The Nun (2018) [Movie Review]


Dir: Corin Hardy
Starring: Demian Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet and Bonnie Aarons
Dur: 1 hr 47 mins
Genre: Horror
Rating: 7/10

The film is the fifth installment of the Conjuring franchise that has provided wonderful scares for nearly a decade. Riding on the back of such a big hype, the film was destined for success. It’s no surprise that it did very well at the box office. It has come out as the highest grossing film of the franchise, which is a bit much considering its quality. The franchise burst to fame with their opening act, Conjuring which honestly conjured up more than just success, fame and wealth. It appears that the franchise has since tried hard to match their initial success but have come up short time and time again, despite the successes they have enjoyed at the box office.


This film focuses on the demon nun, Valak, who made her unwelcome appearance in Conjuring 2. Considering that identity of the demon was known, probably some of the horror that comes with its introduction was taken away. The film has a poor story. Honestly, I expected better. It reeked of eeriness and horror and had all the trappings of a great scare fest but unfortunately couldn’t deliver the goods. The trailer promised screaming horror but all the film provided were some goosebumps and an average cinematic experience. The demon was incredibly well done. Lighting, sound and the setting were all conducive to the horror that was expected to be unleashed. The actors were average, perhaps another reason why the film didn’t make that big an impact. Taissa, who plays the novice who is asked to accompany the detective priest (yeah right! Who sends a novice on such a precarious task?) lacked a bloodcurdling scream. Thus, many scenes that could have been so much scarier came out bland.

For all the work put in, the film came across as a let down. Don’t get me wrong; the film was good, it just wasn’t great. Once again, it reminded me like other similar horror films, of the need for deep and faith-filled prayer. I quite liked the Marian reference that was used; it reminded me of the significant role that Mary plays in the life of every believer. Despite James Wan having a hand in the film it still didn’t make as big an impact as I thought it would. This was supposed to be the darkest chapter but the only darkness it brought was the dinghy, dark sets.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzD9zGcUNrw     

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Great Grand Masti 2 (2016) (Movie Review)

Image
Dir: Indra Kumar Starring: Vivek Oberoi, Riteish Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Urvashi Rautela Dur: 2 hrs 10 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: 1/10 Comment: The jokes, gestures and costumes are sexually suggestive. An absolute waste of time. “What an opening line”, you might think. But to say otherwise would be an absolute lie. This film is in fact, a great grand waste of time. It’s horrible whichever way you look at it. The story is weak and thrives on cheap thrills and sorry jokes. The actresses are no doubt eye-catching but the rest is all a blur. The comedy is in fact tragedy and the film attempts to play on the basest desires of man. It’s unbelievable that actors like Riteish and Vivek would do such a film. I am not a big fan of bollywood but I still feel bad when I see bollywood making films like these. All of a sudden, I see that sex is being propagated through Indian cinema. The views of sex are changing and filmmakers and actors are not hesitating to take on unconvent
Read more

The Challenge of Mercy

Image
Pope Francis has declared this as the year of mercy, and up until now plenty of reflections have been preached and published on mercy. Perhaps each of us too have made our own reflection on the theme of mercy. Since the inauguration of the year, my mind has often reverted to this theme. Every night when I make an examination of conscience, I evaluate myself: my thoughts, words and deeds vis-à-vis mercy. I realize that I am not merciful most of the time and that I resort to do what benefits me over the merciful thing. Pope Francis realized that the Church needed to revisit the theme of mercy; to reflect upon it and put it into practice. Mercy is at the heart of the Gospel. Jesus is the personified revelator of the Father’s mercy. Through his words and deeds he suffused the scent of mercy. His teachings on mercy are appreciated and continue to inspire people even today. The Church itself was founded on mercy: Christ became the expiation for our sins (1 Jn 4:10; Heb 2:17). He for
Read more

Andadhun (2018) [Movie Review]

Image
Dir: Sriram Raghavan Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Radhika Apte and Tabu Dur: 2 hrs 18 mins Genre: Black Comedy Crime Thriller Rating: 3/10 I watched this film on good recommendations. It was hailed as one of the best films of 2018. The mystery surrounding the film went well with the mystery that was actually the film itself. I learnt a hard lesson after watching this film and that is not to go by what other’s say about a film. Given Bollywood’s film making standards, I should not have been surprised. Yet, I found myself pleasantly surprised at the end product. Andadhun tells a complex tale of blindness in a world that is not blind even though it appears so. Confused? Well then, watching the film is not going to make it any better. This film is a classical example of postmodern film-making. It is replete with ample plot twists that don’t allow you to settle into its tricky narrative. Just when you think you have it all figured out, a new twist emerges and challe
Read more