough to cover the inconsistent tone.
- Good soundtrack composed by Abel Korzeniowski.
Reception
The Nun received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, audiences, and fans alike, who praised its performances and atmosphere but criticized its weak narrative, inconsistent logic, and overreliance on jump scares. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 24% based on 205 reviews and an average rating of 4.45/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Nun boasts strong performances, spooky atmospherics, and a couple of decent set pieces, but its sins include inconsistent logic and narrative slackness.". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale, the lowest of the series. Chris Stuckmann gave this movie a D+.
Box Office
The Nun grossed $117.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $248.1 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $365.6 million on a production budget of $22 million, becoming the franchise's highest-grossing film and a box office success despite receiving mixed to negative reviews.
Trivia
- In August 2018, there was a short, unskippable ad on YouTube for this movie that consisted of a volume pop-up going up and down before going mute, which is followed by a jump scare from Valak. Many users complained that the five-second clip featuring a startling jump scare was too scary and was allegedly giving many viewers gas. It was later banned from appearing as an advertisement for violating the platform's advertisement policy for "Shocking Content", and apologized, claiming that it was not their intention to publish content that may potentially "offend" or "shock" viewers or give them indigestion.
- Brad Johnson, the actor who portrayed the zombie in various K-fee commercials, mentioned The Nun ad in an interview with YouTuber Rhys Productions 11 (Wollstone Studios) when he was asked if he had a favorite jumpscare from a movie/piece of media. He mentioned that he saw a trailer for The Nun in the cinema, which scared him and caused him to throw his popcorn.
- The events take place before Annabelle: Creation (2017), making it the first movie (chronologically) in the film series. Although the opening scenes of Annabelle: Creation take place before The Nun, the rest occur afterward.
- After the "Demon Nun" from The Conjuring 2 (2016) proved to be a popular horror antagonist, a spin-off focusing on the character was green-lit, making her the second character to get her own feature after Annabelle (2014). The Crooked Man, from Conjuring 2, will be the third in The Crooked Man.
- This is the shortest movie in The Conjuring Universe, being 1 hour, and 33 minutes long.
- Despite the reviews, it spawned internet memes, such as the official poster for the film.