5.7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate the death of a young nun in Romania and confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun.
Starring: Demián Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Bonnie Aarons, Ingrid BisuHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 42% |
Supernatural | 38% |
Mystery | 20% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English DD=narrative descriptive
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
One of the scariest images from The Conjuring 2 gets its own movie in The Nun, the latest entry in James Wan's house of horrors. The film picks up the story hinted in the teaser at the end of Annabelle: Creation, and it appears to close the circle that began with the initial Conjuring, as it loops back at the end to reconnect us with the case that first introduced us to paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga). But loops are never closed for good on a successful franchise, and after The Nun's worldwide haul (approximately $366 million in box office against a production budget of $22 million), a sequel is inevitable. Wan has already declared that he has a new chapter in mind.
The Nun was shot digitally by Conjuring universe veteran Maxime Alexandre (Annabelle:
Creation). Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray represents the film's imagery to good
advantage, contrasting the brightness outside the doomed abbey (and elsewhere in the world) to
the perpetually dim corridors, chambers and catacombs within. Sharpness and detail are
excellent, except in the dim shadows where deadly spirits lurk, and there the reduced shadow
detail intentionally obscures threats until they burst fully into view. (The Nun's unearthly
adversary takes many forms.) The palette is deliberately dull and desaturated for much of the
film, with notable exceptions in the green forest surrounding the ancient structure (and also in the
London gardens where Father Burke first meets Sister Irene and the village where the pair meets
up with Frenchie). I suspect it's an intentional design element that, both at the Vatican and within
the abbey, the most vivid colors are various shades of red. Blacks are the most important
element, whether in the habits of the nuns or the many unlit recesses of the ancient abbey, and the
Blu-ray's black reproduction is consistently superior, with only an occasional trace of banding.
Warner has authored The Nun on Blu-ray with an average bitrate of 25.05 Mbps, which isn't
especially generous (especially given the nearly 13 GBs of unused space on the disc), but it's
sufficient to support a capable encode without any apparent artifacting or loss of detail.
The Nun's audio options are yet another victim of Warner's "Stupid Disc Authoring" (SDA™),
with the disc defaulting to a redundant DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. Be sure to select the Dolby
Atmos for a superior listening experience, and make sure it remains selected if you happen to
stop the disc and restart it.
Once you have the Atmos playing, you'll be treated to a richly layered mix ranging from distant
spectral whispers to room-rattling demonic bellows. The precision of the Atmos localizing can be
appreciated in numerous sequences, including the flashback to Father Burke's fateful exorcism (a
cacophony of creaking beams, rattling chains and unearthly echoes) and a key scene in a
graveyard with tiny bells ringing in all directions (see the film to understand why that's
important). The flock of crows that greets Frenchie when he first discovers a nun's body begins
as a single caw, then expands outward into and around the room as the flock disperses. The
distant sound of dripping water accompanies Sister Irene as she walks through the abbey's
courtyard, and it keeps reappearing in the background until eventually its significance is revealed.
These and dozens of other effects, both small and large, are as critical to The Nun's spooky
atmosphere as the dark photography.
With all this sonic trickery, plus the multiplicity of accents, the dialogue's intelligibility
occasionally suffers, especially in the opening scene—but dialogue is largely a secondary
concern in this film. The sweeping orchestral score by Polish composer Abel Korzeniowski
(Penny Dreadful) is an equally effective component of the aural
brew, and it also provides some
of the deepest bass notes.
The featurettes are largely promotional, but they do provide some interesting footage of the
production crew in the various Romanian locations, as well as glimpses of some elaborate
practical effects. The "Chronology" is a useful introduction, especially if The Nun is the viewer's
first venture into the Conjuring universe.
Horror remains one of the most popular genres in movies, which is why aspiring independent
filmmakers so often get their first break with horror scripts, because there's always financing
available. Wan and co-producer Peter Safran have created a gold standard with their mini-studio
inside Warner, reliably cranking out thrills and chills on an annual basis. Given The Nun's
success, don't expect them to quit anytime soon. Warner's Blu-ray is well-produced (except for
the usual SDA™) and is highly recommended for fans of The Conjuring universe.
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Quella villa accanto al cimitero
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