Edwards, Ray, Maffei, and Willis occupy the standard tropes present in movies where a group of young adults spends the night together. There’s the smart, levelheaded girl (Ashley), the pretty, precocious one (Gabby, who is by far the most fun character to watch, a given in movies like this), the macho jock (Anthony), and the comic relief (Michael). These archetypes have endured for a reason, I suppose, but that doesn’t necessarily make them interesting by default. None of these characters have any depth beyond what is required of their type.
Nevertheless, horror movies such as A Nun’s Curse are never all that concerned with complex character development: it’s scares and bloody fun we seek. Faircloth delivers some gruesome moments, particularly one outrageously grisly death, and some suitably jumpy scares. However, the director stumbles somewhat when it comes to attention to detail in his film. For instance, an oncoming storm is referred to several times, complete with crashes of thunder on the soundtrack. Yet, the skies above remain crystal blue throughout, and the sunshiny weather never abates, betraying any visual indication of an oncoming storm.
“…a wonderfully sinister addition to the pantheon of movie horror bogeymen.”
But really, the important thing is that Faircloth has created a wonderfully sinister addition to the pantheon of movie horror bogeymen. A Nun’s Curse has no religious underpinning other than the killer nun at its center, but that may be just blasphemous enough to potentially offend those too sensitive to separate fun fiction from sacrilege. Don’t believe me? Let’s recall 1984’s Silent Night, Deadly Night‘s killer Santa Claus that prompted picketing.
Regardless, A Nun’s Curse is a lean, mean ghost story with a wonderfully inventive new horror villain in Sister Monday. This movie has an infinite capacity for sequels too. Once Sister Monday is dispatched, bring about Sister Tuesday or Sister Wednesday. When the days of the week are used up, Faircloth can always turn to months: Sister January, Sister February. You get the idea.
"…ghost stories have been traumatizing children throughout history"
