If you enjoy “The Conjuring” franchise, then “The Nun” won’t disappoint.  This film connects the plots from both “The Conjuring” and “The Conjuring 2”, bringing life to what would have been minute details.

The film starts in an abbey in Romania where a nun is killed by the demon Valak, who dwells within a dark, tomb-like tunnel as she tries to retrieve an ancient relic.  Following her death, another nun takes her own life to avoid possession by the demon. A delivery boy by the name of Frenchie discovers her body and puts her in a shed to preserve her body.

When word of the nun’s death reaches the Vatican, a priest named Father Burke (Demian Bichir) is sent to a nunnery to enlist the help of a young novitiate named Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga).  It is later revealed that Sister Irene has visions, which are paramount to the plot. The reason for why she is chosen to go to Romania is unclear, but Father Burke assures her that the Vatican never makes mistakes.  After they arrive in Romania, they ask Frenchie to take them to the abbey. Immediately, they notice unholy occurrences and spend the rest of the movie trying to solve the dark mystery.

This movie really gives a backstory to the scene in “The Conjuring” where a short film is played for college students of Frenchie’s exorcism.  Having not seen the movie in awhile, I didn’t see the connection until the end when it cut to the scene. This also is a continuation of Valak’s story, as seen in “The Conjuring 2”.

I also enjoyed how the daughter of the actress (Vera Farmiga) who played Lorraine Warren in “The Conjuring” was in this film playing Sister Irene.  I love both actresses, so seeing them both in the same cinematic universe was really intriguing.

Overall, my rating for this film was a solid 10 out of 10.  It answered questions I didn’t even know I had. Truly a cinematic masterpiece.