No one was amazed that the success of The Conjuring in 2013 would spawn sequels. Maybe it was a little shocking that it birthed a whole cinematic universe. But after sequel upon sequel of spin-off spirit fair, one might think The Nun II is the 25th entry by now. While the follow-up to the much maligned 2018 standalone presentation is only the 9th installment to be released, it is an almost 2 hour note that maybe it is time to retire the character.
After the events of the first film, everything seemed to be back to normal (though audiences knew different). Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) is back to a quieter life in a convent hidden away in the country side.
Whilst Maurice (Jonas Bloquet) is living a quiet but busy life as the handyman at a French boarding school. But the calm and peaceful lives they have been living for the past few years are coming to an end.
Photo by Courtesy of Warner Bros. – © Warner BRos.
A horrible force is creating havoc across the country. Much like the pattern in the first film, the strange and awful deaths started in Romania and have traveled across Europe and France is the new home of this evil. Knowing Sister Irene is the only one left that has seen such horrors before, the church tasks her with finding out why such a powerful evil is back again.
Whether a film succeeds at frightening its audience, be it from jump scares or just a generally creepy atmosphere; it is hard for a horror film to be bland. The Nun II is exactly that–a flimsy snooze fest that fails to hit any of its intended goals. Somewhat cleverly placed images of the Valak itself can only attest to a certain level of entertainment. But the majority of the film places all its goodwill on those not-so-hidden images.
You’re likely to find a new video on YouTube every day that wants to tell you how they hid Valak’s name all over The Conjuring II before its name was officially revealed. The Nun II takes that idea and instead of being trick or even clever with it, it posts it on the background like an ad for an upcoming concert. It’s handled as subtlety as bear turd in a confessional booth. No one is fooled and you need to know who is responsible.
Photo by Courtesy of Warner Bros. – © Warner BRos
Even if the film finds a way to dig its way into your mind and plant seeds of terror and shock, it’s all delivered through the saddest, shoe string plot known to man. A frayed knot of poorly conceived storylines are held together by a stale pubic hair that would break under the simplest inquiry.
How this script received a green light is a more pertinent question than the meaning of life.
The third act tried to jam together all of the non-existent bread crumbs that lead up to that point and they are connected by nothing. The grand finale is as laughable as it is confusing and serves nothing in the grand scheme of the film or the Conjuring universe. While the events of the first film were just a reason to introduce Maurice and unveil he was the one the Warrens were exorcising in their presentation in the first Conjuring, The Nun II seems to be nothing more than a reason to tell you why Valak’s eyes are yellow.
After the failure to impress most audience members with the first Annabelle movie, many were surprised to find the second Annabelle outing to be quite enjoyable. So, one might think the same journey is in store for them with this new installment in The Nun series. Well, if you couldn’t tell already that isn’t the case, and frankly I feel sorry for myself for even sitting through this film. If you can call it a film.
Photo by Courtesy of Warner Bros. – © Warner BRos.
Final Grade: D-
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Here’s the trailer of the film.