‘The Nun II’ – Review

The evil of The Conjuring Universe never lies dormant for long, and unspeakable horrors reach from the shadows with a vengeance in the much-anticipated sequel, The Nun II.

1956 – France. A priest is murdered. An evil is spreading. The sequel to the worldwide smash hit follows Sister Irene as she once again comes face-to-face with Valak, the demon nun.

James Wan’s The Conjuring Universe has cemented itself as the place for crazy, violent, and freakish jump scares and audiences are pulled back into a waking nightmare with The Nun II and the return of Valek. Filmmaker Michael Chaves, a veteran of The Conjuring with credits including The Curse of La Llorona and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, again jumps back in to bring up more horrors. And his directorial hand leads to plenty of scares. Blending both horror and the supernatural together, Chaves makes The Nun II a detective story as Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) still reeling from the nightmare of the events she confronted in Romania in 1952 again finds herself at the mercy of pure evil, and Chaves direction leads to a creepy and creative horror picture.

The Nun II sees the return of Taissa Farmiga as Sister Irene and Jonas Bloquet as Frenchie, and we discover that the evil force of Valek continues to haunt both of them. Many of the scares of The Nun II are derived from the haunting visions that Farmiga’s Sister Irene suffers and her inability to shift away from the horrors of Valek. Through her dramatic visions, audiences are brought deeper into a story that examines the very nature of evil and the place of religion in its path. There are plenty of twists and turns baked into the narrative courtesy of Chaves’ direction, and both the cinematography of Tristan Nyby and the production design of Stéphane Cressend add to the manic paranoia of the narrative.

Both freakish jump scares and blood-curdling horror await in The Nun II, and this is a sinister picture that gets nasty quickly. Chaves and his team throw a lot at the audience, and via a good use of suspense and a focus on the unexpected, you’ll find yourself screaming your lungs out in quick succession. The horror hits hard in The Nun II, and the film’s third act is a particularly blood-curdling act when you feel that Sister Irene’s faith might have failed her, and the demon presence of Valek snarls her teeth. It’s a horrific rush that will have you cowering in your seat, and this is a picture that will make you shudder.

The Nun II is certain to make your skin crawl, and if you like your horror cinema with bite, then this film will give you the nightmares you desire.

Image: Warner Brothers Pictures