“The Nun” is the 5th film the “Conjuring” Universe and a spin off of the character introduced in 2016’s “The Conjuring 2”. The movie is directed by Corin Hardy, written by Gary Dauberman and James Wan. Wan directed the 2 Conjuring films as well as wrote the second one. The movie stars Demian Bichir, Taissa Farmiga & Jonas Bloquet.

In 1952 Romania, after an evil spirit destroys a coven and word gets the Vatican, Father Burke (Bichir) & Sister Irene (Farmiga) are sent to investigate. Once there, they uncover a horrifying truth of dark and mysterious past involving a demonic entity by the name of Valek, who was first made it presences felt in a exorcism with famed demonologists Ed & Lorraine Warren. Burke & Irene have their minds twisted & faith tested as they attempt to stop Valek.

Despite having great moments in The Conjuring 2, this origin story had a lot typical cliche of a lesser horror film. Even though James Wan helped with the story, his directing is sorely miss from the film. The direction this film takes is good for a typical supernatural film but pales in comparison to Wan’s original vision. The acting is great from Farmiga & Bichir, however it wasn’t a lot to actually work with like Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga. While the storyline was mediocre at best, it has a weak attempt tying in to the rest of the Conjuring Universe. While the 2 “Annabelle” films were hit & miss, I feel as if these spinoffs are a good attempts at expanding but are not going to be held in the same regard as the first Conjuring film.

Overall, this was a run of the mill supernatural thriller with some aspects of a cliche horror movie. The performances were good, creepy at times but just falls short of a solid horror movie. This Universe has potential and even though this was a bit of a disappointment, I’m still looking forward to the next entries in this saga such as “The Conjuring 3”, “Annabelle 3” & the rumored “Crooked Man” film.