The Nun 2 – Movie Review (3/5)

THE NUN 2 is out in theaters worldwide. It’s the much-anticipated and latest addition to the vast THE CONJURING universe. Here at Heaven of Horror, we weren’t exactly impressed with the first film. This is probably why we were (at least somewhat) pleasantly surprised. Read our The Nun 2 movie review here!

THE NUN 2 is the direct sequel to the first The Nun movie, which itself is a spin-off movie in the vast The Conjuring franchise. I mean, essentially every movie in the The Conjuring franchise that doesn’t have “The Conjuring” in the title are spin-offs, so we’re dealing with a somewhat extensive “family tree” by now.

Read our review of the first The Nun film here >

For the record, we’d better point out that while this The Nun sequel gets the same rating as the first movie, we actually prefer this sequel. From production quality and special effects to the acting, character development, and overall storyline, each element works better here.

And yet, both films are still just mediocre experiences. In hindsight (and having rewatched the first movie), we have to recognize that even though the first film got 3 splatters, it’s really worthy of 3 small splatters.

Continue reading our The Nun 2 movie review below. The film is out in theaters on September 8, 2023.

A stronger story in the sequel

In The Nun 2, a few years have passed since the events of the first film. And yes, we do get a quick update on what’s happened in the meantime. We are now in the year 1956, where a priest has been murdered in his church in France under demonic circumstances. To say the least.

Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) must therefore once again confront Valak, the demon disguised as a nun.

While the core story in The Nun was a somewhat dull affair with many side plots unrelated to the actual demon nun, considerably more time is spent on relevant storytelling in The Nun 2. Of course, it can also be argued that the first film had to deal with setting the stage. And yet, that “excuse” doesn’t make sense, as “The Nun”-character had already been featured prominently in several other The Conjuring films.

Including in Annabelle 2: Creation, so both in the core The Conjuring universe (specifically in The Conjuring 2) and a spin-off movie focusing on the Annabelle doll.

In any case, in The Nun 2, there are only two recurring characters. The priest from the first film is no longer with us, so we focus on Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) and Maurice (Jonas Bloquet). In addition, there are also a number of supporting characters who are truly interesting this time around. I won’t reveal details here, but it actually results in a story with a little more depth and heart.

Not so French for a “Frenchie” anymore

I cannot wrap my head around why there’s this need to have “The Nun”-character constantly roar like a wild animal. And also, she has teeth that bring to mind Venom. For me, it makes the demonic nun much less scary. Bonnie Aaron – who portrays this iconic horror character – is so brilliant when she just stares and smiles.

No need for all the extra horror effects. It takes away from the deep psychological horror and heads towards a comedy angle that does not suit this franchise.

There’s also a detail about Maurice that struck me as silly. Especially when you’ve just re-watched the first film prior to watching the sequel. In the first movie, much is made out of how Maurice is also called “Frenchie”. However, Maurice has forgotten much of his French accent from the first to the second film.

Actually, he sounds mostly British with an added dialect. But since the first movie established that he was from Canada, that doesn’t make much sense. And yet, I can’t even let it get to me that much, because the story as a whole is better here in The Nun 2.

Don’t worry, it’s easy to keep up

Whatever you think of the plot in The Nun 2 versus the first spin-off film, both Taissa Farmiga and Jonas Bloquet are really good in their respective roles. In fact, I think they’re both better here. Both also get significantly more to work with.

However, why so many flashbacks? I mean, I do realize it’s to sure the audience has caught all the twists and turns, but come on. I know everyone thinks young people have attention span problems, but this is just ridiculous. We literally saw something less than half an hour ago and then we get to see it again in a flashback. As if we’re incapable of remembering what we just saw.

Especially since the important details were often heavily focused on when the scene was shown the first time around.

Seat moving of its own accord during The Nun sequel

Even though I love “The Nun”-character in other The Conjuring movies, I always get the feeling that she becomes such a minor supporting character in the movies named after her. Or rather, she’s the least creepy in these movies. Maybe that’s really where these movies are misses for me.

In fact, the creepiest moment was when we saw The Nun 2 at a regular screening on opening day. It was in luxury seats, which wasn’t really a requirement for us, but that’s where the first screening of the day was. However, suddenly one of these luxury seats started moving on its own accord.

Right in the middle of a quiet moment, when everyone was waiting for something to happen, HorrorDiva‘s seat began to move to an upright position. Only hers, and no one else in the theater – as yes, other people were present for this first screening of the day.

Meanwhile, I was still sitting comfortably in a non-moving seat. Which is damn fortunate, because I would have yeeted out of there immediately if it had been my seat.

I’m not called ScreamQueen for nothing.

Watch The Nun 2 in theaters now!

This definitely made for a memorable horror movie experience. However, apart from a few jumps in my seat along the way (because yes, there are many jumpscares), The Nun 2 just wasn’t scary for me.

And again, it needs to be noted that I found this demon nun to be one of the creepiest things in The Conjuring universe. Especially in Annabelle 2: Creation. Maybe we just need David F. Sandberg to make a The Nun movie for it to scare me. Oh yeah, this is definitely me trying to speak this into being. I would love to be truly terrified by Valak, the demon nun, in an actual The Nun movie.

Still, make no mistake, I definitely recommend watching this in the theater. Preferably one with luxury seats that can go all the way back. It would be damn interesting if someone could report back that their seat also spontaneously wanted to return to the default position. You never know!

The Nun 2 is out in US theaters (and in many other countries worldwide) from September 8, 2023.

Details

In Theaters: September 8, 2023
Director: Michael Chaves
Writers: Akela Cooper, Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing
Cast: Taissa Farmiga, Storm Reid, Bonnie Aarons, Katelyn Rose Downey, Anna Popplewell, Jonas Bloquet