The Scariest Moments in The Nun
This isn't your grandma’s convent. The Conjuring franchise changed the game with The Nun, and horror fans got triple the scares. While most of the series’ installments work up to the terrifying bits, The Nun gets right in there within five minutes of the film — and you’ll be hard-pressed to find ten minutes of the movie that doesn't include a series of spine-tingling haunts.
There’s a strong case that The Nun is the scariest of all The Conjuring films thus far, with a sequel on the way. So, for anyone who doesn’t feel like doing a play-by-play of every bone-chilling scene and jump scare three times in a row, we’ve got you covered (BTW, if there are any therapists out there reading this, feel free to slide into the DMs).
The Bloody Hand of God
The first scene that sets the tone for the movie’s terrifying vibe comes in at under five minutes when a nun’s bloody hand pops out of a door as she meets her maker. Most Conjuring movies have scary scenes sprinkled throughout, but The Nun has prolonged sequences of creepy moments that blend from one moment to the next.
Shortly after the second-to-last nun in the convent perishes in front of Sister Victoria, Valek creeps over to her with the dramatic flair of upside-down crosses as this scream queen snuffs the lights out one by one. After Sister Victoria makes the ultimate sacrifice — by hanging herself from the church window — the reflection of a ticked-off Valek pouts in the window pane.
She probably should have picked a more remote place to sacrifice herself, given that she only does it to prevent Valek from escaping his prison through possession. But a decaying body hanging from the middle of the castle is bound to raise some alarm bells.
Wait, are There Zombies Now?
Naturally, Frenchie comes across the decomposing nun, prompting Sister Irene and Father Burke to investigate alongside a reluctant Frenchie — giving Valek three new warm bodies to toy with (and try to possess). But Valek’s not done with Sister Victoria. When the trio inspect the frozen corpse, she's sitting up. A horrified Frenchie says, “That’s not how I left her.” The fact that he doesn’t immediately bail is a testament to his character. We stan Frenchie in this house (or castle).
Simon Says: “Don’t Follow a Ghost in the Forest.”
Most people would run if they saw what looks to be the ghost of the hanged nun that was quite literally chilling in the freezer an hour ago. A ghostly Sister Victoria drags a rope behind her as she leads Frenchie to the cemetery — before turning into what looks like a deranged zombie. Zombie Victoria falls from a tree and attacks him. Okay, when did The Conjuring series become The Walking Dead? We're not even mad about it, just confused.
Oh, Danny Boy
The only thing The Nun is missing is a creepy kid. Oh, wait. Father Burke is hiding some demons of his own as he recalls the disturbing exorcism of a kid named Daniel — who continues to haunt the Father’s psyche long after the child's death. The scene is truly hard to watch as Daniel tries to fight off the demon and begs Father Burke to help him. But Daniel’s fright fest isn’t over quite yet.
Back in the present, Burke feels a tap on his shoulder as Daniel’s voice whispers, “Father.” There must be something in the air because Father Burke idiotically follows the vision of this dead kid to the cemetery before a snake abruptly flies out of vision-Daniel’s mouth as his eyes turn milky white. The apparition leads Burke into an empty casket bearing a headstone that reads: “Here lies Father Anthony Burke.” The good Father is busy screaming for help and ringing the safety coffin bell to no avail.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who’s the Dumbest Nun of All?
Now is not the time for a primping session, Irene. The unsuspecting Sister watches the shadow of a nun float around and come up behind her in a mirror. To make matters creepier, multiple demented nuns join the party, crowding behind Irene in the mirror's reflection before one grips her from behind, breaking the mirror as a crucifix falls.
Not one to miss the cemetery fun, Irene has the pleasure of getting an earful of cemetery bells ringing until she psychically hones in on Father Burke. But that’s not the spine-chilling part. Before Irene can dig him up, Valek’s hands, which are in desperate need of a manicure, grab Burke’s head, shaking him before the demon’s face flashes twice.
Valek Rises
Forget a bad psychedelic trip. Sister Oana mind-whammies Sister Irene with a haunting history lesson. In Irene’s vision, dead cloaked and bleeding bodies hang above the castle's opening to hell as Valek rises Lord Voldemort-style. Obviously, the only way to close the portal requires the blood of Christ — and no, we don’t mean a chalice filled with red wine. That's not exactly something you can find in a corner store.
The Lost Sister
It’s not like the Abbess has been acting super shady or anything before she ominously tells Burke that “Sister Irene is lost.” And it’s totally fine when her head tilts with a bone-cracking snap. The candle going out is a coincidence, right? Burke tries to pull off the Abbess’ cloak only to grab a bony hand that rips off and tries to strangle him with no corporeal body to be found. But that’s all perfectly normal and not creepy at all.
A Dream Within a Dream
Irene is probably about ready to ditch her psychic mojo when she has a vision where her eyes turn white, and she hears, “Mary points the way,” over and over in her own voice. Whatever entity is giving her this particular vision ups the ante when she sees a bloody skinless body and a quick flash of Nun Valek.
Seeing a shadow at the side of your bed is normal. Waking up to see a ghostly nun praying in Latin in the corner of your room is not. At this point, fans are ready for the ghostly nuns' bone-cracking shtick to chill out, but it’s just getting started. The collapse of rosary beads is all fun and games until a nun disappears and reappears behind Irene to whisper, “God save you” before hanging herself out the window.
Hey, Irene, when something invisible knocks and magically opens your door, it’s probably best not to follow the voice that whispers, “Please come.” Just a friendly tip.
God Ends Here
We’ve gotten to the point where the movie is basically all scares — and it’s not for the faint of heart. The Latin “God Ends Here” door opens to reveal Valek turning his head as he makes everything windy with a growl until Irene falls. Everyone’s favorite demonic nun grabs at her from behind the door until (Sister Oana?) grabs Irene and puts her hand over her mouth.
Of course, it's always fun to discover that your best ally is actually dead. Irene sees Oana praying and goes down to look at a white shroud over a body, only to find the nun rocking some milky dead eyes while her ghostly apparition is still praying. Cue a Totally Normal nun prayer circle that gets blown away as their necks crack and the head falls off a Jesus statue.
Even though Irene can’t be sure that her vision is, in fact, benevolent (or Oana at all), she heeds the nun’s warning to stay, pray, and not look back, allowing an invisible Valek to carve a pentagram in her back.
Confess Me, Father, for I Have Sinned
Valek is still using Father Burke’s guilt over Daniel to screw with the poor guy. The Father hears Daniel’s voice in a confession booth, and the kid's apparition appears before demonically screaming, “Why won’t you help me?” Sinister hands launch out of a nearby statue as Valek tries to cram a snake down Burke’s throat using the vision of Daniel.
Oh, Frenchie, you sweet, naive townie. After Burke’s run-in with Daniel/Valek, Burke hears a bell ring by Sister Victoria’s frozen body. Naturally, the dead body shoots a hand up with a growl, and she becomes animated until Frenchie returns to lob off her head.
The Nuns That Never Were
Never fear: Father Burke is here to give Irene a reality check. There are no living nuns in this Godless sanctuary. When Irene looks back at Oana’s body, it’s heavily decomposed and not recently dead like she appeared before — meaning Oana was a vision the entire time — either a manipulation tactic by Valek or some graveside assistance from the nun herself.
A zombified Oana wakes up and stabs Burke with her wooden cross as Irene starts The Lord’s Prayer. Burke’s prayer does more damage, though, lighting the cross and the body on fire. But it still comes barreling toward the ragtag group until Frenchie shoots it and says, “That felt like an emergency.” Oh, Frenchie.
Separation Anxiety
The gang gets separated before a nun with her face covered drags Irene right in the middle of a twisted ritual that looks eerily like the flashback where Valek rises from the castle’s opening to hell. Candles magically start lighting around a pentagram as bloody face-covered nuns appear. This is fine.
Meanwhile, Father Burke walks into a hallway where a group of cloaked nuns appear to be praying. As their heads lift up in unison, you can once again hear the bones crack as they walk toward him — until he holds them back with a cross of holy fire.
But poor Frenchie has to live through what is arguably the most terrifying sequence of the film. To get to Irene, he has to wade through a group of bloody shroud-covered nuns standing watch over Irene. Their heads tilt with a bone-snapping crack when they look at him. Frenchie finally makes it through the creeptastic hoard of nuns, when he finds a suspended Irene floating with a bloody cloak over her face.
Frenchie quickly realizes that not all is not well in Whoville. Our sweet, soft-spoken Irene is obviously possessed and looks up at Frenchie with Valek’s face. The demon cruelly uses Frenchie’s crush to tell him that he failed everyone in his life and that “Tomorrow a village will be missing its idiot.” Now, that’s just rude. The guy ditched said village to help these even bigger idiots who decided to stay the night in a haunted castle.
A quick-witted Frenchie dips some of the blood of Christ on Irene and rips Valek from her body — but not before he grabs Frenchie and throws Irene into the water. Yet another Valek-induced Daniel fever dream launches a snake at Burke, but this time, it tries to choke Father before taking out one of his eyes.
Hello Valek, My Old Friend
As ominous music plays, Valek slowly emerges from the water in a shroud of light. This dude really loves to screw with his religious brethren by putting a demonic twist on holy iconography. He floats toward Irene, strangling her and trying to drown the nun. Burke decides that it’s a good time to start praying, and Valek smashes him against the wall before snatching the blood of Christ relic from Irene — only to find it empty.
No one can say Irene isn’t quick in a crisis. She feigns death before spitting the blood in Valek’s face. As the blood spews out into the water, it turns the entire basin into holy (bloody) water. The good news is that Valek melts and plunges into the opening of hell as his face flays off.
The bad news is that the blood of Christ is officially gone, and Valek found another host to make his escape. Frenchie gives Irene the kiss of life, but that’s not the end of his story. We’ve just discovered that his name is Maurice, after all — and he just so happens to have an upside-down cross burned into his neck.
The Warrens’ Most Famed Exorcism
Cut to the Warrens’ class some years later, where the ghost-hunting duo shows a video of the attempted exorcism of Frenchie — whom we now know is Maurice — the subject of the exorcism that the franchise has teased since the very beginning. The movie leaves fans with a flashback of Valek launching a snake inside Frenchie's mouth to demonstrate the possession. Fans see a familiar face in the lecture: Carolyn Perron from The Conjuring. Dun, dun, dun.