"The Nun 'Review: Prequel" Conjurer "offers a backdrop, no fear

While horror has seen its share of franchises over the years, James Wan's "The Conjuring" 2013 has created a cinematic universe that competes with Marvel, with a gallery of scary characters for interconnected derivative films. In 2016, "The Conjuring 2" offered something particularly horrific, a demonic nun named Valek, who stalked the Warrens of Amityville in London before getting her own original story with " The Nun ". , it is also the proof that sometimes the most terrifying horrors are those that we do not understand.

Director Corin Hardy, best known for his Irish horror offering in 2015, "The Hallow", makes the most of the film's Romanian setting. Using the cinematic palette "The Conjuring" of cool gray and blues, not to mention a handful of inverted crosses, Hardy achieves a gothic nightmare that presents itself in the horror series. As Father Burke (Demián Bichir) explains in the film, he was sent to the abbey partly to determine if the land was still holy. With the abbey feeling as menacing and insidious as Shirley Jackson's 1963 Hill House, "The Haunting," there is no room for doubt as to the answer.

In addition to assessing the sanctity of the place, Father Burke is sent to the abbey by the Vatican to investigate the death of a young nun, who was found hanged by a local farmer, Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet). Father Burke is paired with a young novice, Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), and both are brought to the abbey by the dashing French, who explains to them that the whole village lives in fear of the evil abbey. After giving a proper funeral to the deceased sisters, Father Burke and Sister Irene go to the labyrinthine abbey to seek answers, but a veiled upper mother tells them that the nuns are observing their wish of night silence and must pass the night.

Throughout The Nun, it becomes clear that the past is the most haunting demon of all. Lost in a hazy graveyard resplendent with crooked crosses, Frenchie is mentally and physically tortured by the dead young nun he has discovered. For his part, Father Burke is guilty of the death of a young boy, Daniel, a few years ago. Father Burke was sent to exorcise the child, which resulted in the death of the boy. Daniel appears to Father Burke throughout the film in gruesome visions and a particularly suffocating funeral sequence, mixing the character with a terrifying thought: if a priest can not save a single soul from the loss, what hope exists for the rest of the world. # 39; humanity?

Bonnie Aarons and Demian Bichir in "The Nun".

Cos Aelenei

Like the other films "Conjuring", "The Nun" brings many fears, many of which are obvious and yet still discordant, while the trio is pursued through the abbey by the demonic Valek. The demon, also known as The Defiler, plays many witty games, attacking the two sins of the past and Sister Irene's innocent faith. "You have not yet made your wishes," the novice said several times throughout the film. But the faith of Sister Irene is never really questioned as with Father Karras in "The exorcist".

Sister Irene, dressed in broad, snow-white clothes, is the light in the dark, a pure bride of Christ who offers the obvious antidote to Valek's venomous hatred. The director of photography Maxime Alexandre is able to play expertly with this contrast between light and darkness, offering astonishing or even horrible religious images that can recall the best of "The Exorcist III". providing an easy backdrop for the presence of the demon coupled with a simple solution that makes Valek feel much less threatening. Of course, the demon will appear later in "The Conjuring 2", but the temporary removal of Valek is also inevitable.

Fans of "The Conjuring" will be delighted to see how "The Nun" returns to the original movie, as the story is re-written with insistence that everything is wrapped up. Although the film is not clearly linked to the "Annabelle" films, eagle fans should be able to see an image of the nuns of the Abbey on the wall of Sister Irene's room, the same image that will appear later. Annabelle: Creation "courtesy of Sister Charlotte.

While "The Nun" is another solid and scary entry into the "Conjuring" universe, we hope it's the latest original story. The purpose of "The Nun" was to give an explanation to the evil, but what makes the evil really scary is when there is no clear answer to the reason for its existence. Just like the literal demons of Father Burke's past, it is the insoluble riddles of life, not knowledge, that will haunt us long after the lights have gone out.

Category B

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