The Nun 2 Movie Review

The Nun II (2023) Movie Review

The Conjuring universe has become one of the biggest cinematic universes of all time. I am not just talking about horror movies; I am talking about all movies in every genre. Who would have thought that James Wan’s 2013 horror flick ‘The Conjuring’ would become the juggernaut it is today. The franchise has seen massive success from its 8 entries, spanning 10 years. These 8 films include ‘The Conjuring’ (2013), ‘Annabelle’ (2014), ‘The Conjuring 2’ (2016), ‘Annabelle: Creation’ (2016), ‘The Nun’ (2018), ‘The Curse of The Weeping Woman’ (2019), ‘Annabelle: Comes Home’ (2019), ‘The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It’ (2021) and now ‘The Nun II’ in 2023.

‘The Nun II’ follows is a direct sequel to the events from the first film. Set in 1956 France, after the brutal murder of a priest, Sister Irene (played by Taissa Farminga) goes about investigating the murder to find out that the evil demonic presence of Valak is still looming large over Europe. Sister Irene teams up with French (played again by Jonas Bloquet) and Sister Debra (played by Storm Reid), to stop Valak before she kills again. As a fan of this cinematic universe, and horror films in general, I was excited to see where director Michael Chaves would take the series, given he is now a veteran in the Conjuring cinematic universe, helming ‘The Curse of The Weeping Woman’ and ‘The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It’. Thankfully he continues to improve as a filmmaker, producing his best film yet and my personal favourite spin off from the core trilogy.

‘The Nun II’ expands on the mythology from the first film, creating a scary, atmospheric, and tense horror film that never sacrifices its themes of faith, friendship, and loyalty. Chaves does an amazing job here of creating tension through isolated settings. The opening sequence in the church is legitimately terrifying, creating a sense of dread that doesn’t leave you for the film’s entirety. Splitting our main characters up for a majority of the film. Maurice ‘Frenchy’ is working as a groundskeeper for a boarding school in France. This isolates his possession of the school, leaving him helpless to deal with what’s going on. Meanwhile, Sister Irene is still dealing with the fallout from the first film, with a tainted reputation and also an understanding that the current string of murders might be related to the events from the first film. These two settings are great and really what elevate the film.

Bonnie Aarons returns as the demonic Nun here, showcasing her ability as a character actor. She’s fantastic as the nun, once again showcasing her ability to be truly terrifying. The film is anchored on her performance, as she really does do a lot of the heavy lifting here. The make-up work is tremendous as well, transforming Bonnie Aarons into the nun, but it’s also Bonnie’s performance as well, as she is truly intimidating and terrifying in this role. After the monumental success of this film and the after credits tease of her return for ‘The Conjuring 4’, it's safe to say we will be seeing her again in future Conjuring universe instalments.

The other strengths of the film lie in the relationships developed between Sister Irene, her new friend Sister Debra and her friendship with Frenchy. The chemistry these actors all share with each other is fantastic. I particularly like the friendship that develops between Storm Reid’s Sister Debra and Taissa Farminga Sister Irene. The two actors are great on screen together, and I really hope we see both of them together again in future Conjuring instalments.

As mentioned, the tension and the build-up throughout this film is what makes it a stronger entry than 2018s ‘The Nun’. Outside of the opening sequence, there are a string of amazing scares throughout the film that have stuck with me long after I saw the film on the big screen. There is an amazing sequence involving a news stand in the streets of Paris, which was all done in camera, with little CGI enhancement. The sequence continues to build and build for one hell of a payoff. The film's finality also is large in scale, but satisfying as we get some truly amazing sequences, again with a majority of the effects in camera, rarely using CGI. 

‘The Nun II’ is not only a fantastic horror film, but one of my favourite entries in the beloved Conjuring franchise. It is filled with great characters, a truly terrifying villain and amazing scares. It's memorable in a way that not all of the Conjuring films are and a big reason as to why this works so well is Michael Chaves' direction. I cannot wait to see what he does next and what the Conjuring franchise has installed for us next!

Be sure to pick-up your copy of ‘The Nun II’ on DVD, Blu-Ray or 4K Ultra HD today, you won’t want to miss it and if you’re after a last-minute stocking stuffer just in time for Christmas, then look no further Sanity has you covered, shop their wide range of gifts below!

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Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here