The Nun
Warner Bros. | Release Date: September 7, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
46
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
20
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Entertainment WeeklyDana SchwartzSep 5, 2018
When it leans into its camp, (I.e. when the French-Canadian “Frenchie” is on screen), The Nun comes closest to its ideal form of go-to midnight-movie, the fun younger cousin of the Conjuring movies with less build-up but more of the money shots you’ll come to a theater to see. Read full review
75
The Associated PressJake CoyleSep 5, 2018
What distinguishes The Nun is its silky, sumptuous shadows. Directed by British filmmaker Corin Hardy (“The Hallows”) and shot by Maxime Alexander (who was also cinematographer on the “Conjuring” spinoff “Annabelle: Creation,” The Nun shrouds itself so much in darkness that it at times verges on becoming a nightmarish abstraction. You almost lose sense of what exactly is going on, as Sister Irene falls into a labyrinthine abyss. Read full review
75
IndieWireJamie RighettiSep 5, 2018
While The Nun has some veritable scares up its sleeve, it’s also proof that sometimes the most terrifying horrors are the ones we don’t understand. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterHarry WindsorSep 5, 2018
In jettisoning the focus on family of the previous films, it gives us characters whose interactions with each other feel less than detailed, and who are more archetypal than real. But it’s good clean fun nevertheless, and the set pieces expertly supply the tension-and-release satisfactions of the genre. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshSep 5, 2018
The surface may be ominous, richly textured and morbidly fascinating, but storywise, it remains shallow. Read full review
60
EmpireKim NewmanSep 6, 2018
The real nun in the movie is the heroine, played by a spirited Taissa Farmiga, and the dramatic weight falls on her able shoulders. Read full review
60
Film ThreatNorman GidneySep 6, 2018
It should be noted that the film, directed by Corin Hardy, looks great. From a visual standpoint, The Nun is a success. There is an effective use of framing, color, and light that Hardy executes with polish. Read full review
60
Time OutMichael GingoldSep 5, 2018
Hardcore genre fans will appreciate visual shout-outs to shriekers like The Exorcist III and City of the Living Dead, while Conjuring devotees will enjoy the “aha” moment of a concluding callback that brings the saga full circle. Read full review
60
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoSep 5, 2018
Scares are often on the generic side (pitch-black doorway, hand reaches out), and while some wild effects work enjoys the zanier side of Hell’s mouth opening up to spit venom across Earth’s surface, it’s missing the masterfully torturous tone that Wan’s universe otherwise aims for. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeSep 6, 2018
If your heart skips a beat during this movie, it’ll probably be from laughter. But if you adjust your expectations and go in expecting something loud, lurid, and frequently utterly ridiculous, it’s good for a cheap adrenaline rush all the same. Read full review
55
IGNTom JorgensenSep 5, 2018
As a piece of the larger Conjuring universe puzzle, The Nun is a fun, if ineffectual history lesson that will provide fans with plenty of dots to connect. On its own merits, The Nun stumbles by not delivering any real terror or investment in its characters, instead resting on its strong visuals and atmosphere and, strangely, humor. Read full review
55
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiSep 5, 2018
It’s a spooky, entertaining, but totally goofy entry in “The Conjure-verse.” Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerSep 10, 2018
First off: The Nun is quite likely the best entry in the blockbuster The Conjuring cinematic franchise. However, this is still not much of an endorsement. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid LewisSep 6, 2018
The Nun is certainly not a terrible horror movie – the production values are stellar, and there is a decent backstory about the abbey. But the film won’t be remembered as one of the top entries in the expanding canon of the Conjuring Universe. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerSep 6, 2018
The plot is simple, the character development is lazy and the use of the oh-my-God-there’s-someone-right-behind-you device is tiring. Still, the premise is sound. Evil in the church – who would have thought? Duh-duh! Read full review
50
USA TodayBrian TruittSep 6, 2018
A mix of slow-burn religious mystery and old-school adventure that egregiously fails to utilize its greatest hit: Bonnie Aarons’ terrifyingly freaky villainess of the cloth. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comChristy LemireSep 6, 2018
A presence that initially was disturbing grows repetitive and almost predictable over the course of an entire film. Read full review
50
Rolling StoneBilge EbiriSep 5, 2018
True horror requires anticipation to work properly, but it’s hard to anticipate anything when everything’s already being thrown at us. The dread dissipates. Our screams become nothing but weary sighs. Read full review
50
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergSep 5, 2018
The franchise has proved to be a reliable if variably elegant “boo” machine; the same applies here. Specters and hallucinations appear without consistent narrative logic. Characters veer off separately when teamwork might reduce brushes with demons or death. Read full review
50
VarietyAndrew BarkerSep 5, 2018
Employing just about every trick from the Hammer Horror playbook without wasting time trying to make any sense, it provides a serviceable 96 minutes of standard-issue jump scares and supernatural hokum. Read full review
42
Original-CinJim SlotekSep 9, 2018
I will give The Nun this, it has an utterly outrageous ending that pretty much brought the house down at the advance screening I attended. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangSep 6, 2018
Despite its clammy atmosphere and two credible and appealing leads, the movie is mechanical in its rhythms and unimaginative in its terrors. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeySep 6, 2018
It’s sludgy, and kind of random, and if you already know you’ll enjoy it anyway, you undoubtedly will. Read full review
40
Screen DailySarah WardSep 6, 2018
If The Nun leaves a haunting impression, it’s of a missed opportunity to capitalise upon a visually distinctive antagonist within an existing hit series. The end result feels like an exercise in joining obvious franchise dots and paving the way for future films. Read full review
40
Total FilmKevin HarleySep 5, 2018
Too rackety and hackneyed to scare, The Nun groans next to the likes of Hereditary. Only the moody, menacing abbey inspires the right levels of belief. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreSep 6, 2018
There are completists who have to see every movie in a “universe.” The phrase “The studio saw you coming” applies to them. Read full review
38
Film Journal InternationalAndré HerefordSep 6, 2018
The Nun resorts to makeup effects to put a frightening face on its supposedly scary sisters. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineDerek SmithSep 5, 2018
The Nun is the cinematic equivalent of a Conjuring-inspired maze at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. Read full review
25
ObserverOliver JonesSep 6, 2018
Rich in atmosphere but bereft of new ideas about how to scare an audience, The Nun is like being stuck inside a club with cool decor where the DJ keeps playing the same song over and over again. Read full review
25
The PlaylistRyan OliverSep 6, 2018
There are nuggets of potential underneath, but they’re ultimately buried in a loud, monotonous experience that plays out like a bad haunted corn maze and you just want to cut through the cornstalks for a faster way out. Read full review
25
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenSep 6, 2018
Director Corin Hardy lards on the frights so relentlessly that the moments don’t build to any sort of sustained narrative momentum. Read full review
25
ConsequenceMichael RoffmanSep 6, 2018
It’s about as effective as a Walgreens Halloween display, where any terror derives from uninspiring shock value, and given that each and every pop-up scare can be seen from over a mile away, the movie fails in that respect, too. It’s exhausting even. Read full review
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