The Nun is the 5th film in the Conjuring Universe and is considered a prequel to The Conjuring [2013] and The Conjuring 2 [2016]; the character of the Nun is introduced and used in the story of the second film so it’s understandable that the producers especially James Wan (Saw [2004]) would want to visit this part of the story as well. It first came to theaters from Warner Bros. in September 2018 by director Corin Hardy (The Hallow [2015]) and screenwriter Gary Dauberman (Annabelle [2014]).
We first witness Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring [2013])) and her daughter Judy seeing a figure of a Nun and the picture noting how evil she is and then we jump to the story taking place at the Abbey of St Carta, Romania where Sister Victoria (Charlotte Hope (The Piper [2023])) has hung herself and is discovered by Canadian farmer Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet (The Nun II [2023])).
Then Father Burke (Demian Bichir (Alien: Covenant [2017])) and Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga (The Final Girls [2015])) who are sent there from the Vatican to investigate to see if this is really a suicide. They soon realize how evil and possessed the abbey really is for example, Father Burke gets buried in the cemetery when investigating noises and Sister Irene recovers him and before they leave, he grabs journals that were in the grave. They separate, and he reviews the books, and Irene looks for nuns to speak to regarding the evil that’s there and learns the abbey’s history; the gateway of evil which has re-opened again and the only way to close it is to obtain the relic with the blood of Jesus Christ. She is being followed and terrorized by the evil especially the one that looks like a nun, Valek, and thinks that the nuns have taken her to a room to pray the evil away however when Burke and Frenchie show up to rescue her there are no nuns in the room just pure evil and the Father tries to destroy it but isn’t able to and Frenchie shoots a possessed nun. It’s here they realize that Sister Victoria didn’t commit suicide she sacrificed herself so the demon wouldn’t latch on to her because it needs a living soul to feed upon and use for demonic influences. Frenchie wants to leave since they figured everything out however Sister Irene refuses because she knows she must reseal the gateway with the proper relic. Although, Frenchie gets possessed which we find out at the end of the film and into the sequel The Nun II [2023].
A lot of critics don’t like this film and yes there are some issues but I do think it’s an important entry into the Conjuring Universe since the Nun is mentioned and we saw it in The Conjuring II [2016] and how it affected Ed Warren. There are quite a few jump scares that will get people including me and my husband laughed each time one happened. You will need to see the sequel The Nun II [2023] to see the entire story of the nun, Valek, and how it all ends. One interesting note about two of the characters in the film. Vera Farmiga and Taissa Farmiga are sisters and if Baron reviews this film in the future he will dig much deeper into the story and the history than I ever could. I recommend this film to those who enjoy gothic horror with being startled and of course to those who enjoy The Conjuring.
TAGLINES:
- Witness the Darkest Chapter in The Conjuring Universe
- Pray For Forgiveness
- She Doesn’t Forgive
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5814060/
IMDb Rating: 5.4/10
3C Rating: 5.5/10
The Conjuring Universe:
The Conjuring [2013]
Annabelle [2014]
The Conjuring 2 [2016]
Annabelle: Creation [2017]
The Nun [2018]
Annabelle Comes Home [2019]
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It [2021]
The Nun II [2023]
The Conjuring: Last Rites [2025]