The Nun is the final nail in the coffin for the Conjuring series

A derelict abbey in the middle of the woods. Ghostly nuns pouring in from all quarters. A graveyard. In theory, Corin Hardy’s The Nun had the perfect ingredients to make a terrifying horror film that could have sent shivers down the audience’s spine.

But sadly that didn’t happen. Instead, the confused storylines, loose ends and religious mumbo-jumbo made the film a flat bore. And that’s a shame, considering it is the fifth installment in the Conjuring franchise, which had given some good scares before.

While it had potential to give us sleepless nights, (let’s be honest, the trailer terrified us), we got a rather confused and dreary film that made us raise an eyebrow occasionally, forget about any spine-chilling moments. It’s like ordering a biryani and ending up with rice and curd, with a sprinkle of pickle.

THE NUN

We saw our Nun Valak running around haunting demonologist Lorraine in The Conjuring 2. Encouraged by the audience’s response, director Corin Hardy decided to give the demonic entity a proper story.

The Nun revolves around a priest who along with a young nun, have been summoned to a desolate abbey in Romania,  after a nun is found hanging at the abbey. It is meant to be an investigation, but hell is soon unleashed.

Despite their flaws, the Conjuring franchise still managed to keep the audience’s interest. It could also probably because of choice of actors like Vera Farmiga and  Owen Wilson. Yet, though Vera’s sister Taissa, who plays Sister Irene in The Nun, bears a striking resemblance to Vera, couldn’t offer much to her role as the terrified nun. The dialogues are also very staid, and the ending leaves you rather baffled. There was hardly any mystery that needed to be solved as well.

Ironically, more than the horror elements, it’s the comic timing by Jonas Bloquet that almost saves the day. Almost.

The Nun follows the horror film textbook closely and every possible cliché, that you can think of, to the extent that even the jump scares become predictable. It’s now quite annoying to watch characters chase after ghostly people in graveyards, or continue staying in a haunted abbey, after being buried alive.  There are some outright bizarre things such as a boy spitting out snakes as well, and you can’t help but say “What? Why?”

There’s a confused blend of history and religion as well, and some elements are shoehorned into the story conveniently.  You can’t even help laughing at points.

THE CONJURING FRANCHISE

The first Conjuring film introduced us to Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Owen Wilson and Vera Farmiga. These characters were inspired by the real-life demonologists, who had experienced supernatural horrors in their life- or so they say.  We were told the story of a happy family, living in a seemingly welcoming house in Rhode Island. Of course, it’s a horror film, and a house has to be haunted.

The first half of the film provided some good shivers, like the demon sitting on the wardrobe and flying down to attack the daughter, or the random sounds in the house that could make the sparse hairs on your neck stand up. The second half was a little stretched and dragged, especially after the demon’s mystery was unraveled.

However, all said and done, the Conjuring was a decent film from the supernatural genre. It made good use of done-to-death horror elements like a haunted house, creepy cellars,  and scary dolls. There was no excessive gore, and annoying camera shaking, Moreover, the performances of Vera Farmiga and Owen Wilson carried the film through.

Emboldened by the success of Conjuring, the makers churned out prequels Annabelle, Annabelle: The Creation and Conjuring 2. And so the Conjuring Universe was established.

Nun Valak makes her appearance in Conjuring 2 (2016), and this time on English soil. The demonic entity popped in every corner of the house and haunted Lorraine. However, despite some horrifying moments, Conjuring 2 could not conjure the same interest and fear that Conjuring had. It was getting a little weary to see haunted houses. Apart from this, the film stretches on painfully, and it’s an entire hour-and-a-half before something concrete happens.

Annabelle revolved around the hideous and terrifying doll of the same name, (enough to scare children from ever buying dolls), who incites a wave of violence in the house she has been brought into.  The film had a few good frightening moments, yet for those who have seen the film Rosemary’s Baby, or rather any film that producer James Wan (who is responsible for the Conjuring franchise) has had a say in, will know how the story will pan out in the first 30 minutes itself.   

Annabelle: The Creation (2017)  redeemed its prequel. The doll was awakened by pesky children, and it ran around on a murderous rampage.  The film is actually better than Conjuring 2 as well, as it relied more on atmosphere and frightening symbolism. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but its gothic approach revived some interest in the Conjuring universe, which Annabelle had singlehandedly killed.

A HORROR FILM NEEDS MORE THAN JUMP SCARES

It’s 2018, and directors tend to forget that jump scares alone don’t make a horror film. There has to be a cohesive story, as well. Horror can be conveyed in expressions, inanimate objects, soft haunting music, atmosphere and symbolism as well, not just a pair of random hands coming out of nowhere, to strangle you.

 Let’s recall some other films from the genre that actually did give us sleepless nights.  Steamrolling over the tepid Paranormal Activity franchise, there aren’t too many horror films from recent years as filmmakers would often get carried away with terrifying the audience rather than concentrating on a cogent storyline.  In the end, horror becomes comical. In this respect, there are films like the gruesome Evil Dead, Cabin In The Woods, where the story was buried under ugly and bloody demons.

The film Sinister (2012) told the ghoulish tale of the demon Boghuul who possessed children to kill their parents. The gory deeds would be filmed on camera, and renamed as family home videos.  Terrible as it sounds, the unraveling of the mystery for horror film lovers was of far more interest, rather than the jump scares, which just enhanced the effect.

The Insidious series received mixed reviews from critics. Yet, while the story had much promise, the film used age-old horror tropes. There was a ghost child running around and a random monstrous red demon would appear out of nowhere sharpening his claws. The interesting part of the story, which was the astral plane called “The Further”,  which dragged on painfully at points. The film wasn’t entirely a loss, it had its moments where you did feel intrigued. The same can’t be said about Insidious 2.

It (2017) is another example of an interesting film from the genre. While it might have had its flaws, it was also a dark psychological thriller at its core, where a clown preyed on the fears of children. And it’s the children, who set out to take down the clown Pennywise.  

Of course, we could travel back to the days of The Shining, The Exorcist, Cujo, The Exorcism of Emily Rose- days when horror films relied on a substantial story, rather than just frightening settings and a background score. Indeed, the horror films of yore.