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Chaotic Reviews - "The Nun"

"The Nun," Honest and Spoiler-Free

By Brad HowePublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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The promotional image. As scary as it gets. 

As moviegoers, we've all seen it. Many times. The continuous amounts of sequels, prequels of sequels, remakes and franchise gobblers. Once the Hollywood money machine grasps a concept, the sequels come pouring in. Go where the money is. Cater to and capitalize on sheep-like audiences. Even when the rest of us are sick of it.

Sadly, the horror genre has become another statistic. With more sequels we see less promises of original concepts and more of poorly executed storytelling. Although the next Halloween movie seems promising, we can't expect too much from a franchise that barely has a pulse—even with a cult fan base and the approval of John Carpenter himself. But I digress on that account. I will say/write that THERE ARE some good sequels and remakes out there that have become memorable box office hits. Even outside the horror genre.

Horror sequels have become a trend with slashers but even more so with the paranormal sub-genre. In this case, it's The Conjuring.

I must admit, at first glance, The Nun is another cookie cutter sequel. One I would normally skip at the theaters and not hold my breath for it to hit Red Box. But this past weekend, I visited friends and family in Connecticut. In a town a stone throw away from where Edward and Lorraine Warren lived and have their Occult Museum. Long story short, ALL of my Connecticut friends are obsessed and/or curious of this franchise. Remember the sheep like audience I mentioned earlier? Well, that's my best friend. Good or bad, if it has anything to do with a franchise he like. He will STILL trip over people in line at the theatre. Yep, he's that guy (Joe. Sorry, buddy. I still love you).

Disclaimer: No hate, people like what they like.

That being said, we HAD to see The Nun. This prequel to The Conjuring. Having seen and enjoyed The Conjuring films but never even bothered with the Annabelle films (once I learned that the real doll is a Raggedy-Ann doll, it took away the Hollywood illusion). I had done my very best to avoid all the Blum House sequels (especially after the last Purge, wow!). Thanks to the lasting effects of peer pressure, I was curious to see if The Nun was a real change of pace. I am comfortable to say that it was... and it wasn't.

Starting with the good: The Nun told an interesting story about a nun assisting a priest who is sent to solve the case of a cursed covenant. Oh yeah, and she hasn't taken her vows (which is repeated five times by five different characters creating a looming "no shit" factor but... back to the good). They both begin to question their faith and the reality of the situation throughout. It's a compelling story that is a blend of familiar topics but adds a cerebral element into the demonic possessions similar to the conjuring. Unlike the other Insidious or The Conjuring sequels, the characters are all stand alone and have their own unique voices. The characters are ones we can get behind and support. We care about these people reaching their goal and whether or not they're going to survive. A priest haunted by his past and a nun seeking approval from the Catholic church. Those are characters we can get behind.

Another element that intrigued me was the reveal of how The Nun carried into The Conjuring (which comes at the very end). The filmmakers carried it into the rest of the franchise very well. It was executed so well that I felt the need to watch The Conjuring again.

Are you the type who screams out profanities in the theatre when the ghost or demons pop out of nowhere? That used to be me. I speak in past tense of course because... I've already experienced just about every kind there is. The Conjuring was the last film to get me with a jump scare. It came way out of left field. It was the loud CRASHING in the stairwell that was entirely out of frame. The Nun tried hard and failed miserably to get me with this. MANY TIMES.

A wise filmmaker once said that cuss words are like salt; a little is fine but too much will leave a bad taste in your mouth. The same philosophy applies to cheap jump scares and poorly rendered "scary" VFX in a horror film. You can only get away with it for so long before the audience isn't surprised or fascinated anymore. Cheap surprises are a storytellers' worst enemy.

Forced attempts at cheap jump scares and BAD visual effects of the demonic nun that offered nothing new or scary throughout the film. That's it. That's all they has to throw at us. Those two elements were why The Nun has gotten lukewarm reviews from critics and audiences alike.

Overall, The Nun has it's moments that stand out but are short lived. The story has a compelling concept but falls short due to bad pacing and run-of-the-mill horror semantics we are far too familiar with.

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About the Creator

Brad Howe

Brad is an award winning independent filmmaker and screenwriter out of Atlanta, GA. He has worked on six network television shows as a casting assistant and has reviewed films for the Atlanta and Nashville Film Festivals.

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