New Line Cinema presents an Atomic Monster / Safran Company production, “The Nun.” The film will be distributed in 2D, IMAX and other large premium formats by Warner Bros. Pictures.
THE NUN
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS
When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest (Demián Bichir) with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows (Taissa Farmiga) are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together they uncover the order’s unholy secret. Risking not only their lives but their faith and their very souls, they confront a malevolent force in the form of the same demonic nun that first terrorized audiences in “The Conjuring 2,” as the abbey becomes a horrific battleground between the living and the damned.
CAST
“The Nun” stars Oscar nominated Demian Bichir (“A Better Life”) as Father Burke, Taissa Farmiga (TV’s “American Horror Story”) as Sister Irene, and Jonas Bloquet (“Elle”) as local villager Frenchie.
The cast also includes Charlotte Hope (TV’s “Game of Thrones”) as the abbey’s Sister Victoria, Ingrid Bisu (“Toni Erdmann”) as Sister Oana, and Bonnie Aarons, reprising her “Conjuring 2” role as the title character.
Hardy directs “The Nun” from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman (“IT”), story by James Wan & Gary Dauberman. Richard Brener, Walter Hamada, Dave Neustadter, Gary Dauberman, Michael Clear and Todd Williams are the executive producers.
Joining Hardy behind the scenes are director of photography Maxime Alexandre (“The Voices,” “Annabelle: Creation”), production designer Jennifer Spence (“Annabelle: Creation,” “Lights Out,” the “Insidious” films), editors Michel Aller (“Lights Out,” “Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension”) and Ken Blackwell (“Ouija” “Friday the 13th”), and costume designer Sharon Gilham (TV’s “Black Mirror”). The music is by Abel Korzeniowski (“Nocturnal Animals”).
REVIEW
Finit Hic, Deo!
(God Ends Here)
The Nun: a soft horror thriller with much atmosphere. All in all I like this movie, even because I like abbeys, churches, castles, dark gothic rooms and everything that involves mystery in Religion and Occultism. Moreover “The Nun” explores a dark corner of the “Conjuring” series, being practically the prequel of "The Conjuring 2", unveiling the origin of the presence of the evil , demonic entity Valak. The movie begins with unforgettable scenes from The Conjuring 2 and ends with scenes that will bring into the reality o fThe conjuring 2 , while the body of the movie is focused around the origin of the "Nun Valak" . Romania is always an ideal conceptual place for a story soaked with occultism and dark rituals. Ideal place for a battle of good vs. evil .
A priest with a dark history and a novitiate whose own past isn’t the only thing that haunts her, are the protagonists together with "French", the guy who takes Father Burke and Sister Irene to the abbey. So we have a quite odd trio of warriors. Filmmakers cast French actor Jonas Bloquet to star as the superstitious French-Canadian. Bloquet says “I saw both films multiple times in the cinema, and I loved the script for ‘The Nun,’ so being part of this movie is one of the best experiences of my career.”
There is suspence, there is mystery, there is a direct battle with the evil demon, there is even the Blood of Christ, there are scenes we can describe as claustrophobic but the horror is not so crude, yet the audience, even the sceptic one, gets involved in the unholy mystery. I think that the movie should have been more resolute and less naive in some moments , yet it will be the kind of film I will watch so often when the dvd will be available, because of the intense atmosphere and photography. The story hooks you from the start and this is a fact. We can say that occultism meets paranormal in a good way.
Director Corin Hardy relates “What I loved about the Nun when I first saw her was the mystery. There was no given explanation for her—but her look and behavior were absolutely petrifying. She has a perfect iconic horror persona about her—the habit obstructs the face and shrouds the body and limbs to make her seem unhuman. It’s as if she glides without her feet touching any ground.” And producer James Wan says “The idea that something held as sacred and pure as a nun could become twisted in such an evil, supernatural way disturbs people at a very core level.”
The lovers of the genre will like the decadent place of the unholy events at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains, a place that was taken over by the church and functioned as an abbey for years. The abbey is cloistered, the nuns have imposed upon themselves total separation from the rest of the world and pray without . Those long corridors , the archways and the chapel are simply great. I would like to live in a place like that one, or maybe not? And this Abbey has a name of course: Abbey of St. Carta. The starting point is the ultimate sin a young nun committed by taking her own life. Now it is imperative for the Vatican to know if the ground is still holy.
Father Burke, the clergyman from Philadelphia is skilled in testing miracles and dark phenomenons. He is a kind of demon hunter more than an exorcist, yet he is an exorcist too, haunted by a terrible past experience. Personally I consider this figure nice but naive. He should be a strong hunter, yet he falls into simple traps. He is a genuine soldier yet he looks so uncertain with his Bible, his holy water, his crucifix. Joining Father Burke on the quest, is Sister Irene, a novitiate at St. Vincent’s Hospital in England. Taissa Farmiga says, “I think Sister Irene believes this is going to be a straightforward mission. She doesn’t know how extreme this journey will be, or what kind of emotional strength she will have to muster. And I don’t think she was ready for the evil existing in the abbey.” Bichir notes, “At first, her size fools Father Burke, but even though Sister Irene is petite and may look fragile, he learns she can be feisty and I think Father Burke admires that. Sister Irene is very strong because her spirit is strong.”
“The Nun” was filmed entirely in Romania, exactly around Bucharest and Transylvania, in two 14th-century castles (Corvin Castle and Bethlen Castle) and in an abandoned medieval fort: all those locations contributed to gain a truly authentic gothic aesthetic for the imaginific Abbey of St. Carta.
I absolutely suggest to watch this film : you cannot miss the direct confrontation with Valak, you cannot miss the Demon Nun’s outfit from “The Conjuring 2” and that nostalgic '70s patina.
dalia di giacomo