October Horror Movie Challenge: The Nun (2018) - The Conjuring Series

This year I am doing something I have been wanting to do for a while. I am going to watch all The Conjuring movies in chronological order, instead of release order. Now I have not seen all of these movies, so I might miss out on some details, but I still think it is going to be a lot of fun.

The Nun (2018) - Conjuring Timeline 1952

We start this movie with two nuns attempting something, one dies, and the other commits suicide. This movie introduces us to the demonic nun Valak.

The film follows Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga, one of my favorite actresses and whose casting creates an unintended but interesting echo of her sister Vera’s role in The Conjuring films) and Father Burke (Demián Bichir, looking like the son fo Christopher Lee and Gabriel Byrne) as they investigate a string of dark happenings at a Romanian abbey. They meet local guide Frenchie, played by Jonas Bloquet.

The scares start early, and often, with Valak lurking around every corner, doing the heavy lifting of the scares. There’s a lot of candlelight, a lot of whispering in the dark, and a lot of “Is it behind you?” moments that would work better if they weren’t so telegraphed.

What the movie nails is the creepy atmosphere. The abbey and lands look like they stepped straight out of an old Hammer Horror film. The fog, the forests, the decaying stone walls, it all feels like an RPG adventure hook waiting to be written. (You could drop this abbey into Ravenloft tomorrow and no one would blink.) Unfortunately, the script doesn’t give that backdrop much substance. Characters explain the lore more than they actually uncover it, which makes the whole thing feel less like an investigation and more like a tour with jump scares. Still, it is a fun tour, and the jump scares are effective. For example, while investigating, we hear about Father Burke's failed exorcism, the history of the Abbey, and so on. It is all fun, but it doesn't push the plot forward.

Valak herself is terrifying. The plotting could use some work, but a demon nun with sharp teeth stalking around in torchlight is always effective. You don't even need to be Catholic. In fact, it makes me think there is an entire sub-genre of "religious horror" of which The Exorcist would be the lead example. 

I do love the period feel of this movie, something I know extends to the rest of the series. 

Our heroes do defeat Valak, but since the first, we know it doesn't last. We even get a "flash forward" of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren documenting the possession of Frenchie 20 years later.

NIGHT SHIFT & Occult D&D Ideas

Obviously, each movie is an adventure in a long campaign. The occult aspects primarily come from the need to investigate long-forgotten lore.  Of course the demon Valak/Valac is always good hook, a reminder that even a "low level" demon should be terrifying. 

October Horror Movie Challenge 2025
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