<Review by: Sailesh Ghelani>

Directed by Corin Hardy. Starring Taissa Farmiga, Demian Bichir, Bonnie Aarons, Charlotte Hope, Ingrid Bisu, Jonas Bloquet

Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes

Honestly, I have no idea about the actual story and timeline of the Conjuring movies and their prequels. The Nun looked pretty fun though in those films so one expected this movie to deliver. Though it’s a well-made film, it is very formula and dull.

The young novitiate Sister Irene looks so much like Vera Farmiga! Well that’s because she’s her younger sister (Taissa Farmiga). And she’s just as good as her sibling, which is great since she is the only one carrying this drab movie from the morgue to its grave.

A haunted castle in Romania that is the base for a nunnery is the site of some unusual occurrences and Father Burke (Demian Bichir) must investigate with the help of Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) and the Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet). The setting is suitably eerie and mysterious, but the story never builds up to anything interesting. It’s just one ‘fright’ situation after another that must lead to the inevitable banishing of the unholy spirit by our valiant trio. Apart from Fenchie, the other two never seem unduly terrified by the events unfolding before them, which does seem a bit strange.

There’s also the matter of repeat ‘frights’ that make an appearance so often, it loses the desired effect: like the whole ‘looks who’s behind you’ trick or the ‘mysterious figure skulking behind walls’ technique.

What’s worse is that Bonnie Aarons’ frighteningly wonderful, titular ‘Nun’ doesn’t get any real screen time or character development. She’s just a monster trying to… I don’t even know her motive apart from trying to possess one of our ‘heroes’.

Jonas Bloquet offers good eye candy and comic relief to the rather sombre proceedings. Taissa Farmiga has some talent and screen presence that could have been utilised better to solidify her as a strong, female character. Instead, you have Frenchie coming to her rescue every now and then. There are some subtle things that achieve an eerie effect, but there’s nothing really new here.

I frankly think this whole Conjuring story with the nuns, the dolls and the crosses is way too convoluted and just seems to be about making some more money. Give us a good story and some real scares, is all we can really pray for from the ‘scary movie’ genre nowadays. Amen!