RECENT WATCHES: The Nun II (2023)

One assumes that the lightbulb moment for "The Conjuring" cinematic universe occurred when James Wan or Peter Safran or whoever read about the Warrens' museum of cursed artifacts. Here was a whole room filled with spooky doodads, each one with a creepy origin story of their own, worthy of a horror movie or two. This is the blue print "Annabelle" followed, which the third film built extensively on. Weirdly though, the second series spun out of "The Conjuring" was entirely invented by Hollywood screenwriters, taking no inspiration from the Warrens' haunted knickknacks at all. (This might be because the real Warrens' Occult Museum is mostly filled with Halloween decorations and other shit you can buy off Amazon.) There was never an ominous painting of a demonic nun in Ed and Lorraine's shed. However, "The Nun" made over 300 million worldwide on a 22 million dollar budget, so there was no way we weren't getting a sequel. "The Nun II" arrived five years after the original, probably only taking that long because of the pandemic. I can't imagine the search for a director added to the delay. Michael Chaves would stick with the franchise that had been so good to him, moving from Weeping Women and the Warrens themselves to Bonnie Aarons' snaggle-toothed sinister sister. 

It is 1956. Four years have passed since the demon Valak was seemingly re-sealed under Saint Cartha's Monastery with the blood of Christ. Sister Irene now resides at a convent in Italy, her achievement already passing into legend but her role in it kept a secret. Maurice is working as a gardener at a French boarding school, befriending a bullied young girl named Sophie. A series of bizarre killings, targeting the clergy, have begun across Europe. Irene, with her inexperienced sidekick Sister Debra, is tasked with unraveling the mystery. She soon deduces that Valak escaped its prison by possessing Maurice's body. The demon is targeting the descendants of Saint Lucia, the fire-proof virgin whose eyes were gouged out by Roman pagans during the third century. These eyes are said to reside in a French monastery, the building now being a school... The same school Maurice is working at. Irene and Debra head to France to confront Valak, still in the form of a grotesque nun, once again. 

Corin Hardy's "The Nun" managed to mine considerable ambiance out of its old world setting. "The Nun II" trades Romania for Italy and France but still pulls off a similar trick. I suppose a horror movie setting much of its action in dusty old corridors, shadowy stone ruins, and obscure cellars goes a long way towards winning me over. The locked-off portion of the school, still surviving from the monastery days, features a creepy stained glass window that sets up two amusingly atmospheric sequences. A chase through the cobblestone back allies of France is also decently pulled off. Chaves' sequel doesn't draw as much from classic EuroHorror as the original but setting the movie partly in Italy is still a nod towards its most obvious influences. A scene where school girls trade stories about creepy sounds above their bunks is right out of "Suspiria." There's a smattering of that Argento energy here, when the Nun is stalking her victims. I also suspect Michele Soavi's "The Church" might have been on someone's mind while making "The Nun II." The old world scenery and increasingly grotesque horrors – which starts with a Catholic priest bursting into flames and elevate from there – recall that one a little. "The Nun II" isn't anywhere near as good as its inspirations but that it cribs some of those vibes at all thoroughly makes it my kind of thing. 

"The Conjuring" is a rarity among horror franchises for revolving more around its heroes than its villains. "The Nun II" follows this lead by bringing back two of the three protagonists from the last one. (Demián Bichir's Father Burke is said to have died of cholera between movies.) As a Taissa Farmiga vehicle, "The Nun II" is surprisingly successful. Having wrapped up her character arc of accepting the habit in the first one, Sister Irene now has to struggle with the weight of faith. Memories of her late mother linger in her mind and suffering seems to be all around, making her wonder about her belief in a good and loving God. Farmiga remains a pleasant lead, with a warm and lovable presence about her. She has good chemistry with Storm Reid as the far more skeptical Debra, a character who introduces some much needed incredulity to the story. Jonas Bloquet as Maurice is also a welcome return, the kindness the guy shows to the bullied Sophie instantly making him likable. Our heroes are nice and kind, an unexpected benefit in the often cynical horror genre. 

Which isn't to say "The Nun II" isn't dumb and nasty in many other ways. Bonnie Aarons' Valak is a fully minted movie monster now, the sequel giving her much more lurk-and-hurt time than her previous two appearances. In fact, "The Nun II" almost feels like a Catholicism-themed slasher flick. Symbols of churchly tradition like the Eucharist, a confessional booth, and a censer are weaponized by the demon on the way to gory murder sequences. As with his previous installments in this series, Michael Chaves packs "The Nun II" full of many loud, dumb jump scares. However, he's gotten slightly better at setting up this kind of stuff. A scene where the demon emerges from a new stand of ominously flapping magazines is very silly but in an audacious way. The last third, which features a chase across a crumbling catwalk, isn't bad either. By the end, the sequel successfully captures a feeling of fun house silliness, never actually scary but clearly having a good time tossing demonic visages and creepy crawlers at us. 

I've compared the mainline "The Conjuring" films to superhero movies, in the way they build up the Warrens as mythic do-gooders who interact with established concepts. Rather than pulling from decades of comic book back issues, these movies are inspired by the Warrens' bullshitty claims and Catholic mysticism. After uncovering a vial of the blood of Christ in the first movie, Sister Irene pursues the Eyes of St. Lucy in this one. It's a very Indiana Jones-like structure but, when the central relic is revealed, it has magical powers on-par with an Infinity Gem. The sequel includes an almost hilariously awkward exposition dump to introduce its MacGuffin. It ends in a flash of CGI light and special effects, feeling more and more like a Marvel movie as it goes along. That includes foreshadowing multiple elements in gratuitous ways. Hmm, I wonder if this lengthy conversation about transubstantiation will be important later? That's the kind of movie "The Nun II" is and it goes to show how much the ubiquity of superhero tropes have rubbed off on other genres. 

"The Nun II" made about one hundred million dollars less than its predecessor, a noticeable drop-off. With the sense of finality around the next "Conjuring" movie, it's hard to say if Valak will return to haunt Europe a third time. At the same time, the sequel still made a healthy profit and a money-making horror villain making a comeback is always plausible. I might actually like "The Nun II" a little more than the first one. Its highs are not as high but it also doesn't drop off as hard in the second half either. It's a thoroughly preposterous motion picture but an entertaining one, with a likable cast, some cozy horror ambiance, and a handful of amusingly silly scares. I guess if Catholic propaganda has to infect my beloved horror genre, it's good that the movies are at least decently engineered. [6/10]