Eighteen years after the death of Sister Ursula, six women who had spent their adolescence in the orphanage where the nun taught began to die under mysterious circumstances. Eve, the daughter of Mary, the second victim, knowing that her mother was supposed to meet with the ex-orphanage companions, sets off for Barcelona to meet the surviving women and with the hope of understanding what really happened to her mother. Eve, with the help of two of her friends and a seminarian about to take his vows, goes to the place where it all began, the Barcelona orphanage, and here the hypothesis that it is the restless spirit of Sister Ursula who is killing begins to materialize.
Arriving in Italy two years late, <i>The Nun</i> is a decent product of the very active Fantastic Factory of Julio Fernandez and Brian Yuzna, a quality brand for horror fans, a production company that has had the merit of reviving high-quality Iberian horror cinema around the world. While much of the Fantastic Factory's productions are of undeniable quality, others get lost in the sea of banality and, in some cases, even manage to sink into the most blatant trash (for example, Yuzna's embarrassing <i>Rottweiler</i>); <i>The Nun</i> positions itself in a modest middle ground between the two extremes: it does not manage to equal the best films by Jaume Balaguerò and Stuart Gordon, nor does it fall into the abyss of the Factory's worst products.
On its side, <i>The Nun</i> has an apparently original story and a boogeyman that will surely capture the attention of viewers; on the other hand, there is a general lack of tension and a development of the story itself that is not at all convincing. But let's go in order.
In the overly inflated slasher genre, <i>The Nun</i> tries to fit in by tinting the rules of the aforementioned genre with the characteristics of a ghost story and, in the premises, the combination was entirely winning; even the desire to address often taboo themes such as religious extremism can seem interesting; however, all this is lost in a development that is far too classic and predictable, up to a finale that is not at all convincing because it seems a bit artificial as well as confusing: it seems as if a final twist was imposed that, however, does not connect well with the narrative logic of the film.
The character of Sister Ursula is probably the true strong point of the film and, although it resembles the Tooth Fairy from <i>Al calare delle tenebre</i> in appearance, it is still an imposing and unsettling figure that becomes the true driving force of the entire film from the very first appearance. However, together with the charisma of this creature, there is also too much ostentation of the creature itself, thus dampening its tensile strength from the beginning; even in general, a lack of suspense is noticeable, an element that is instead essential for a product of this genre.
Diligent is the direction of Luis de la Madrid as well as the performances of the entire cast; the photography by David Carretero and the digital and makeup special effects are certainly of good quality.
In general, therefore, <i>The Nun</i> presents itself as a decent horror that could certainly have given more than it ultimately did: it does not bore and presents itself halfway between the old slasher movie and the modern ghost story, but it does not leave a mark and lends itself to being quickly forgotten.
It still deserves half a vote more.
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