As frightening as the "The Nun" is, it doesn't hold a candle to today's real-life horrors in the Catholic Church.
But while a new generation of filmmakers has breathed new life into horror by embedding it with frightful and salient social commentary, the "The Conjuring" franchise — of which "The Nun" is a spinoff and the fifth installment — isn't about anything so real. It's about exhuming classic horror archetypes — creaky old houses and creepy old dolls — with (mostly) old-school effects. And what's more old school than a mean ol' nun?
Set in 1952, "The Nun" is the origin story of Valak (Bonnie Aarons), a demonic nun who first turned up in "Conjuring 2," as the pursuit of Vera Farmiga's paranormal expert. This time, our protagonist is Sister Irene (played by Vera's younger sister Taissa Farmiga), a novitiate who, just before her vows, is dispatched by the Vatican, along with Father Burke (Demian Bichir), an expert in unexplained phenomena (or as he says, "miracle hunting"), to a remote Romanian abbey where a young nun has just hung herself.
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Taissa Farmiga in a scene from "The Nun." (Justin LubinWarner Bros. Pictures via AP)
The decaying, overgrown abbey and its adjoining covenant are suitably eerie. The place, handsomely crafted by production designer Jennifer Spence, has the feel of a horror-movie set, complete with a foggy cemetery, and the action that follows has the almost comforting pattern of surprises and scares that's to be expected. Entering the gothic world of "The Nun," built so sturdily on horror movie clichés, is to slide into a darkly fantastical realm that's practically cozy it's so familiar.
Crypts will turn into traps, apparitions will flicker in the mirrors and ancient Christian dogma will be used for all its sinister power. Certainly, anyone who goes anywhere at any time clutching a lantern will run into trouble.
But what distinguishes "The Nun" is its silky, sumptuous shadows. Directed by British filmmaker Corin Hardy ("The Hallows") and shot by Maxime Alexander (who was also cinematographer on the "Conjuring" spinoff "Annabelle: Creation," ''The Nun" shrouds itself so much in darkness that it at times verges on becoming a nightmarish abstraction. You almost lose sense of what exactly is going on, as Sister Irene falls into a labyrinthine abyss.
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Ingrid Bisu in a scene from "The Nun." (Justin LubinWarner Bros. Pictures via AP)
The spell, of course, gets broken as the demands of plot and franchise return. And "The Nun" has little to offer beyond: Beware of spooky Romanian abbeys. But for a moment or two, it hangs suspended in a luxurious gloom, the kind that these days passes for a welcome escape.
"The Nun," a Warner Bros. release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for terror, violence, and disturbing/bloody images. Running time: 96 minutes. Three stars out of four.
MPAA definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
Follow Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Widening demonstrations sparked by Iran's ailing economy spread Thursday into the Islamic Republic's rural provinces, with at least seven people being killed in the first fatalities reported among security forces and protesters, authorities said.
The deaths may mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran’s theocracy over the demonstrations, which have slowed in the capital, Tehran, but expanded elsewhere. The fatalities, two on Wednesday and five on Thursday, occurred in four cities, largely home to Iran’s Lur ethnic group.
The protests have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations. However, the demonstrations have yet to be countrywide and have not been as intense as those surrounding the death of Amini, who was detained over not wearing her hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities.
The most-intense violence appeared to strike Azna, a city in Iran's Lorestan province, some 300 kilometers (185 miles) southwest of Tehran. There, online videos purported to show objects in the street ablaze and gunfire echoing as people shouted: “Shameless! Shameless!”
The semiofficial Fars news agency reported three people had been killed. Other media, including pro-reform outlets, cited Fars for the report while state-run media did not fully acknowledge the violence there or elsewhere. It wasn't clear why there wasn't more reporting over the unrest, but journalists had faced arrest over their reporting in 2022.
In Lordegan, a city in Iran's Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, online videos showed demonstrators gathered on a street, with the sound of gunfire in the background. The footage matched known features of Lordegan, some 470 kilometers (290 miles) south of Tehran.
Fars, citing an anonymous official, said two people had been killed during the protests Thursday.
The Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran said two people had been killed there, identifying the dead as demonstrators. It also shared a still image of what appeared to be an Iranian police officer, wearing body armor and wielding a shotgun.
In 2019, the area around Lordegan saw widespread protests and demonstrators reportedly damaged government buildings after a report said people there had been infected with HIV by contaminated needles used at a local health care clinic.
In Fuladshahr in Iran's Isfahan province, state media reported on the death of a man there Thursday that activist groups attributed to the police opening fire on demonstrators.
A separate demonstration Wednesday night reportedly led to the 21-year-old volunteer in the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's Basij force.
The state-run IRNA news agency reported on the Guard member’s death but did not elaborate. An Iranian news agency called the Student News Network, which is believed to be close to the Basij, directly blamed demonstrators for the Guard member's death, citing comments from Saeed Pourali, a deputy governor in Lorestan province.
The Guard member “was martyred ... at the hands of rioters during protests in this city in defense of public order,” he reportedly said. Another 13 Basij members and police officers suffered injuries, he added.
“The protests that have occurred are due to economic pressures, inflation and currency fluctuations, and are an expression of livelihood concerns," Pourali said. "The voices of citizens must be heard carefully and tactfully, but people must not allow their demands to be strained by profit-seeking individuals.”
The protests took place in the city of Kouhdasht, over 400 kilometers (250 miles) southwest of Tehran. Local prosecutor Kazem Nazari said 20 people had been arrested after the protests and that calm had returned to the city, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported.
Iran's civilian government under reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian has been trying to signal it wants to negotiate with protesters. However, Pezeshkian has acknowledged there is not much he can do as Iran's rial currency has rapidly depreciated, with $1 now costing some 1.4 million rials.
Meanwhile, state television separately reported on the arrests of seven people, including five it described as monarchists and two others it said had linked to European-based groups. State TV also said another operation saw security forces confiscate 100 smuggled pistols, without elaborating.
Iran's theocracy had declared Wednesday a public holiday across much of the country, citing cold weather, likely as a bid to get people out of the capital for a long weekend. The Iranian weekend is Thursday and Friday, while Saturday marks Imam Ali's birthday, another holiday for many.
The protests, taking root in economic issues, have heard demonstrators chant against Iran's theocracy as well. The country's leaders are still reeling after Israel launched a 12-day war against the country in June. The U.S. also bombed Iranian nuclear sites during the war.
Iran has said it is no longer enriching uranium at any site in the country, trying to signal to the West that it remains open to potential negotiations over its atomic program to ease sanctions. However, those talks have yet to happen as U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have warned Tehran against reconstituting its atomic program.
A woman chants slogans as she holds up a poster of the late commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard expeditionary Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone attack in 2020 in Iraq, during a ceremony commemorating his death anniversary at the Imam Khomeini grand mosque in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman shows a portrait of the late commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard expeditionary Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone attack in 2020 in Iraq, on her smartphone during a ceremony commemorating his death anniversary at the Imam Khomeini grand mosque in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Women wave national flags as they hold up posters of the late commander of the Iran's Revolutionary Guard expeditionary Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone attack in 2020 in Iraq, during a ceremony commemorating his death anniversary at the Imam Khomeini grand mosque in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Protesters march in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency via AP)
Protesters march in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (Fars News Agency via AP)
