As I have said, time and again, both on here, and off, nuns sell tickets. Whether for good or evil, put an actor or actress in a nun costume, and you have a solid hit.
Now, from the franchise of "The Conjuring" and "Annabelle" movies--some of which I have seen, but could not tell you their place in the sequence--comes "The Nun." It will not be released, until September, which is a mistake, as I think this could be the hit of the Summer, and, as I understand it, expands upon the final shot of the recent "Annabelle" film, which I saw, showing a flashing face of an evil nun.
No, kiddies, it is not all "The Sound Of Music," "The Song Of Bernadette," or "Come To The Stable." Nasty nuns have their place in cinema, too, and don't I just LOVE them!!!!!!!!! Don't we all, girls????????????????
The only thing more fun than watching a nasty nun, is playing one.
In this film, Bonnie Aarons, who has been kicking around films, both horror and otherwise for years plays the title role. Somewhere in medieval Romania, a young nun has visions of an evil nun, and then we are off and running! That is all I know, and that is enough for me. I think Bonnie, in this, will go Melissa Leo, in "Novitiate," one better. And there will be no "Climb Ev'ry Mountains" sung here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anticipating this film made me want to look at some other fun, evil nuns--
Here are some--
How about Mother Superior, in 1984's "Silent Night, Deadly Night." Girls, if you are tired of "It's A Wonderful Life," this is the perfect Christmas antidote. Played by Swedish actress Lilyan Chauvin, she is a nasty piece of work, who can devastate a child's psyche by just saying the word "naughty." and revels in abusing kids by teaching them about "punishment." But after the psychologically damaged Billy is killed before his younger brother's eyes, the film ends maniacally, with the youngster getting back at her, by looking her in the eyes, and saying--you guessed it!!!!!!--"Naughty!" You gotta see this one, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Nun Killed By The Toy Plane In "Desecration!" -- I have seen the sequence, from Dante Tomaselli's 1999 film which is a nun's nun film! Nasty, nasty, nasty! Not only evil nuns, but a nod to the 1973 masterwork "The Baby," with an adult man put in a dog cage in diapers! You have to just love it!
I may be wrong, but I think this is the deceased nun! She comes back from being killed by a toy plane--hey, it's the pre-drone age!!!!!!!--and wreaks havoc upon these Catholic premises!!!!!!!!! Sounds like the perfect change for Lent, if you want to break away from "Ben-Hur!!!!!!!!!"
Sister Jeanne Of The Angels, in Ken Russell's 1971 film, "The Devils"--Vanessa won an Oscar for "Julia," but I think this is the film where she went for the gold. Prayer spouting, rosary reciting, as well as ruining a man's life, and masturbating with his leg bone, this nun has to be seen, to be believed. Depraved? You better believe it! I have got to look at this film again; I think so much of it horrified me, I blocked much of it out. The leeches alone frightened me!!!!!!!!!!!!! But Sister Jeanne was a perfect role for Vanessa, who thinks she is the greatest of actresses, when she is not, just as Sister Jeanne thinks she is the holiest of nun, when, darlings, we KNOW she is not!!!!!!!!!!!
Geraldine McEwan, as Sister Bridget in "The Magdalene Sisters"--Even more horrifying because, while she may be fictional, these were tight ships run by female sadists who were too ugly to be anything else but nuns, so they set up institutes for unwed mothers, mostly in Ireland, where they abused young girls into submission, when, in reality, they envied them for having sex. Geraldine McEwan plays a beautifully understated bitch, who is all the more dangerous, because of it! You have GOT to see the scene where she forces the girls-each Christmas!!!!!!--to watch "The Bells Of St. Mary's!!!!!!!!!" What a howler! Bet she watches "The Devils, " in private!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And How Could We Forget?--Lily Rabe as Sister Mary Eunice in the "Asylum" season of "American Horror Story"--Lily went from saint to sinner and back when she played the nun here, and then Misty Day in "Coven." She is one of our most underrated actress, and when she transitions into sin, watch out, because not only does she love it, she scares the bejesus out of viewers! Sign me up for Sister Mary Eunice's order right away, though, truthfully, the only order I am fit for, darlings is the Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence! Are they still out in San Francisco!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No mention of nightmare nuns would be complete without Mary Tyler Moore in "Change Of Habit," wherein she gives not only the worst screen performance as a nun, but one of the worst performances by an actress on film. That her career survived this one, and flourished, is a true miracle!!!!!!!!!!
For more nun fun, hons, tell me of some I might have overlooked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow! So they really DID make an off-the-rails Annabelle sequel having nothing to do with the doll or The Conjuring! When they had the little nun coda at the end of Annabelle 3, I figured it was just a nod to the "never give em complete closure" trope thats been de rigeur since De Palma's "Carrie".
ReplyDeleteI just love nun movies, wanted to be one myself as a lil Catholic boy transfixed by "The Trouble With Angels" (to this day my closest friends still refer to me as Sister Ligori). So you know I'm buying advance tickets for this one asap.
As to "The Devils", thats one movie I've sworn never, ever to see again. Far too disturbing, even for me. Some scenes in that film can never be un-seen: its taken nearly 30 years to (mostly) forget them. I normally enjoy Ken Russell's excess (even when he stinks, at least he's not boring), but "The Devils" is not in my permanent collection. Ann Margaret in a sequined pants suit, writhing drunk in baked beans that spew from her TV in an gloss white designer hotel room? Yes yes yes! Vanessa Redgrave and the leeches? No No No!
ReplyDeleteMy Dear,
As often, we are on the same page.
I would not sit through "The Devils" again, if paid!
And we have GOT to see "The Nun." Interesingly, I
broached it to David, and he is interested, too.
I would not have gotten far as a nun. I could have
done the whole Gladys Cooper thing, but "underneath
my wimple, I'd have CURLERS in my hair!!!!!!!!!!!!"