Review of The Nun (2018) by Teaguewd — 08 Sep 2018

7/10 = Exactly what you could hope for in a movie like this. You go in and sit down, not expecting 'The Conjuring', but hoping for something in that vein, a tasty treat that won't feel like the first time, but might sate that ever-prolonged hunger for good horror. Its an arduous hunt, and the perils around Moviepass and skyrocketing ticket prices notwithstanding, this one might just do it for you. Its not a great slow-burn. The pacing gives an impression of a 2.5 hour screenplay cut down to an abridged runtime. You'll have to run with character archetypes because the exposition is wanting. As any fan of horror knows, sometimes you have to play the build-up in your head, and I assume that's a little of what they've been trying to do, thrusting that terrifying 'nun' into the previous titles. As a fixture, the image doesn't lose much of its horrifying quality, even after being interspersed through two films already. Other than that, this film doesn't much resemble its predecessors.

I've seen the director's previous work, and thankfully this film doesn't resemble it much either. I found the set dec and effects pretty good, even compelling in moments. While's there's no brilliant stylistic element that dominates the film and sculpts its atmosphere, neither is there a consistent foible. We spend nearly the entire film in creepy and 'unsafe' environs, and a weaker film would fall prey to normalization of that space. 'The Nun' somehow keeps it fresh...and that's precisely a reason to go and see it.

All in all, it's close to hitting the mark in all the right ways, but don't expect the characters nor the story to fully engage. If you go in with as low-expectations as I did, and keep in mind that I did go in (I would have even put in the $13.50 had it come to it), you will come out pleasantly surprised and perhaps a little refreshed. I should add that this is a fertile premise within the horror genre, at least to my eager eyes, and I've always been a sucker for the themes explored in 'The Exorcist'. This one delves into religious subject matter about as much as any horror film I've ever seen.