Once upon a time in Romania, there were a thousand and one jump scares.
That's one way to describe The Nun, the fifth entry in The Conjuring horror film series.
Based on the case files of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, The Nun is chronologically
the first chapter of the Conjuring story, taking audiences back to 1952 for a few nights
of religious horror.
The Nun is about more than just a Marilyn Manson lookalike terrorizing a creepy church.
In fact, the movie weaves a web of connections to every Conjuring universe movie that came
before it.
If you were too spooked by the final showdown to pay that much attention to the "what" and
the "why", then relax.
We're ready to break down what it all meant.
Pop on your habits and your purple stoles, and let's dive into the ending to The Nun.
The foreshadowing
Something is off about the abbey of St. Cartas when the protagonists first arrive.
Father Burke and the novice Sister Irene are there investigating the death of a nun, suspected
of taking her own life.
Their inquiry is aided by a French-Canadian expat named Maurice aka "Frenchie".
As for the nuns of the abbey, they seem to be of no help, if they're around at all.
The visitors from the Vatican are greeted by the Mother Superior, an inhospitable hooded
host who's basically a nunnified Darth Sidious.
Other than her, the place at first seems suspiciously empty.
It turns out that there's a good reason for that.
The God squad
It becomes clear early on that evil has taken root within the abbey an impression that's
confirmed when Irene meets some of the abbey's shellshocked nuns.
It appears that the sisters of the abbey have spent centuries in constant prayer to keep
a demon from entering the world through a portal in the abbey, but it's starting to
look like a losing fight.
As The Nun's final act kicks in, Irene is enlisted to help pray the devil away.
She's joined by an entire squad of nuns who mean business, all praying like their lives
depend on it.
It's an awesome moment... but also completely fake, as it's shortly revealed that none of
those nuns actually exist.
Stop believing
When Burke and Frenchie reunite with Irene, their presence snaps the sister back to reality.
She's not fighting off the demon nun with a group of other Catholics.
Instead, she's having an incredibly complex vision, seeing what appears to be the last
stand of the abbey's now-dead residents.
Irene and Burke realize they have been alone inside the abbey the entire time, save for
the demon Valak and its minions.
It's revealed to the audience that the two nuns from the opening scene were actually
the final two nuns in the abbey, trying to keep Valak from possessing a human and entering
the world beyond St. Carta.
They realize that the nun they're investigating didn't die in sin she died in an act of sacrifice.
With this truth revealed, it's time for the final showdown with the big bad nun.
"S--- just got real."
Bloody Hell
After steeling themselves for the final battle, our holy heroes descend into the catacombs.
There, Irene realizes the meaning of a vision she's been having since childhood.
A message in those visions "Mary points the way" turns out to be a set of instructions
that are literally true, as she follows a pointing Virgin Mary statue to a conspicuous
fake wall.
Using the key from the movie's opening, the trio unlocks a hidden door to a secret passage,
revealing an ancient glass relic containing the blood of Jesus Christ.
Armed with this powerful weapon, the three go deeper into the catacombs to confront Valak,
and hopefully close off the abbey's gate to Hell.
Things go south when Irene literally stumbles onto a trap.
She's briefly possessed by Valak, until Frenchie breaks the relic and smears the blood of Christ
onto her skin.
The move drives the demon away, but not without a fight.
Irene and Valak tumble into the water of a flooded room.
Valak holds Irene underwater until she goes limp, seemingly drowning her and then Irene
spits the entire container of Christ's blood onto Valak's face, grossing the demon out
so much that it decides to go back to hell.
"Did I get any in my mouth?"
"Oh my God!"
Evil persists
When Christ's blood spills into the water of the flooded room, Valak is overwhelmed
by its holy might.
The demon dissolves, and the rift is sealed up in the process as well.
Just like that, the evil has been banished.
The heroes have apparently won… or so it seems.
The next day, as Frenchie prepares to transport Burke and Irene back to the village he rubs
a hand across his neck, revealing a conspicuous new sign of the inverted cross on his skin,
apparently marking him as being possessed by something evil.
That's right it looks like our heroes' victory isn't so certain after all.
After all that, the demon accomplished its goal.
Full circle
The movie cuts to 20 years later, revisiting a scene from the very first Conjuring movie.
It's revealed that the lecture the Warrens were seen giving in that movie about a possessed
man named Maurice was the same Maurice we know better as Frenchie, possessed by Valak.
"She saw something."
During the encounter, Valak touches Lorraine and triggers within her the vision of Ed dying
that haunted her all throughout The Conjuring 2.
Turns out, the visions the Warrens had of the demon nun in that movie all came from
this encounter with Maurice, meaning their climactic battle was set into motion before
the events of the first movie had even happened.
Just like that, the movie ties the whole series together, drawing a straight line from the
events at St. Carta to the Warrens' final showdown with the demented demon, making The
Nun and the two Conjuring movies a complete story about 30-year struggle between the forces
of good and evil.