Now comes The Nun II, directed by Michael Chaeves (The Curse of La Llorona), which picks up shortly after the events of the first film. It is 1956 and nun Irene (Taissa Farmiga – The Bling Ring) is living a non-eventful life serving in a convent where no-one serving around her knows the events of her past. In fact the only person that she seems close to is a young rebellious nun by the name of Debra (Storm Reid – A Wrinkle in Time). Debra is kind and nice-natured but doesn’t easily obey the rules that are to be abided by in the convent.
Meanwhile, Maurice (Jonas Bloquet – Elle) has started a whole new life as a maintenance man at a boarding school. Here he has started to get close to teacher, Kate (Anna Popplewell – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, The Wardrobe), and her daughter Sophie (Katelyn Rose Downey – The Princess), unaware of the fact that he is possessed with the demon responsible for ‘The Demon Nun’ (Bonnie Aarons – I Know Who Killed Me), who has just started a new murderous rampage in search of vengeance and another religious artifact.
Once again Maurice and Irene’s paths cross when the Vatican orders Irene to once again go after this demon – something that she is reluctant to do. Her investigation is made even more dangerous when the rebellious Debra sneaks along to be by her side.
The Nun II is a film that is going to be savoured by true The Conjuring fans. Not only is it a good film but also it actually does the unthinkable in the horror genre and is a much better film than the original. The Nun was okay and had a brilliant claustrophobic feel, but with a more intriguing storyline and a meatier screenplay from a trio of screenwriters (who have titles such as M3gan, Malignant and Fear the Walking Dead under their belt), The Nun II is a far superior films.
The film overcomes a major setback with Demian Bichir not returning as the amazing Father Burke, but rather than hindering the film, although the reason given for Burke not returning is kind of lame, this allows superior character growth for Irene, who not only becomes a much stronger and interesting character as a result, but also has some more ‘Easter Eggs’ revealed about her character and how she fits into The Conjuring universe. Let’s just say there will be a lot of fan theories floating around after people have seen The Nun II.
This well-written screenplay also allows for the characters around Irene to be given more characterisation as well. Maurice is portrayed in a completely different light, a real Dr Jekyll and My Hyde to be honest, while Kate and Sophie are developed in such a way that the audience feels an affinity for them, which just adds to the suspense when their lives are all put in danger.
The screenplay is brought to the screen remarkably well by Michael Chaves who not only uses the characterisation present in the screenplay to ramp up the suspense but also manages to make this a truly horrifying film that is going to impress even the most hardened horror fans. Little things like the wall of magazines and the amazing grand finale at the school are going to make The Nun II a memorable film and shows that bringing on a whole new creative team to work alongside producer James Wan was probably a wise one.
Like she did in the first film, Taissa Farmiga shines in the role of Irene with a strong performance while young Katelyn Rose Downey steals the limelight throughout the fan. As a young actress she is thrown into the deep end being part of some of the more horrifying scenes of the film, and she delivers time and time again.
The Nun II is one of the genuine surprises of 2023. It is a film that is not only going to be embraced by fans of The Conjuring universe, but is going to be universally loved by horror fans as a whole.
3.5/5 Stars
The Nun II is currently screening in Phuket and is rated 15.
David Griffiths has been working as a film and music reviewer for over 20 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. He is also an accredited reviewer for Rotten Tomatoes. You can follow him at www.facebook.com/subcultureentertainmentaus