Arriving in UK and US cinemas today is The Nun II – the latest instalment in the ever-expanding Conjuring Universe. The movie – directed by Michael Chaves – is the sequel to 2018’s The Nun and stars Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Storm Reid, Anna Popplewell, and Bonnie Aarons.
The Nun II picks up a few years after the events of the first film, with Sister Irene living as a relative recluse in Italy. However, when the Cardinal asks her to investigate a series of deaths across Europe, she is soon brought out of her reclusive life to hunt down a demon.
Who is this demon, I hear you ask? Why it’s Valak, of course!
Valak (aka the titular Nun) is up to its old tricks again, lurking in shadows and trying to frighten the life out of people. This time around, Valak is looking for some ancient relic, but other than that, it’s business as usual.
Anyone who is a fan of the Conjuring movies will know there are good entries in the Conjuring Universe and there are not so good entries. To get you firmly up to speed, 2018’s The Nun is one of the entries in the ‘not so good’ camp.
Yes, I know it took lots of money at the box office back in 2018, and many people went to see it upon release, but let’s be honest, it was a right snooze-fest. The Nun is the least scariest entry in the Conjuring series, and due to its plodding approach to storytelling, as well as its predictable jump scares, it is also a ball-ache to sit through.
Unfortunately, the same can be said of The Nun II, which I hoped would be an improvement on its predecessor, but sadly it isn’t. OK, so it is mildly better, but huge chunks of the film are painfully boring.
At no point while watching this film did I start to drift off to sleep, but I wasn’t far off. It took until the final act for me to become mildly invested, but up until that point I could take it or leave it.
Michael Chaves is on director duties for The Nun II, taking over from Corin Hardy who helmed the previous instalment. Chaves is no stranger to the Conjuring Universe, having directed 2019’s The Curse of La Llorona and 2021’s The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and here he at least put his experiences to good use.
While the story in The Nun II fails to excite, Chaves at least draws on his work on the previous movies and adds some half-decent visuals. If I can offer one positive, the film does look decent and it is suitably atmospheric.
It’s not scary, but it is nice to look at. A couple of moments leaned into the horror, and that made up for the rest of the film.
But yeah, that’s about it. I can’t even tell you the title character was all that interesting to watch, as the Nun barely features in the movie.
At one point I did wonder if I was watching a Where’s Wally movie, with the Nun replacing Wally. I figured she was in the film somewhere, but I’d have to work hard to find her.
But do you know what? I didn’t really want to find her. I just wanted to remain conscious.
Which I did. Although this was largely due to the sugar from the Tango Ice Blast I consumed, which was lovely (not that you asked).
If you’ve not worked it out yet, I was not a fan of The Nun II. Visuals aside, this is Nunning by the numbers and not much else.
Even if you’re a big fan of these films, there’s really not much going on here and it’s not worth your time or money. Stay at home, watch Sister Act 2 instead and have a much happier life.
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