Vera Farmiga has been playing Demonologist and gifted clairvoyant Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring franchise since the first film debuted in 2013. With the Conjuringverse having taken off in a big way, Warner Bros. and New Line are now busy expanding it, with the latest spinoff, The Nun, hitting cinemas very soon. But the pic won’t just fill in some blanks in the story, it’ll also make the series a family affair, as Vera’s younger sister Taissa is set to pit herself against the sinister forces of the supernatural as Sister Irene.
With this family connection in the movies, a journalist asked Taissa at a press junket whether her older sister had given her any advice for working on the films, and her response was illuminating, to say the least.
I think the main thing she told me was, “Don’t bring work home with you,” because you don’t want to bring home any spirits or demons or anything of the sort. Lucky for me, a lot of Vera’s research was with demonology and exorcisms, which luckily, I didn’t have to do. I got to look at more of the holy side of it. You know, what it takes to be a nun. So, I didn’t have to delve too deep into that dark world. So, I took her advice and I did not bring home Bonnie Aarons, the demon nun with me at all, because I didn’t want to. I didn’t need that in my life!
I’m with Taissa on this, as nobody needs a killer ghost nun in their lives. Though the advice not to take the action too seriously might sound a little silly, we should bear in mind that The Nun shot many of its scenes on set in seriously creepy locations: Corvin Castle and Mogoșoaia Palace in Romania. Corvin Castle was where none other than Vlad the Impaler was held prisoner, while Mogoșoaia Palace was built by Prince who was subsequently executed alongside his entire family.
Director Corin Hardy even had his own brushes with the supernatural, discovering a mysterious handprint in the dust at Corwin Castle and again at Mogoșoaia Palace. He also had what he describes as an encounter with two ghosts, who he sensed were former Romanian soldiers who were curious about the production. Spooktacular!
All things considered, I think Vera Farmiga’s on the money with this – leave the sinister hauntings and demonic possessions at work.