Nundead (2024)

Director: Bobby Canipe Jr., Curtis Everitt, Donald Farmer, Robbie Lopez, Niki Parks, Scott Ryan Paulson, Ford Windstar

Year: 2024

Country: USA

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Anthology

Plot:

Following centuries of torment, a group of nuns present several stories about nun-centered horrors 

Review:

Talk to the Deaf-Tasked with trying to investigate his missing son, a priest heads to a brothel reputed to be home to a coven of vampires luring victims to their deaths and must stop the deadly creatures. This was a rather solid outing that has a lot to like about it. The main setup of the priest being sent to the strange brothel to stop a potential series of vampire-related disappearances in the area serves to merely introduce a solid bout of sleaze and depravity involving the nuns feasting on their targets in the brothel or feeding on their unsuspecting victims which provides some cheesy indie gore. That extends to the final battle between them which is rushed and appropriately silly enough for what it is, leaving this to be a solid opener that features just enough flaws to be let down by its low-budget origins.

Intinction-Heading out into the woods for a special party, a group of friends hang out in a remote cabin that was the site for a strange series of deaths to a group of nuns years ago and find themselves caught in a horrifying scenario. This was a rather fun and enjoyable segment with a lot to like. The initial setup involving the massacre of the nuns and resulting cannibalism as a result of their original trapped status, starts everything incredibly well with a worthwhile starting point to set the myth and haunted location. The later scenes discussing the series of cursed activities that took place there bring about some gruesome fun in the final half when the new rampage starts in its cheesy glory, again leaving the film’s lower-budget origins as the main drawback.

Chopper Bros vs. Zombie Nuns-Taking a woman hostage, a group of thugs head out to their hideout to partake in drugs and other vices which brings them into contact with a group of monstrous, demonic nun creatures who don’t take kindly to the intruders. This was a bit of a misstep which does have some likable factors to it. What works well here is the series of interactions between the demonic nun-like creatures and the victims in the hideout which includes numerous fun scenes of cheesy gore and great make-up effects that bring about the fun massacre scenes. The rest of this one is a bit disappointing with no real point to things, a rather flimsy reason for why the nuns are there, and just no identifiable characters to immerse into this story which causes it to be a bit disappointing.

Dead Nun Walking-After meeting a deranged nun, a woman is forced to flee for her life when she realizes the nun’s deranged state is hiding a more sinister purpose and that she needs equally sinister help to combat it. This bizarre segment, which comes about mainly because it takes way too long to realize it’s a segment without the proper build-up or introduction from the nun like the previous entries, hides a lot to like. The fine setup before the turn with their cryptic conversation and veiled threats before the demonic turn and the eventual outcome comes about through a solid series of chases throughout the city where the back-and-forth advantage adds a nice bit of guerilla action here. The unusual finale is a choice and there are some instances where the budget shines through, but it’s still got a lot to like.

Beseiret Kirke-Finding a cursed relic, a holy order of nuns race to utilize its powers before a rival group of nuns can bring its dark powers for themselves This was a confusing entry to put together in this type of story. The story involving the interaction of the church and the surrounding intentions of the church in their fight against the other church which sets up the fight against the secondary cult group looking to bring about the second set of figures who are using the dark arts to bring everything together. With intriguing visuals and a bizarre structure, this has a lot to like while also highlighting the issue here with the presentation being given more of a trailer approach that feels more suited to a pitch video that could be expanded out into a feature-length film rather than being saved as an anthology short.

Nundead Love-Living together in a convent, a pair of nuns in a secret love affair with each other are forced into extraneous circumstances to keep their affair a secret from others around them. This was a pretty solid way to end this one. The setup is more of an indie drama with the relationship that sets them up from the very beginning and the different interactions they have which provides a fine setup for its religious connotations in the final half which is where this one gets fun and cheesy enough. That this is quite hard to call a genuine genre effort with how it all plays out as it’s bizarre but doesn’t do much beyond that in its short running time so it’s a fine entry in something like this but not much else.

Overview: ***.5/5

A really enjoyable nunsploitation indie anthology, there’s a lot to like with this one as most of the segments are quite enjoyable overall with only a few setbacks to bring it down. Those who are appreciative of the style or are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like here while others who don’t enjoy any of those factors should heed caution if not outright avoid it.