The Nun - All the Movies That Inspired the Horror FIlm

Publish date: 2024-10-14

The Big Picture

All the Conjuring movies pull from interesting places of influence, but none of them are as interesting as The Nun's list of influences. Both The Nun and its sequel, The Nun II, which is in theaters now, are '50s-set gothic chillers, hearkening back to an era of horror that the other films in its parent franchise often skim past. That said, they also pull from other unpredictable eras of horror and strange movies in general to exceed the limitations of other spooky nun pictures. Some make sense, others would be hard to see coming, but one thing's for sure — this list of movies that inspired The Nun sure did deliver a uniquely bona fide horror experience. You'd be hard-pressed to find a cooler list of influences than this.

In case you still haven't turned over one of horror's biggest rocks, the Nun movies both revlolrevolved the Nun (Bonnie Aarons) herself, also known as Valak. This creepy-looking nun isn't actually what she appears to be, she's a demon in disguise! While she headlines her own two films, the first of which was a smash success and raked in a whopping $365,550,119 on a $22,000,000 budget, her first appearance was actually in 2016's The Conjuring 2. Since acting as the main villain of that film, she has gone on to duke it out with Annabelle as the most popular evil entity of the entire franchise and now has her second outing coming along to strike fear into audiences once again. So while you should be getting ready to have the pants scared off of you once more by the world's worst Nun, maybe you could also dial up a few of the movies that inspired her first standalone film.

The Director of 'The Nun' Reveals His Inspiration

In a 2018 interview, Corin Hardy, the director of the first Nun film, gave Entertainment Weekly the low down on every movie that inspired his film. Some of the picks make a ton of sense, while others might leave you scratching your head, but after a little bit of consideration, they start to add up way more than you initially thought. Hardy kicked off the list by stating, "Whenever I put a movie together, I’m prepping it, and I’m watching movies, putting together like a lookbook or a Bible." So basically, by assembling different images from an assortment of movies, Hardy arms himself with a resource that fully represents what he hopes his finished film to look like, or at least greatly resemble.

Hammer Horror and Dracula Movies Inspired 'The Nun'

The most obvious influence to have had an effect on Hardy's Nun film is the many works of Hammer. This should instantly bring to mind horror classics like The Curse of Frankenstein and The Mummy, but for Hardy in particular, he thought of Christopher Lee’s Dracula, (known as Horror of Dracula in the States). Hardy went on to mention another Dracula film — "also Coppola’s Dracula in that there was a gothic quality to the movie." It should come as a surprise to no one that The Nun is inspired by two classic Dracula movies from very different eras. Their gothic, cobweb-filled, crumbling structures and supernatural villains at the center are the perfect types of movies to emulate when telling a story like The Nun. Another film with a similar feel to these titles that Hardy mentions is 1986's Name of the Rose, a medieval mystery that has tons of gothic imagery. These influences work in The Nun's favor, big time. A lot of the Conjuring movies seem to pull from the same hats, so it's cool to see one of them take things back to a simpler era of horror, which Hardy does perfectly.

RELATED: Movies That Got R-Ratings for the Dumbest Reasons, From 'The Matrix' to 'The Conjuring'

Corin Hardy Cites 'The Exorcist' and 'The Exorcist III' as Influences

Another influence that many won't be shocked to hear is The Exorcist, one of the greatest and most influential horror movies ever made. Hardy knows how expected it is to name-drop this classic, stating, "The Exorcist is very obvious — it’s probably a reference for all the Conjuring movies really and just one of the best films ever made, one of my favorite films." That film's use of demons in the storyline, paranormal activities that take place, and general slow-burn chills that William Friedkin brings along have been emulated by many. That being said, if you're making movies like those in the Conjuring series, you just can't avoid this 1973 game-changer as a reference. Interestingly enough, Hardy would also go on to cite The Exorcist III as having an impact on his film. Sorry, Exorcist II. No space for you in this mega-franchise!

Indiana Jones Makes His Mark on the Conjuring Franchise

This is where Hardy takes a bit of a zag on everyone's expectations, so it's best to let him do the talking for a moment. "This is a very bold statement to make, but my favorite Indiana Jones movie is Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom — I don’t care what anyone says about that — and there was a Temple of Doom vibe that inspired me when I thought about The Nun." At first, you might let out a huge "Huh??" when reading that, but if you sit with it for just a moment, it starts to make a whole lot more sense. Both Temple of Doom and The Nun are filled with characters walking around darkly lit corridors, with eerie threats lurking in the shadows, in locations where everything is not at all what it seems. Both films also have a serious brutality about them and a dark spirituality to their overall stories. If you were just watching The Nun and nobody told you, it's hard to say that you would see Temple of Doom in it right off the bat; but once you're made aware, you can't unsee it.

'The Nun' and 'Evil Dead II' Aren't So Different

There's one film that will just warm the hearts of horror fans everywhere, but shouldn't shock anyone to hear that apparently The Nun was inspired by Evil Dead II. What a joy! Besides being the absolute greatest movie of all time (yep), Evil Dead II is the definition of a killer popcorn horror movie. It has a tense atmosphere, a gorgeous color palette, terrific ghouls, effective scares, a solid set of protagonists for you to root for, a bombastic orchestral score, and an absolutely ridiculous sense of humor. It's an influence that also makes a whole lot of sense for a Conjuring-universe movie, too, given their popcorn sensibilities and demonic threats that plague those movies' protagonists. Every movie on the planet should emulate Evil Dead II. Where are Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell's honorary Oscars?

Italian Horror and Dario Argento Also Influenced 'The Nun'

Last but not least, Hardy cites Italian horror films, specifically those of Dario Argento, and their striking compositions as influences on The Nun. Like The Exorcist and Dracula, Dario Argento's works make total sense as influences on The Nun's atmosphere-heavy, visually resonant scares. Few movies take as much stake in being a visual medium as classic Italian horror movies like Argento's do. They're consistently colorful, brutal, and stylistically forward. Think of movies like the original Suspiria, or to go beyond Argento, The Beyond, directed by Lucio Fulci. If The Nun movies are anything, they'd have to win the title for the best-looking Conjuring-universe titles out there.

So, now you have your homework before checking out The Nun II. Hopefully, the director of the sequel, Michael Chaves, reveals his inspiration for The Nun II and we'll have a whole other list to make our way through! These are fun, atmospheric, gothic chillers with a fantastic popcorn spirit behind them. Either go into the sequel having familiarized yourself with these first or come out needing more. Either way, this list of influences for The Nun is a killer stack of films.

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