From trolling people with creepy paintings to possessing a farmer in the grossest way possible, the demonic Nun of "The Conjuring" franchise has racked up plenty of horrifying moments over the years. These are our favorites – and the most brutal.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00 From trolling people with creepy paintings to possessing a farmer in the grossest way
00:04 possible, the demonic nun of The Conjuring franchise has racked up plenty of horrifying
00:09 moments over the years.
00:11 These are our favorites, and the most brutal.
00:14 While critics and audiences alike weren't all that impressed with The Nun, the film
00:17 is home to one of the scariest moments featuring the demon Valak in the form of the nun.
00:22 "She looks like us, but she's not one of us.
00:26 It's something unholy."
00:28 During the climactic final battle between Valak and Sister Irene, Irene uncovers the
00:32 area where the demon has been lurking under a convent, only to end up being temporarily
00:37 possessed.
00:38 After Frenchie saves her, Valak uses its demonic powers to propel Irene into an area partially
00:43 submerged in water, as the convent's resurrection chamber has been dormant after decades of
00:48 not being used.
00:50 Irene looks back at where she last saw Valak, only to see the demon disguised as The Nun
00:54 slowly rise from the water like the blasphemous apex predator it is.
00:59 The camera switches to the point of view of Irene, who looks directly at the demon.
01:03 Just when it seems like she has a moment to get up and continue fighting, Valak charges
01:07 directly at the camera, grabbing Irene by the face.
01:10 The speed at which Valak moves incites a shock to the system, and as we view The Nun through
01:15 Irene's eyes, it feels as if it's running right toward us.
01:19 No one would blame you if you flinched out of reflex.
01:23 Sometimes the most effective scares are the most simple in execution, and this is the
01:27 case for the memorable hallway scares of both The Conjuring 2 and The Nun 2.
01:32 Both films display different versions of the same scare, where an unsuspecting would-be
01:36 victim peers down a hallway covered in bright floral wallpaper only to see the menacing
01:40 figure staring back at them from the other end.
01:44 The black silhouette of Bonnie Aron's Nun is an unsettling juxtaposition in the seemingly
01:48 friendly environment, and the buildup to the reveal is nothing short of masterful.
01:53 In The Conjuring 2 and The Nun 2, respective directors James Wan and Michael Schaubs utilize
01:58 long tracking shots down the hallway, cutting back and forth between the POV of whoever
02:02 is looking down the hall, Lorraine Warren in the former, Sophie in the latter.
02:07 It's hard not to hold your breath as characters slowly make their way down the hallway and
02:11 approach the room at the end of it, especially knowing there's always a risk that The Nun
02:15 is going to take off sprinting toward the screen.
02:18 The painting scare of The Conjuring 2 is actually a continuation of the previously mentioned
02:22 hallway scare, but it's so terrifying and effective that it merits its own discussion.
02:28 Lorraine sees what appears to be The Nun on the wall, but flips on a light switch to see
02:32 that it's just a painting.
02:34 The deep black charcoal and bright white of her flesh look unsettling and out of place
02:38 in the warmly designed room, immediately putting us on edge.
02:42 The fact that the reel-to-reel starts to play Hark the Herald Angels Sing on its own doesn't
02:46 help either.
02:48 Suddenly the lamp near the painting switches off again and the face of the painting changes
02:52 ever so slightly.
02:53 It's not enough to constitute a jump scare, but enough to make us question whether or
02:57 not the painting really is moving or if it's just our eyes playing tricks.
03:02 After the door and windows slam shut on their own, Lorraine watches in silent horror as
03:06 a shadow walks out from behind another painting in the room and slowly approaches the painting
03:10 of The Nun.
03:12 After it assumes its position and blends into the painting, physical fingers wrap around
03:16 the frame as if a person is behind it.
03:19 Then Valak charges at Lorraine, holding the painting in front of itself.
03:23 The face of The Nun in the painting begins to scream, showing blood-red teeth, with the
03:28 painting's mouth moving.
03:29 This horrifying scene is arguably one of the most memorable of the entire franchise.
03:34 That being said, The Nun 2 tries to build on the painting scene's legacy by using a
03:39 magazine rack to achieve the same level of terror in a slightly more clever way.
03:43 As Sister Irene approaches a wall covered with magazines for sale, the wind picks up
03:48 and starts blowing the pages open, and of course, glimpses of Valak in the form of The
03:52 Nun randomly pop up.
03:55 There's no escaping The Nun, and there's nowhere for Sister Irene to go.
03:59 She has to wait for the pages to turn to their rightful spot and face Valak head on.
04:04 Anxiety builds as the pages flip faster and louder, only freezing when Valak's image
04:09 is revealed.
04:10 But even then, the stopping of the pages offers no relief, as the audience knows that Valak
04:15 is bound to jump out at any moment.
04:18 Just when it seems like a scary image is the only thing Sister Irene has to be afraid of,
04:22 Valak does exactly what is expected, and manifests as a physical presence as the street lamps
04:27 flicker and grabs Sister Irene by the face.
04:31 Frenchie just can't catch a break when it comes to Valak.
04:34 In the very first film of the franchise, The Conjuring, Ed and Lorraine Warren discuss
04:38 assisting an exorcism of a French-Canadian farmer.
04:41 "And like that, an upside-down cross started to appear from within his body."
04:48 As The Nun makes clear, this possessed man is Frenchie, whom Valak will use as a vessel
04:53 to enact evil throughout the Conjuring universe.
04:56 Frenchie saves Sister Irene's life at the end of the film, only to be shown with an
05:00 inverted cross under the skin of his neck, a sign that Valak is inside of him.
05:06 In The Nun 2, the audience sees just how the possession took place, with Valak's demonic
05:10 tongue forcing its way down Frenchie's throat.
05:13 Sister Irene tries her best to exorcise Valak from her friend, and it's a brutal procedure
05:18 that causes him a lot of agony and anguish.
05:21 Things seem as if they're all resolved at the end of The Nun 2, but fans of the franchise
05:25 know that Valak is not yet done with Frenchie, and will return for its most relentless attack
05:30 yet.
05:31 The next time fans see Frenchie, it will likely be the last time he's seen alive.
05:35 -