You might already know that I am a big fan of the Conjuring / Annabel franchise. This year we received another installment to the growing list of movies. The Nun II, which is currently available for purchase or rent on multiple platforms (iTunes and Prime are two of them).
You also might know, if you listen to our podcasts (if you haven’t you should check them out), we’ve discussed The Nun in the past and didn’t give it super high marks. It wasn’t a bad horror movie, but it overplayed / overshowed the Nun. Something that initially was quite terrifying was turned into ‘routine’ through the movie. The Nun standing there with dramatic music. The repetitive nature in which they kept repeating the same instance, it diminished that spook factor, and for me and others, it hurt the movie overall.
So, going into The Nun II, I was skeptical, over than ‘oversharing’ the Nun in the first movie, really it was good other than that, so even though skeptical, I was also hopeful, and I was not disappointed. Maybe they knew the first one had some snags; they did not repeat the flaw. This second installment of The Nun, way superseded its predecessor.
Director: Michael Chaves (now has directed several movies of this franchise)
Writers: Ian Goldberg (Autopsy of Jane Doe), Richard Naing (Autopsy of Jane Doe), and Akela Cooper (M3GAN, Malignant).
Cast: Returning cast: Taissa Farmiga (Sister Irene) and Jonas Bloquet (Maurice) and Bonnie Aarons (The Nun / Valak). Additional cast: Storm Reid (Sister Debra), Anna Popplewell (Kate) and Katelyn Rose Downey (Sophie)
While The Nun storyline focused on Sister Irene, The Nun II follows Maurice in the aftermath of their incidents in Romania as a slew of murders come to the Church’s attention. Due to the nature of the scenes, the Church charges Sister Irene to investigate. Her investigation leads her back to the man that saved her life in Romania, Maurice, whom is a groundskeeper at a boarding school for girls, you guessed it, another creepy old building.
The girls of this school are being tormented by an unknown entity that eventually results in the headmistress’s death and then even more “hell” breaks loose. Which is when Sister Irene and her companion, Sister (or perhaps not a Sister yet) Debra land in the middle of the chaos to faceoff with The Nun, or as we’ve learned, Valak once again.
I really did enjoy this movie, as I mentioned earlier, it did not disappoint in the least. You get all the tension and scares that this franchise is known for, and more appropriately balanced this time. You really grow to love these reappearing characters even more through this movie, which is well cast (new and returning characters). The pace is good in moving you through the story, and, as we’ve come to expect with this franchise, you get scared in all the right places and more! It is an outstanding addition to my favorite horror movie franchise.
I would certainly recommend adding this to your list of spooks to watch this season (or really at any time of the year ;) ), and I am ready for the next in the series!!
My Reel Rating:
Comments