“The Nun II” is a Gothic horror film from director Michael Chaves, and it serves as the ninth installment of “The Conjuring” universe. The story follows Sister Irene as she investigates the murder of a priest, forcing her to once again face the demon nun Valak.
While this is a vast improvement over 2018’s “The Nun,” this film is, unfortunately, just a movie that exists. Granted, the film is genuinely entertaining at points, and there are some well-crafted scares. But even though this is a decent movie (and far from the worst film in the franchise), the mediocrity is yet another nail in the coffin of a cinematic universe that refuses to die.
One of the best elements of this film is Chaves’ directing. All three of his feature films have been entries in “The Conjuring” franchise, with his first two films being the underwhelming “The Curse of La Llorona” and the mediocre “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.” Thankfully, it seems like he has actually learned quite a bit from his experience working on each film, and it really shows in “The Nun II.” The genuine scares in the first two acts come from the direction. I wouldn’t say that Chaves’ work here is as masterful as Wan’s directing for the first two “Conjuring” films or Sandberg’s on “Annabelle: Creation,” but it shows quite a bit of promise.
The cinematography was another improvement over “The Nun.” The original film looked black and blue for the entire runtime, so it was kind of an eyesore; not only that, but the lighting wasn’t all that great either. “The Nun II,” thankfully, has a more varied color scheme and better lighting, which creates a more engaging atmosphere.
The performances from returning actors Taissa Farmiga (“American Horror Story”) and Jonas Bloquet (“1899”) were also great, and I actually cared about their characters a bit more in this film than I did in the original. Their characters are still admittedly one-dimensional (for the most part), but each actor managed to elevate the material. Bloquet stole the show with his natural charisma and expressive eyes.
This film is unfortunately dragged down by quite a bit, including its surprisingly formulaic screenplay. Akela Cooper wrote the first draft, and previously wrote “Malignant” and “M3GAN,” the former of which is a guilty-pleasure, campy favorite of mine. Her involvement was the main reason why I was even excited about this film in the first place, despite my overall hatred for “The Nun.”
Unfortunately, her initial draft was then re-written by Richard Naing and Ian Goldberg, who previously wrote the screenplay of “The Autopsy of Jane Doe.” That film, much like “The Nun II,” is an example of a talented director elevating a middling script and turning it into a mediocre movie. I watched this movie pretty recently, but I can’t remember a single line of dialogue. Not only is this yet another fetch quest for a Biblical, mystical MacGuffin, but there’s also a predictably annoying plot twist near the end.
Another problem with this film is that, like the first “Nun” movie, this is a prequel to “The Conjuring 2,” where Valak is the primary antagonist. Prequels, unfortunately, come pre-packaged with the problem of certain characters’ fates already sealed, but that doesn’t always have to be the case. Not only did the franchise do this successfully with “Annabelle: Creation,” but last year’s “Orphan: First Kill” was another successful horror prequel. Both of these films manage to take their narrative limitations and play around with them in captivating ways, and I’m disappointed that this film didn’t even seem to really try.
“The Nun II” is a perfectly decent horror film on its own, and it seems to suggest a strong future for director Michael Chaves. Unfortunately, this is yet another entry in “The Conjuring” universe that seems to suggest that the franchise has long outstayed its welcome. To quote Judd Crandall of “Pet Sematary” — “Sometimes dead is better.”
RATING: 5/10
