The Nun

In the foreboding Carta Monastery, nestled in Romania's somber landscape of 1952, two sisters of mercy ventured into the shadows, their footsteps echoing through the darkness. As they approached the ominous portal marked "God ends here", a sense of trepidation hung in the air like a miasma of despair. The elder nun disappeared into the abyss, her cries and screams muffled by the cold stone walls, while Sister Victoria (Charlotte Hope) clung to prayer, her fervent entreaties seemingly unanswered.

The older sister's return was a stark contrast to her initial departure - battered, bloodied, and beset by an unseen horror. Her anguished warnings to Victoria proved too late, as the younger nun was already ensnared in the darkness, grasping for a key that would unlock the secrets of the monastery. As Valak (Bonnie Aarons), the demon nun, closed in like a specter of doom, Victoria's desperate prayers gave way to a tragic decision: she chose the eternal silence of death over the torment that awaited her.

The news of Victoria's suicide sent shockwaves through the Vatican, where officials viewed it as the ultimate sin. In response, they dispatched Father Anthony Burke (Demian Bichir) to investigate the circumstances surrounding this heinous act. His search led him to Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), a young novice with a gentle touch and a deep understanding of the mysteries that lay within the monastery's ancient walls.

As Burke and Irene delved deeper into the mystery, they found themselves in the company of Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet), the enigmatic figure who had stumbled upon Victoria's lifeless body. His morbid discovery led them to the ice box where Victoria's corpse sat upright, a macabre tableau that belied the natural order of death. Burke's meticulous examination of her fingers revealed the key, now a symbol of the secrets that lay hidden within the monastery's labyrinthine corridors.

Their search for truth took them back to the abbey, where they were met with an unsettling sight: Victoria's body, once laid out in repose, now seemed to be reanimated. Burke and Irene sensed the presence of something malevolent lurking just beyond the threshold of the chapel, its dark energy palpable as the air grew thick with foreboding. The Abbess (Gabrielle Downey) revealed that the sisters were observing a vow of silence in honor of Victoria's memory, a somber ritual that would be broken only at dawn.

As Burke and Irene retired to their quarters, Frenchie slipped away into the darkness, his footsteps lost amidst the whispers of the forest. It was then that he stumbled upon an eerie apparition: Sister Victoria, her ethereal form gliding through the shadows like a wraith. Frenchie's pursuit led him down a treacherous path, where he encountered a demon nun who would leave him battered and bloodied, clutching a cross as his only solace in the face of supernatural terror.

As Irene shares with Burke her childhood visions, a haunting phrase echoes through her mind: "Mary points the way". This eerie recollection sends Burke's thoughts back in time to France, where he once attempted an exorcism on a young boy named Daniel (August Maturo), only to witness the boy's fatal injuries and subsequently be consumed by guilt. The weight of this traumatic experience has been crushing him ever since.

That night, the sound of mystical music awakens Burke from his restless slumber, beckoning him into the woods where he encounters an otherworldly apparition eerily reminiscent of Daniel. As if possessed by some malevolent force, the vision coalesces and pushes Burke into a coffin, entombing him alive with only a bell to ring for salvation.

Meanwhile, Irene's own restless night is marked by visions of her own, culminating in a heart-stopping encounter with Valak in the mirror. With her survival instincts on high alert, she flees the chapel and hastens to find Burke, who has been buried alive in a coffin amidst an unholy darkness. As she frantically digs to rescue him, demonic hands claw at his lifeless form, but Irene's determination ultimately frees him.

The next day, Burke and Irene make their way to the ancient abbey, only to be met with a peculiar restriction: Irene alone is permitted entry. Within its walls, she meets Sister Oana (Ingrid Bisu), who reveals that the nuns' constant shift changes are a desperate attempt to stave off evil's encroachment through fervent prayer.

Oana's words send shivers down Irene's spine as she recounts her own chilling encounter with Valak. The sister's wisdom unfolds like a tapestry, weaving together the dark history of the abbey and the demon's malevolent origins. It transpires that during the Dark Ages, a duke obsessed with Hell's powers attempted to summon Valak, but his plans were foiled by brave men who discovered and put an end to his schemes before the demon could fully emerge. The artifact containing Christ's blood, which had kept Valak sealed in Hell, was later broken by World War II bombs that inadvertently released the demon back into the world.

As Oana's words fade away like wisps of smoke, Burke immerses himself in ancient texts, his eyes widening as he learns the true name of their nemesis: Valak. The weight of this knowledge settles upon him like a shroud, foretelling an apocalyptic confrontation between the living and the damned.

As Frenchie settles into a tavern, he is met with a somber atmosphere where whispers of tragedy spread like wildfire. The patrons speak of a 12-year-old girl who took her own life, allegedly after beholding something so horrific that it shattered her spirit. Frenchie shares his own tale of venturing to the abbey with Burke and Irene, only to be cautioned by the bartender that their companionship may have doomed them from the start.

Burke's resolve is rekindled as he attempts to breach the abbey once more, only to be met by the enigmatic Abbess who warns him that the time for secrecy has passed. His inquiry about Victoria's key is met with a stern rebuff, accompanied by the Abbess's assertion that Irene is lost forever. Her body then seems to surrender to an unseen force, prompting Burke to try and lift her veil. However, the demon-nun's grip proves unyielding, leaving him no choice but to rip her hand from his grasp.

As darkness descends, Irene awakens from a terrifying vision of Valak, only to be beset by the demon nun's malevolent presence once more. Her cries for help are drowned out by the chaos as Burke rushes to her aid, only to find himself under attack. Frenchie arrives on the scene, shotgun at the ready, as Irene stumbles upon the praying nuns and becomes embroiled in a macabre ritual. The evil force carves a symbol of dark intent onto her back, but Irene's gaze falls upon what appears to be Oana's lifeless form - a vision that shatters the illusion.

As the trio reunites, they come to realize that Victoria's sacrifice was not a desperate cry for help, but rather a selfless act aimed at preventing Valak from claiming her body and unleashing terror upon the world. With this newfound understanding, they venture into the catacombs in search of an artifact said to contain Christ's blood. Irene's epiphany regarding "Mary points the way" is confirmed as they stumble upon the statue of Mary, whose gaze points the trio towards the vial's resting place - a chamber unlocked by Victoria's key.

As they reach out to claim their prize, Valak reemerges with malevolent intent. The demon attempts to possess Irene while Burke is beset by demonic Daniel. A brief, unsettling possession ensues before Frenchie intervenes, casting holy blood upon Irene to free her from the demon's grasp. Valak unleashes a dark force upon Frenchie, only to have his attention diverted to Irene as he tries to drown her. The demon's pull is broken when Irene spits the sacred blood into his face, banishing him back to the depths of Hell and sealing the rift that had threatened to unleash chaos upon the world.

As the trio departs the ancient abbey, Irene's curiosity gets the better of her, prompting a query about Frenchie's true identity. With a hint of mischief in his tone, Maurice reveals himself as the enigmatic Frenchie, a moniker that seems to mask a wealth of secrets and mysteries. As if to underscore this revelation, a faint scar of an upside-down cross appears on the back of his neck, a symbol that hints at the dark forces that lurk beneath the surface.

The film's conclusion is marked by a haunting epilogue, which jumps forward in time to find Carolyn Perron (Lili Taylor) sitting raptly as Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) recount their terrifying encounter with the possessed Maurice. As they regale their audience with tales of the malevolent spirit that consumed him, it becomes clear that Lorraine's own brush with Valak would not be a singular event in her life. The seeds of future encounters with this dark force have been sown, setting the stage for further explorations into the mysteries and terrors that lie at the heart of this chilling tale.