The Scariest Nuns In Horror Movies Ranked
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Religion has played a major part in horror as long as the genre has existed. Many ancient religious concepts play directly into what makes horror movies effective, and it's not surprising that filmmakers tap into these primal scares. From demonic possession and the afterlife to angry gods and vengeful devils, much of what horror fans enjoy is rooted in the world's oldest religions.
This week sees the release of The Nun, the latest movie in the Conjuring universe. The movie's demonic Valak first appeared in The Conjuring 2, and she now has her own terrifying spin-off. But she is hardly the first scary nun to be featured in a horror film. Directors have often used these holy and obedient women, who have dedicated their lives to Catholicism, to explore some scary concepts. From the oppression of the church and religious hysteria to encounters with demonic spirits, there are plenty of opportunities for some scary storytelling, as well as the controversy that helps sell horror.
There was even a briefly-lived sub-genre known as Nunsploitation in the 1970s, that originated (as these things tend do) in Italy but also saw films made in Mexico, France, and Japan. Those movies usually played up the sexual angle, with repressed young women freed from the boundaries of their religion to commit deviant acts with each other. The cycle didn't last long but did produce some memorably sleazy cult favorites, and over the years, we've also enjoyed drug-addicted nuns, gun-toting nuns, and nuns with giant scissors. So with The Nun now in theaters, here's a look at some of the scariest sisters in cinema.
10. Sister Ursula (The Nun, 2005)
This year's The Nun isn't the first movie to carry that title. In 2005, this Spanish shocker featured a evil, twisted nun called Sister Ursula who tormented the poor girls in her care. They end up killing her and body her body in a lake, but inevitably, she returns many years later as a vengeful demon. The movie was produced by Re-Animator producer Brian Yuzna, and while it's not particularly good, it does have its creepy moments, as Sister Ursula uses the power of water to move between walls and kill her victims.
9. Sister Death (Verónica, 2016)
This Spanish chiller is one of the spookiest horror movies of recent years, and while the scares comes mostly from an unknown entity haunting teenager Verónica and young siblings, it does feature a memorably scary nun. Sister Death is the nickname given to one of the sister at Verónica's school--old, strict, and blind, it seems that every kid in the school is afraid of her. Ultimately, Sister Death proves to be a vital ally in Verónica's fight against evil, but she remains of one of the movie's creepiest characters.
8. Possessed Nun (Häxan, 1922)
Häxan was a groundbreaking horror mock-documentary, made back in 1922, that explored the phenomenon of witchcraft across the the centuries. It features what must be the earliest example of a scary nun--a frenzied, possessed woman who ends up being bashed on the head by Satan himself.
7. Sister Flavia (Flavia the Heretic, 1974)
While many of the crazed nuns on this list have been driven insane by religious oppression, in the case of Flavia, she's motivated by good old fashioned revenge. After years or torture and abuse, Flavia returns to the convent to get her bloody vengeance on the men who subjugated --cue plenty of decapitation, mutilation. castration, and impaling. Flavia the Heretic is actually more of a serious-minded historical drama than many of the other movies in the Nunsploitation genre, but this still delivers the unholy goods.
6. Thana (Ms.45, 1981)
Technically, Thana isn't a nun. She's just dressed like one at a Halloween party. But the image of Zoë Tamerlis Lund as the mute, vengeful, gun-carrying sister is one of the defining moments of '80s exploitation cinema. In Abel Ferrara's notorious rape-revenge movie Ms.45, Thana takes her vengeance out onto the streets of New York after suffering a series of assaults and wears a nun's habit for the final scenes. After gunning down a room full of men at the party, she is stabbed by her friend Laurie. Turning to her, she utters her only line in the movie: "Sister."
5. Sister Maria (Satánico Pandemonium, 1975)
Also known by the equally fantastic title of La Sexorcista, this was Mexico's outrageous entry into the Nunsploitation genre. Sister Maria starts the movie as a pure, dedicated follower of Christ but is tempted by Satan (represented here by a naked dude with an apple) and quickly embarks on a mission of evil. Maria is driven by uncontrollable sexual desires but also an urge to murder--frequently in the same scene. Nuns are strangled and farm-boys are stabbed, and in-between acts of sin, Maria wraps herself in barbed wire and orgasmically whips herself. Naughty Maria.
4. Nun With Shears (The Exorcist III, 1990)
This nun only appears on-screen in the third Exorcist movie for a matter of seconds but provides one of the biggest jump scares in horror. A quiet, drawn-out long shot of a nurse doing her rounds on a convent hospital corridor is suddenly punctured by the crash zoom into a hooded nun striding towards her with a giant pair of shears, as the soundtrack shrieks to life. Nightmarish and unforgettable.
3. Sister Gertrude (Killer Nun, 1979)
Perhaps the best known movie in the Nunsploitation cycle, Killer Nun starred '60s icon Anita Ekberg as the depraved Sister Gertrude. Gertrude has returned to the convent after a rushed brain operation, which has left her in a damaged, psychotic state. She takes heroin, torments old people, reads her innocent pupils tales of torture, picks up men at bars, and ultimately turns her hand to murder (or so we think, there is a predictable whodunnit element to the story). Good work Gertrude!
2. Valak (The Nun, 2018)
Valak the latest scary nun to hit screens. Originally introduced as a one of the guises of the demon in The Conjuring 2, Valak also cameoed in last year's Annabelle: Creation before getting her own spin-off movie this year. The Nun explores Valak's origins and director Corin Hardy gets every possible scare that he can out of the ancient, toothy demon as she creeps down dark corridors and terrifies both the characters and the audience.
1. Sister Jeanne (The Devils, 1971)
Ken Russell's classic adaptation of Aldous Huxley's novel remains one of most controversial movies of all time. It's an unforgettable examination of religious hysteria which features an incredible performance from Vanessa Redgrave as Sister Jeanne, a hunchbacked, sexually-repressed nun who is secretly in love with Oliver Reed's priest Grandier in 18th century France. The vengeance-crazed Jeanne accuses Grandier of witchcraft, claiming that he has bewitched the entire convent. As hysteria runs rampant through the nuns, Grandier is tortured and burnt alive for these imagined crimes.