'The Nun' Teeters Across The Line Blurring Horror and Fantasy

It must be true that haunted ghosts wandering in holy places are the scariest and the most powerful. "The Conjuring Universe" tries to prove that with their new horror thriller, The Nun, which dives into the origins of the demonic nun Valak who plagued Lorraine Warren's visions in The Conjuring 2.

Taissa Farmiga as Sister Irene | Warner Bros. Pictures

The film goes back to 1952 when priest slash exorcist Father Burke (Demián Bichir), and young novitiate Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) were ordered by The Vatican to investigate the case of a young nun who killed herself in a secluded abbey in Romania. Along with a young man who found the decaying body of the nun (Jonas Bloquet), they unveil the secrets of the gothic nunnery only to find out that it's being haunted by one of the most powerful forces of evil disguised as a nun.

The Nun has jump scare tactics as effective as the previous Conjurings while maintaining a refreshing anecdote from the Dark Universe. The franchise's usual familiar household setting, however, is badly missed that The Nun's gothic Romanian convent, and eerie (and smoky) cemetery suffers from being mystical and too away from home.

Demon nun Valak’s folklore leaves a little space for realism and logic that its impact is not as lasting and scary as its predecessors. Doesn't help that the story often teeters across the line blurring horror and fantasy, that it comes across as a fantasy world than a scary one.

Still, it's another fun and stylish horror movie that would remind its audience why they love the genre.

Demián Bichir as Father Burke | Warner Bros. Pictures

Anchored by the solid trio of Taissa Farmiga, Demián Bichir and Jonas Bloquet, they make their characters rootable against the evil forces of Bonnie Aaron's Valak. Farmiga, in particular, matches her sister Vera Farmiga's energy and grit in the franchise, and she does this with elegance and likability. Her turn as a simple novitiate to a tenacious nun leading the pack in defeating the monster nun, is one of the assets of the film. Bloquet provides the titters but are often out-of-place and hackneyed.

To me, The Conjuring's twisted magic seems lost in the spectacle of The Nun. Valak was effective as a ghost in the halls of a modern house, but doesn't quite feel at home, or perhaps the problem is it's too at home, in the gothic corridors of an old Romanian abbey.