[wpdevart_youtube]pzD9zGcUNrw[/wpdevart_youtube]THE NUN ****
Dir: Corin Hardy (15, 100 mins)
Corin Hardy, director of the excellent Irish-set creature-feature The Hallow, now gets to do a big-budget gothic horror that brings to mind the classic Hammer films of the 1950s and 60s. The Nun also manages to be a prequel story for a scene-stealing demon from The Conjuring 2, Valak, adding to the ever-extending horror universe from that franchise. With a third Annabelle film planned, a very disturbing looking Nun now comes centre stage to menace and chill in this more Eurocentric blend of The Exorcist and Black Narcissus. Set in the 1950s, Sister Irene (played by Taissa Farmiga, sister of The Conjuring’s Vera Farmiga) and hardheaded priest Father Burke (Demian Bichir) are dispatched by the Vatican on a fact-finding mission after the apparent suicide of a novitiate at a Romanian convent. This unlikely double act is soon investigating a tremendously atmospheric castle, cut off from modern society, where they’re confronted by the demon Nun – the strikingly cheekboned Bonnie Arons, made all the scarier by the makeup skills of Eleanor Sabaduquia. This will not be an easy job; headless statues of Christ are uncovered, insanity reigns and jump scares are plentiful. Director Hardy captures a nightmarish intensity whilst playing the potentially ludicrous set up with conviction to create a creepy, white-knuckle supernatural mystery. Opens Sept 7