Dir: Corin Hardy. Cast: Taissa Farmiga, Demián Bichir, Jonas Bloquet, Jonny Coyne, Bonnie Aarons, Charlotte Hope, Lili Bordán. 15 cert, 96 mins Beware, sphenisciphobes: The Nun contains more than one nun. Whatever the collective noun is for them – “pray”, “flap”, “superfluity”, or “murmur”, says Google – they’re swishing about all over the place in this fifth film within the universe of The Conjuring, 2013’s proudly fact-based horror hit. Perhaps The Nuns was simply deemed a less nunnerving title. And Then There Were Nuns? Serious horror face now on, along with some head-shaking: The Nun isn’t scary enough, doesn’t move fast enough, and has not-quite-characters who weirdly feel as though they’re occupying different films. All told, it feels like a bit of a placeholder in this series – more so than last year’s daft but effective devil-doll prequel, Annabelle: Creation. While a fair way off disastrous, thanks largely to some tempting production design, it’s never likely to be vintage horror if your primary instinct is to praise the sets. We go way back to 1952 in Romania, ostensibly to explain how that evil cowled wraith from The Conjuring 2 came to have such a colossal bug up her fundament. It’s unclear by the end if this has been exactly settled – some people must just have screeching-undead- pestilential-nun resting face – but really, the explanatory side of things is hardly the point.<doc-sep>The one cardinal sin a horror movie with a demon nun can commit? Not having enough demon nun. A spinoff of James Wan’s popular “The Conjuring” horror franchise, “The Nun” (★★ out of four; rated R; in theaters Thursday night) finally unleashes its promise of unholy hell in an action-packed climax. But most of the film is a disappointingly dull and arduous journey until then, a mix of slow-burn religious mystery and old-school adventure that egregiously fails to utilize its greatest hit: Bonnie Aarons’ terrifyingly freaky villainess of the cloth. More:Why there's creepy appeal in the unholy horror of 'The Nun' and 'The Exorcist' Also:'It Chapter Two,' 'The Nun' scare up new footage at Comic-Con's first night Her frightful figure first appeared in “The Conjuring 2,” and “The Nun” acts as a prequel set decades before she haunted supernatural expert Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga). In 1952, an incident involving a nun hanging herself at a secluded abbey in Romania comes on the radar of the Catholic Church. Father Burke (Demian Bichir), a priest called in for the church’s more unusual cases, is summoned to Vatican City and sent off to investigate with young novitiate Sister Irene (Vera's sister Taissa Farmiga). They meet up with Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet), the local lothario (and macho comic relief) who found the crow-eaten body of the suicidal nun. Once inside the abbey, Burke and Irene begin to learn the dark secrets within, find a door with “God Ends Here” scrawled on it (never a good sign in a sacred sanctuary), run into distrusting nuns and, eventually, tussle with Valak, a sinister shapeshifter who lives up to the name “The Defiler.” Also:Freeform's 31 Nights of Halloween is here, including a 'Hocus Pocus' marathon Preview:10 movies you must see this fall, from 'Halloween' to 'A Star Is Born' Much of “The Nun” is comprised of haphazard episodes (Burke gets buried alive, Frenchie hits up a bar carrying a graveyard cross) stitched together in order to make it to the finale. Director Corin Hardy proves to have a knack for using light and shadow efficiently for the occasional jump scare here, although Valak only fitfully shows her ghastly face until almost the end of the movie. It's a shame because, clad in a shroud and demonic makeup, Aarons is a heart-stopping sort, whether she’s looming malevolently down a dark hall or evilly shrieking up close and personal. There are a couple of solid twists and a pretty neat connection that ties “The Nun” to the first “Conjuring,” although the new film primarily stands alone, even if it doesn’t come close to the height of this franchise’s fear factor. “Nun” lacks the constant sense of dread and unsettling doom of similarly themed films such as “The Exorcist” or even “The Last Exorcism,” though there’s one notable scene of “perpetual adoration” – the marathon prayer the abbey’s nuns maintain to keep Valak at bay – that’s visceral and torturous for poor Sister Irene. But compared to the chills of this year’s most haunting flick, “Hereditary,” “The Nun” doesn't have a prayer of measuring up. A pulp-fiction feel and a righteous performance from Farmiga make up for the lack of terror, to a degree. However, whiffing on giving Aarons’ Valak enough scream time to scare us back to Sunday school is nun-sense not easily forgiven.<doc-sep>Directed by Corin Hardy, the latest entrant in the Conjuring Cinematic Universe, The Nun, traces the story of Valak, the demonic presence that haunted the Hodgsons in The Conjuring 2. Father Anthony Burke (Demian Bichir) is the Vatican's go-to person when it comes to "miracle hunting". He, along with a young novitiate Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), are sent to the Abbey of St Carta in Romania to investigate the incident of a young nun who seemingly committed suicide by hanging herself. Helping them is "Frenchie" (Jonas Bloquet), a French-Canadian farmer who discovers the body. Although The Nun begins on a promising note, it loses steam when it begins to over-use every trope of the horror genre. How many times will you be spooked by the demon appearing "unexpectedly" from behind? From the jump-scares to the music, everything about the film is overdone. What will make your hair stand on end is the suitably eerie derelict abbey. But nothing holds a candle to Bonnie Aarons as Valak. Many elements appear in the plot, only to remain pitifully underused. For instance, Sister Irene has been having a series of visions since childhood, all of which convey the message that "[Mother] Mary will point the way". However, this is neither explained or explored to give an insight into her character. Instead, it is a contrivance which seems to be poorly tacked on to reach the climax. Similarly, Father Burke is consumed by guilt after a possessed young boy named Daniel dies during an exorcism. But this, too, adds nothing meaningful to the narrative. There are enough references to the other films in the Conjuring Cinematic Universe, but what makes The Nun stand apart is its humour. Jonas Bloquet is delightfully charming as Frenchie, bringing the much-needed laughs when the film begins to take itself too seriously. Watch The Nun only if are a die-hard fan of the Conjuring series and its spin-offs, but be warned that it is surprisingly devoid of spooks. ALSO READ: Raaz to Raaz Reboot, the abysmal state of Indian horror movies since 2000<doc-sep>
The Nun: The darkest chapter of The Conjuring Universe We’ve had Annabelle’s solo movies, now it’s The Nun’s turn. Set in 1952 Romania, a priest and a novice are sent to investigate the mysterious suicide of a nun at a monastery. This jump scare horror following the demon Valak is released today, but just what did the critics make of it? Well with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 47% it’s pretty mixed and most reviews say it’s actually not that scary. Telegraph The Nun isn't scary enough, doesn't move fast enough, and has not-quite-characters who weirdly feel as though they're occupying different films. Digital Spy Having featured in some of the creepiest sequences in the series so far, a scary spin-off seemed like a no-brainer... but the result sadly has nun of the finesse of Wan's main films. Total Film The Nun lacks the confidence to let the location and mood speak, let alone whisper for themselves. Time Out There are creepy crypts aplenty and a graveyard with bell-equipped coffins just in case anyone gets buried alive (alas, the transgressive sexuality of the era's more extreme nunsploitation flicks is off the table). Den of Geek Generic and ultimately forgettable. It's certainly not scary, and the family dynamic that made the characters in the earlier films somewhat empathetic is missing here. WATCH THE BANNED NUN TRAILER The Nun movie reviews: Just how TERRIFYING is The Conjuring spin-off? The Nun reviews claim the film isn't actually that scary SciFiNow The Nun, which has proudly been calling itself 'the darkest chapter' in the series in the run-up to its release, winds up being the dullest instead Daily Mirror If you're looking for a thrill and you're willing to throw yourself into a plot servicing scares then go see The Nun... if you're looking for The Conjuring style R-rated scares then this might be a little tame for you. Forbes Despite strong acting and some engaging visuals, The Nun is a glorified nothing-burger of a movie. Despite the poor receptions, not everyone was quite so damning. The Nun is out now