The Nun (2018) Poster

(2018)

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5/10
Did they come up with the character, before the story?
anders-n-aa-larsson21 January 2020
It seems like, in The Conjuring 2, the writers just thought: "a monster in a nun costume - that seems really cool!" Then, when they try to build a story around it, they can't get the square peg to fit in the round hole. It's a nun monastery in Romania. And a demon called Valak. But why is he running around in a nun costume? That story doesn't get developed enough. A good ghost story always have a mystique and history, but this movie doesn't deliver in that aspect. Instead they seem just to rely on jump scares and cheap thrills.
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6/10
Not what you want it to be
robinalers6 September 2018
Let's begin with saying that the movie is definitely still worth the time to see. As there are a few moments where The Nun is portrayed in such a way that you do feel how great and powerful it is, and the music during these scenes (trust me, you will recognise them when you see them) is incredible. You'll feel hopeless, just as the characters at that time, but unfortunately these moments are scarce.

As human being, we find darkness scary, we hate it because we cannot see properly and thus find ourselves in the unknown. This is what drives a good horror movie, it is why the first Paranormal Activity was such a success for example. The horror of things happening, but not knowing what it is or where it is. The Nun fails to deliver this horror of the unknown. As we, in almost all scenes, see what it is that should terrify us, in great and gory detail. And while I love a tip of the hat to a more old school type of horror (more gore and monstrous feelings), I do not like how The Nun delivers it.

The amount of times we see a close up of the face of the nun is insane, and takes away the fear that this character had left us in during the Conjuring movies. It was the lack of screentime and the darkness surrounding this character that made her so extremely scary and interesting in those movies. It reminded me of the Devil's face in the original Exorcist movie. We don't see it often, but when we see it it terrifies us, because we cannot quite tell all the characteristics of its face, and it is always surrounded by darkness. The Nun is blatantly obvious, and her screaming in the camera makes it feel more like you're watching The Mummy, than The Nun.

Then there's the writing, the addition of comic relief is a good idea, but the timing is always off and rarely funny. The storyline is a bit basic, a gateway to hell, again, a demon needs a body, again, our past haunts us, again; it delivers nothing we haven't seen already. And I don't mind that, but then at least deliver it with tenacity. The jump scares feel as though they know that the audience knows its coming, so they just try to come at you from a different position than you expect: e.g., camera does a full 360, we expect something to happen, it doesn't and then something drops from above.

No, the movie disappoints. The story is basic, the timing of humor is laughable and the excessive amount of screentime - for that which petrified us with hardly any in the Conjuring movies - makes the Nun into something we hoped it wouldn't be. And unfortunately the great scenery, actually horrifying scenes and amazing soundtrack just can't lift this movie beyond 'just another horror movie'.
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3/10
The Nun
gareth-robinson40712 September 2018
Was there a plot? Nun Were there any scares? Nun Any good acting? Nun Any reason to go see this movie? Nun
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7/10
What's with the 1 and 2 star ratings?
onexmillion24 November 2018
I've seen a few stinkers of horrors that certainly deserve 1 or 2 starts, but come on, The Nun deserves better than that. Sure it doesn't have the finesse of The Conjuring films, the plot is a little thin and the scares do rely quite heavily on the tried and tested loud jump scares, but:

It has great camera work Very good set pieces and great atmosphere Good acting Great effects And it does make you jump outta your seat

If you bear all of that in mind and are not expecting anything else, then you'll have a great time.
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3/10
Very VERY VERY cliche. Lots of jump scares. Dragging plot.
tonyjcole947 September 2018
This film is OBVIOUSLY missing the James Wan touch that we loved in the conjuring universe films. Even when Wan used jump scares , it worked bc the atmosphere was tense and creepy . In "The Nun" they're overly planted everywhere in the movie to make up for the fact that the director couldn't keep the audience captivated any other way.

The plot is basic to say the least, it's almost like they just threw it together in 5 minutes to make up a back story for The Nun. The film had so much potential to give the audience a interesting creepy back story to one of the conjuring's iconic villains. Instead we're saturated with filler for the 1st and 2nd act , and FINALLY get something going on the final act . Up until then it's nothing but jump scare city . So if that's up your alley for horror movies then you'll love this . I personally think the brief amount of time The Nun was in the Conjuring 2 was 100000x better than this full length film.

They also tried to go with this new trend of adding some comedy into a horror film and it's just badly placed and awkward . The acting is okay . Taissa Farmiga & Demien Bichir are the main characters and give pretty good performances.

Anyway, Overall this movie could've gone straight to DVD or Netflix . Don't think it deserved to hit the big screen if it wasn't going to be directed by Wan . There's some creepy/scary enjoyable moments but overall it's very cliche and downright boring at times. Watch when you're at home on a rainy day with nothing do. Don't waste ur money like i did
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6/10
Good Demonic/Religious Horror Film...
CoffinVideo198318 August 2019
Preface: I'm not the biggest fan of the Conjuring series as a whole.

Overall, The Nun was a pretty good movie. The film was shot wonderfully, locations were beautiful, color was perfect, and FX were spot on. That being said... for a demonic style horror film, I really prefer a little more background. With films out like Hereditary that are based in real, historically accurate lore, the bar has been set higher in that genre. The Nun's plot seemed rather thrown together to me.

On the plus side... Taissa Farmiga is an amazing actor and was brilliant. I almost give her full credit for me liking the film as much as I did. I really believe she is a staple to the horror genre. Bonnie Aarons is amazing as the Nun as well. I do wish they would use a little prosthetics on her to keep the nun from looking so much like her. After her role in these films I don't know if i'll ever be able to see her as anything but an evil, demonic nun. Overall... I give 6 out of 10.
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3/10
This movie sucked.
lewismusgrove8813 January 2019
I wanted to like The Nun but damn this movie was garbage. Sure it was shot nicely and the acting was fine, but good grief the story was dull as dish water. Full of cheap scares and a dumb, dragging plot. The nun character was far scarier in The Conjuring movies.
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7/10
Underrated with Fake One or Two Line "Reviews"
claudio_carvalho24 November 2018
In 1952, in Romania, a nun hangs herself to escape from an evil force. When the peasant Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet) finds her body, the Vatican sends the priest Burke (Demián Bichir) and the novice Irene (Taissa Farmiga) to the abbey to investigate the case. They team-up with Frenchie and soon Frenchie and Burke are is attacked by a demon. Irene learns that Burke is tormented for killing a boy in an exorcism. On the next morning, Irene is accepted in the abbey and learns that there is a gate to hell in the catacombs. Meanwhile Burke finds that a demon called Valak has unleashed through a breach. Now they have to seal the breach with the blood of Christ to trap Valak inside the gate.

"The Nun" is an underrated horror movie with fake one or two line "reviews" that IMDb has accepted this year, giving credibility zero to this site that was a reference in the past together with Rotten Tomatoes. The cinematography is magnificent, the atmosphere is spooky and the cast has good performances. Unfortunately the plot has a big flaw, since the powerful Valak has many chances to possess Irene as a vessel to leave the abbey but lures her many times instead. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Freira" ("The Nun")
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5/10
A huge let down
jtindahouse6 September 2018
If you had told me five years ago that one of my most anticipated movies of 2018 would be titled 'The Nun' I would've been very surprised. It was though. I had been looking forward to this movie ever since it was announced. I'm a huge fan of both of 'The Conjuring' movies, but have admittedly not loved either of the two 'Annabelle' spin-offs. I was very pleased to see James Wan was attached to the writing side of things on this one though and so held out high hopes for it. Sadly though, I have to report this is another complete misfire.

Starting with the positives though - the movie looks great. The set decoration is truly terrific in nearly every scene and the building and surrounding area that the film is set in were ideally selected. The groundwork was there for this to be a very creepy movie. At times the movie does work too, but that is mainly when it is being subtle. There are a lot of scenes where images of 'The Nun' are sort of there, but also sort of not. You question yourself whether you are actually seeing what you think you are. I really liked that side of things. Too often though the film is far too in your face. The demon will jump out of a tree and scream into a character's face (a very lion-like and un-scary scream I would have to say as well).

The dialogue in this film is a real mess too, which surprised me considering Wan's involvement. The character of 'Frenchie' is particularly painful. He is meant to be the comic relief, but nothing he says is in any way funny, and is frankly a little embarrassing in parts. Also some of the things the demon says like, "The village will be missing its idiot tomorrow" (or something to that effect), are cringe-worthy and should never have made the final cut.

I was very let down by this film. There are a lot of jump-scares, and not one of them gave me the slightest jolt. My heart-rate never rose above resting in any scene and I was frankly bored for the most part. The only saving graces were that the film looked great, connected in with the rest of the series well and had a truly great final scene that left me a little blown away. I didn't want this to have to be a negative review, but there was no other way to go about it.
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8/10
Despite it's reviews, I like it.
mordecai38115 June 2021
The reviews have this movie sitting at an ugly 5 1/2 stars. Meanwhile, I really had no problem with it. I felt lost in the story a few times, but always recovered as more information was introduced. There were some delightful jumpscares and the characters were played on par. I also really enjoyed the connection it made to The Conjuring.
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James Wan, what have we done
Begovil20 November 2018
For you to forsake us? It took me five minutes to realize that you were not testing us with another of your glorious productions hidden behind some sort of prank. I couldn't make it any longer than 35 minutes. Mr Wan you have been such a bad boy neglecting your audience to one of those directors who comes from Hollywood assuming we all must be some sort of idiots. This film is just insufferable. I hope 'Aquaman' and others are worth it
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6/10
GOOD BUT NOT GREAT
erickfrds6 September 2018
The darkest chapter form conjuring universe but not the best and not even better than conjuring

the beginning of the film feels promising, but the more behind the plot the more strange and there are some things that seem "forced"

this film feels so dark and too many jump scare

I think, the rating of this film is better than annabelle but no better than conjuring
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2/10
Awful
seandcarroll14 September 2018
I saw this movie earlier today. Sadly, it was so awful, a few people left the cinema. I wasted 10 Euro. Could have had a beer instead.
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2/10
The Nun: Actually managed to be worse than I expected
Platypuschow10 November 2018
The Nun is the latest movie in the Conjuring "Universe" and stars franchise lead female Vera Fermiga's sister Taissa.

It tells essentially the origin story of The Conjuring 2 (2016) nun antagonist and truth be told was one which I had high hopes for despite my opinion on the rest of the universe.

The previous movies being Conjuring 1/2 and Annabelle 1/2 accumulated from me a total of 14/40 potential stars so I think its sufficed to say that they haven't exactly blown me away.

I've claimed for years that when it comes to horror Hollywood have thoroughly lost their way and The Nun has done nothing to change my mind. From the Conjuring to Insidious all the high budgeted Hollywood horrors are glossy cliched messes.

Being that I consider "The Nun" to be a suitably creepy and well designed character I figured the movie would at least look the part! When the setting turned out to be a creepy old convent I was positively salivating. What incredible potential this movie had! Now all it needed was some passable writing and we could have a modern day classic here.

Sadly there is no passable writing, there is mindless Hollywood writing. No consistency, no structure, no intelligence just a clusterpoop of random imagery and stupidity.

Potential hobbled, tarred, feathered and kicked down 7 sets of stairs.

The Good:

The "Nun" herself is excellent

The Bad:

Bland cast

Poorly constructed plot

Everything you fear from Hollywood horror

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Hollywood know how to drop the ball like nobody else

If this had been an indie movie it would have been considerably better

All the talent in the Farmiga family went to Vera

If Jesus ever actually returned and saw crosses everywhere I'm pretty sure he'd have a nervous breakdown
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6/10
OK
andreascaloni18 April 2021
The Nun is a spin-off of 2016's The Conjuring 2 and the fifth installment in the Conjuring Universe franchise. The plot follows a Roman Catholic priest and a nun in her novitiate as they uncover an unholy secret in 1952 Romania. The movie has great locations, some interesting ideas, good jumpscares and atmospheres, and a pretty good first half. Unfortunately the film has a bad second half with some ridicolous moments. The Nun is an entertaining movie but it isn't what i was expecting from this very creepy character of the franchise.

Rating: 6,2.
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5/10
Missed opportunity
ebeckstr-116 January 2023
Starts out mysterious and creepy and concludes with a nifty, direct connection with the first Conjuring movie. Sadly, along the way, the writers give into horror cliches and undermine what could have been an above average prequel: people needlessly separating from each other to wander alone down dark, evil passages; a heroine who screams approximately seven times too often; and, that desperate refuge of weak horror scripts, zombified corpse ghost revanent demon things. Writing this to get to the required 600. How long did it take a committee to come up with that random number? Okay I need four more, there that did it.
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7/10
"Perpetual Adoration...it's the only thing that's holding back the evil"
don25079 March 2021
Medieval theologians used to say that monasteries and abbeys were inundated with demons while the marketplace may have had only one or two; more were required to corrupt the incorruptible cloistered folks while the buyers and sellers in the marketplace were far easier targets. Of course, this speaks more of a distrust of economic activity, and a veneration of the religious life. With "The Nun" however, we have an abbey of nuns, in Romania no less, that has definitely been corrupted by evil. I'm not familiar with the "Conjuring Universe" franchise, nor am I a frequent viewer of horror films like some reviewers on this site, but "The Nun" was reasonably well done, had the appropriately gloomy sets, and had a pervasively ominous atmosphere. True, there were logic pitfalls in the plot, and the "Frenchie" character was somewhat anomalous, but I enjoyed this movie.

Admittedly, cliches abound in this film. We have somber music, a darkly-lit abbey, fleeting, indistinct images (to heighten our imagination), superstitious, frightened townspeople (not unlike the usual peasants), an abbey that totally locks up at night and stays that way until sunrise, Latin incantations, and the usual revelation at the end that maybe the evil is not completely vanquished after all. We find these cliches often in horror filmmaking because, let's face it, they work (again and again) for most of us. One cliche I wouldn't mind being altered is the "character," both physical and spiritual, of the evil demon(s). Instead of physically repulsive creatures possessed of violent fury, why not have an evil being who is coldly austere, strictly self-contained, totally amoral, and cunningly manipulative. Now he / she would be dangerous in a different way, not unlike Satan and his temptations.
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1/10
No, just no!
m_zoli_zed5 September 2018
This was the first horror in years in which I wanted it just to end already. It is boring, story is childish, no tension whatsoever. Beside nice shots outside and good scenery, this is zero. Horrible acting, predictable jump scares and zombie nuns. Don't waste your time
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7/10
Interesting and surely underrated
konstantinoslarintzakis29 September 2018
Maybe not the most unpredictable and finest plot. However the movie is characterised by a truly scary atmosphere. The background music evokes awe and the jump scares keep the audience in constant alertness. For me it comes up to the standards of a good Horror movie.
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3/10
For Teenagers
tjlisson16 September 2018
OK but ultimately run-of-the-mill horror. The budget theater I saw this flick in was filled with noisy teenagers yacking and reacting throughout, which would have been a lot worse if I really thought I was missing much.

There are a couple of other annoyances that seem to have gone over other people's heads here. For one, although the movie makes much of this being in Romania, and indeed it was filmed there, hardly anyone seems to actually be Romanian. What's really a bothersome anomaly, though, is that the convent and the people involved are Roman Catholic. Certainly there is Roman Catholicism in Romania, but generally only amongst ethnic minorities, especially Hungarians. Actual ethnic Romanians with any religious affiliation, however, almost always identify as Romanian Orthodox, and that is a very important distinction that any Romanian will immediately notice. People elsewhere may think that's no big deal, but just imagine you have a movie set in Italy and every one there is an Episcopalian. Don't you think those in the know would find that ridiculous?
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8/10
Forget what all the critics say!
onebengalcat1 December 2019
I loved everything about this movie. From the dark atmosphere to the plot. Each to their own, I suppose. This was a go for me!
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7/10
Why so much negative???
aramt-0793526 March 2019
I watched most of horrors ever made over the years and learned to appreciate decent effort at least ...Don't know what people need now? It is not very best film,but far from the worst.
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1/10
the nun
abhrajitvaio7 September 2018
Colossal waste of time, not scary at all...and the nun is almost missing in her own movie.
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4/10
Technically decent, narratively ridiculous and unconvincing
nimdude5 September 2018
The Nun is another chapter in the marvel cin ... conjuring cinematic universe that for some reason keeps expanding. The jumpscare plagued, unexplained and way too over the top plot is such a waste due to the fact that technically, this movie is the best in the conjuring universe.

The cgi, production design, cinematography and the haunting soundtrack are all very very decent. However none of this can make up for the nonsensical satanic mess that this movie turned out to be. Virtually completely non frightening, the Nun itself as a presence loses its ominousness very early into the second act. It is always shown in the same way as in the trailer. A creepy choir and a floating nun. It gets very boring after a while, and even when the atmosphere starts to seem somewhat decent, you get taken out of it even more when the misplaced and useless comic relief character opens his mouth.

The acting is mostly passable but the actors aren't given much to work with in the first place. Most of this film is just a continuous barrage of "scary", meaningless scenes that add up to nothing but cheap jumpscsres.

As a part of the conjuring universe it does NOT IN ANY WAY explain the origins of the Nun. The only thing it does for the universe is set up a sequel and another possible prequel.

4.3/10
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7/10
Good but not great
ese-951619 September 2018
Me and my friends actually enjoyed it. Our expectations weren't too high just based on the reviews we've seen but overall it really wasn't bad. Way better than Annabelle. Overall, not the greatest but still enjoyable. A Saturday night well spent =)
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