Looking for a movie that makes it hard to go to bed at night? The Nun, the fifth movie in the conjuring series, certainly will make it easier, if anything. This highly anticipated movie depicts the story of Valak, a demonic nun first featured in The Conjuring 2. The film takes place in an abbey in 1952 Romania. The mysterious character made her appearance with a gothic and eerie voice, which arguably added extra suspense to the film.

Taking place in a cursed castle, it could have set the scene for a flawless and chilling set. Along with creaky expected sounds, and continuous chants, this movie used every scary-movie method in the books. The film begins to develop after a faithful nun living in the cursed castle hangs herself from the window. Soon thereafter, the Vatican sends out demon hunter, Father Burke, and Sister Irene, a nun who is about to take her vows and devote her life to Christ. Sister Irene is sought out by Father Burke because of her supernatural visions.

“The Nun was creepy, but the special effects and use of cheesy jump scares made the movie laughable, and unrealistic,” said senior Brenna Swiftney.

Comparing the first two conjuring movies, which focus on horrifying visuals, and extreme anticipation, The Nun is noticeably different, and not in a good way. Despite the jump scares, which throughout the beginning could be frightening, they continued to become more and more cheesy and excessive.

“I thought The Nun was a great movie to nap to. If you want to enjoy spooky season without being scared, I would recommend this film,” said senior Rose Jordan.

The conjuring franchise is favored because of five words appearing at the beginning of each movie: the thrilling “based on a true story” phrase. Usually, the main characters, Ed and Lorraine Warren, who are paranormal investigators, are shown solving a spirit-haunted home, or person. These popular common themes appeared to be completely missing in The Nun.

“The Nun was a great prequel to the conjuring although I would not say it was as good as the last two,” said senior Ethan Sayre.

Valak, who was a “demon” who adapted the form of a nun, would become enlarged, and then lunge at its next victim. Although some might find this incredibly daunting, it was plain ridiculous. The unrealistic aspect of this film was missing the very realistic element of the past conjurings. If a mediocre, nonsensical film is the target for this Halloween, then The Nun is a perfect choice.