Taissa Farmiga faces the terror of The Nun in new image from Conjuring spin-off

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The subgenre known as “nunsploitation” (yes, that’s actually a thing) goes mainstream with The Nun (out Sept. 7), the latest horror film to be spun off from the Conjuring movies. Set in early-’50s Romania, the film concerns the origins of the inhuman spirit, also known as Valak, that tormented ghost-hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) in the 1977-set The Conjuring 2.

The Nun stars Demian Bichir as a priest named Father Burke and Taissa Farmiga as a novitiate, Sister Irene. “She had a difficult and isolating childhood,” Farmiga says of her character. “She experienced these visions that set her apart from her peers and eventually led her to a life in the church.” The pair are tasked by the Vatican to investigate a mysterious death at an abbey in Romania where, Farmiga reveals, “there’s some sort of presence that shouldn’t be there.”

The Conjuring 2 actress Bonnie Aarons reprises her role as the demon-Nun, much to director Corin Hardy’s relief. “When I got The Nun, I called up New Line and was like, ‘We have secured the actress that plays the Nun, right?’ ” he says. “Even in the short space of time she was on screen [in The Conjuring 2], she owns that role in the same way that Robert Englund owns Freddy [Krueger].”

See an exclusive image of Taissa Farmiga and Bonnie Aarons below and watch the trailer for The Nun, above.