The Nun (2018)
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A priest and a novice nun must uncover an unholy secret in 1952 Romania.
The story
In 1952 Romania, two Roman Catholic nuns at the Saint Cartha's monastery are attacked by an unseen evil force. After one nun is found dead, the Vatican sends Father Burke and a novice nun, Sister Irene, to investigate the abbey. They must navigate the mysterious grounds and confront the lingering presence of a demonic entity that has been trapped within the walls since the Dark Ages.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1952 Romania, Sister Victoria is attacked by a demon appearing as a nun and takes her own life to prevent it from using her as a vessel. The Vatican dispatches Father Burke and Sister Irene to the Saint Cartha's monastery to investigate. They find the abbey is a fortress built in the Dark Ages to contain a demon named Valak, which was released after World War II. Burke discovers the Abbess is dead and that the nuns are using constant prayer to keep the entity at bay. After a series of terrifying encounters, Irene realizes the other nuns are not real and she has been praying alone. The trio eventually discovers that Valak can only be stopped by resealing the rift with the blood of Christ. During a final confrontation, Irene is possessed by Valak but is saved when Frenchie, a local villager, applies the holy blood to her face. The rift is sealed, but it is revealed that Valak briefly possessed Frenchie during the struggle. The story concludes with a jump to 1973, where the Warrens investigate a haunting involving a man named Maurice, who was possessed during the events in Romania.
- First release year
- 2018
- Runtime (minutes)
- 96
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Corin Hardy
- Writers
- Gary Dauberman · screenplay; James Wan · story; Gary Dauberman · story
- Cast and characters
- Taissa Farmiga · a nun in her novitiate; Demián Bichir · a priest; Jonas Bloquet · not specified; Bonnie Aarons · the Demon Nun, an incarnation of Valak
- Genres
- gothic; supernatural horror
- Themes
- faith; sacrifice
- Tone and mood
- gothic; tense
- Content notes
- horror
- Reception
- The film received mixed to average reviews from critics and a lower-than-average score from audiences.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 46 · scale: 100 · review count: 32; CinemaScore · score: C · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The director had a priest bless the set before filming.; A jump scare in a promotional video was removed from YouTube for violating policies.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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