Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1031063
FILM | SUNDAY • 23 SEPTEMBER 2018 maltatoday 10 HALLOWEEN is just a month- and-some-change away, and the masterminds behind the suc- cessful paranormal investigation franchise The Conjuring – star- ring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as real-life investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren– have unleashed yet another offshoot of that 'expanded universe' onto what is clearly an eager and hun- gry audience. The sophomore effort for British director Corin Hardy (The Hallow) but overseen by Conjuring maestro James Wan (who serves as co-writer and producer), 'The Nun' is set in 1952 and sees Vatican-appoint- ed priest Fr Burke (Demián Bichir) being sent to Romania to investigate the recent suicide of a nun, Sister Victoria – an inci- dent that is suspected to have de- monic repercussions on the sur- rounding area. Burke is ordered to take the would-be nun Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) along, owing to visions that she's expe- rienced in the past, which mark her out as being more sensitive to supernatural happening than most. Tagging along too is the fruit-and-veg-supplier 'Frenchie' (Jonas Bloquet) who was the only witness to Sister Victoria's suicide. Encountering the creepy and perpetually shrouded abbess, Burke and Irene are allowed to stay the night to continue their investigations, sending 'Frenchie' home and asking him to return for them in a couple of days. But this turns out to be an unwise move as soon enough, the cleri- cal duo are made to confront the demon 'Valak' – last seen by Sis- ter Victoria prior to her suicide, and by us in the Conjuring 2. Working off an entirely un- inspired script penned by Gary Dauberman (with overarching story supplied by Wan himself) Corin Hardy manages to stitch together a coherent-enough chiller with just about enough requisite jump-scares to make The Nun quasi-essential view- ing for hormonal teens out for a cheap kick at the movies. This was certainly true of the group my friend and I ended up lumped with this midweek, and though often disruptive, their enthusiasm was an infectious reminder of the simple pleasures that horror has been providing to audiences ever since it laid its claim on filmgoing culture. But this is not enough to dis- tract from the fact that what we have here is rushed-into- production hokum that's simply riding the wave of a successful franchise. Built entirely out of cliches and delivered up in cin- ematography and colour grad- ing so rudimentary that it kills the chance of any legitimately creepy atmosphere, it'll all be flushed into forgettable territory soon enough. A shot of enjoyment can be had during the climax, when the de- monic presence of Valak invades the entire nunnery and forces our heroes to go commando among the crumbling ruins of the abbey, with some fun ghost- zombie gore along the way and temporal illusions lending a diz- zying and urgent feel to the ac- tion. But it's all too little, too late... to say nothing of how the whole thing criminally short-changes itself by never once dwelling on the neurotic potential of Cathol- icism and its uses in horror. For those after something both lu- rid and heady, a rewatch of Ken Russell's The Devils might be the better option. But hey, at least the tittering teens had fun. The latest offshoot from the popular supernatural-horror 'Conjuring Universe' may push the right buttons to generate cheap and predictable frights, but it remains a lazy, lackluster entry in the extended series MOTHER SUPERIOR ONE WITH GOD CHASTE AND TRUE NUN THE WISER GET THEE TO A NUNNERY T H E N U N ( 15 ) Teodor Reljic ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ The verdict Best seen with an audience of jeering and screaming teenag- ers – I kid you not – The Nun is bereft of any imagination or hints of inspired filmmak- ing. While a by-the-numbers script can be forgiven for pro- jects like this, cheap sets and uninspired cinematography – safe and bland when it could have at least being lurid – and actors with zero star quality fail to even give us the requi- site bang for our buck. Still, its global box office numbers – and the local band of teen- agers that nearly packed a screening last week – stand as definitive proof that hor- ror, no matter how shoddy its presentation, remains a bank- able mainstream genre. In a media landscape oversatu- rated by superheroes, this can only be a good thing. Rote horror missing divine inspiration Dark habits Taissa Farmiga is Sister Irene, thrust into a confrontation with a demonic entity in a way that slides neatly into her coming-of-age journey in this 'Conjuring Universe' spin-off Bonnie Aarons is 'The Nun'