It's not just mirrors and creepy hallways that you have to watch out for in The Nun - the demon Valak crops up in some slyly hidden Easter eggs as well. Directed by Corin Hardy, The Nun is the latest spinoff in the Conjuring Universe, revealing the origins of the monster that tormented the Warrens in The Conjuring 2.
In The Conjuring 2, the key to defeating Valak was Lorraine Warren learning its name, which she eventually does after remembering that she scribbled its name in her Bible during a trance. However, if Lorraine had looked a little more closely at her surroundings, she would have spotted the word "VALAK" elsewhere. The name appears four times in the Warren household: spelled out on the window sill and wall of the kitchen; in a bead bracelet that the Warrens' daughter, Judy, is making; and spelled out again on a bookshelf (see below).
Related: The Nun's Ending & Conjuring Future Explained
These name-drops were fun details for eagle-eyed audience members, and The Nun has some more Valak Easter eggs that you may have spotted. The first appears quite early on in the film, when Taissa Farmiga's character, Sister Irene, is first introduced. In the classroom where Irene is teaching children about dinosaurs, "VALAK" can be seen on the board behind her, spelled vertically and upside-down. The second instance that fans have noticed is when Father Burke and Sister Irene mistakenly throw their bags into the back of a truck; "VALAK" is spelled out in the license plate.
There may be more Easter eggs that are harder to spot in the theater, but which can be discovered when The Nun arrives on home video. Speaking to Digital Spy about the Easter eggs, Hardy said that there are "a few," and that "there's a really subtle one that I'm quite proud of and don't want to spoil, but there's one in a relatively brief shot and it's a really contrasting scene." So be sure so keep your eyes peeled (if you dare) while watching The Nun.
Including easy-to-miss details in the background of shots is something of a trademark for James Wan, the director of The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2, and producer of other movies in he Conjuring Universe. In one memorable scene from his horror movie Insidious, the camera pans past a little ghost boy who is standing still and facing the wall - camouflaged in such a way that many viewers don't spot him on the first watch. It's a cool way of rewarding people who are really paying attention to the movie, so it's gratifying to see it carried over into The Conjuring's spinoffs.
Did you spot "VALAK" spelled out anywhere else in The Nun? Let us know in the comments if we missed one!
