Movie Review: The Nun (2018)

The Nun is a pretty visually appealing film and it features some nice performances. Usually that would be enough, and it almost is. But nearly every scare scene in this movie is lousy.

The movie certainly doesn’t lack some highlights. The lead performance by Taissa Farmiga is quite good. Demian Bichir is also pretty damn good.

What this movie does lack is proper escalation. Things are pretty crazy right away, and it lacks good sense of buildup. One of the two main characters is buried alive about a half hour into the movie, so most scenes after that, as much as they try and create suspense, just don’t quite work.

I also appreciate that the movie makes a genuine attempt at creating a creepy atmosphere, which you don’t get in most movies with this many jump scares.

Maybe I’m just a sucker for gothic architecture and all that shit, but I find a lot of the slower, quieter shots in this movie to be fairly effective, and pretty great to look at.

But there’s no denying that the little flashback we get to when the portal to hell was nearly opened looks like a dumb History Channel recreation. The movie’s perhaps a bit inconsistent in its visual style.

I do believe that the movie’s biggest issue, though, is its poor pacing, which is reflected in its lack of buildup and escalation. It’s just too much, too fast. It’s dumb, loud, and ultimately pretty forgettable.

Rating: 5/10