Ah, another horror movie about the Catholic Church. The eighth and latest film of “The Conjuring” universe, “The Nun 2” is the sequel to the 2018 spinoff of the same name.
Michael Chaves, director of the last “Conjuring” film “The Devil Made Me Do It”, is back at the helm for this newest outing, set some time after Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) seemingly defeated the demonic Valak.
Unfortunately, demons aren’t exactly easy to put down, and it is not long before a series of deadly incidents across Europe alerts the Church to Valak’s resurgence.
It is revealed that the big bad is making a westward trip from Romania to France, seemingly searching for a sacred relic called the Eyes of St Lucy, whose holy power it intends on possessing.
So, where’s the relic now? Buried, apparently – under a former monastery turned boarding school where teacher Kate (Anna Popplewell) and her daughter Sophie (Katelyn Rose Downey) reside.
With no time to lose, Sister Irene, along with her not-sidekick Sister Debra (Storm Reid), rush to confront Valak before it gets its filthy hands on the thing.
Now, a disclosure: this FMT Lifestyle reviewer didn’t catch “The Nun”, though he did watch “The Devil Made Me Do It”. So while it wouldn’t be fair to compare this to its predecessor, let’s see how it holds up to Chaves’ previous work.
The most important question for any horror movie is whether it’s scary. On that front, “The Nun 2” certainly fulfils that criteria… for a little while, anyway.
After all, there is something inherently frightening about a demonic entity taking the form of a religious figure. As one character puts it, Valak appearing in the form of a nun seemingly mocks its victims and their faith.
Much of the film takes place in religious locations, and the idea that a holy place can be occupied by an unholy creature indicates just how dangerous and insidious it is.
That said, the frequent buildup before Valak’s many onscreen appearances gets old and repetitive. The first time it emerges from the darkness, it’s terrifying. Done too often, however, and it loses its impact.
So it certainly doesn’t help that the demon nun’s MO seems to be to lurk in a dark corner before revealing itself in all penguin-esque glory. To quote Patrick Star from “SpongeBob SquarePants”: “He’s just standing there – menacingly!” Surely there’s more than one way to spook the audience?
And given how many times Valak shows up throughout the movie, it does feel like the demon overstays its welcome, particularly during the climax when the protagonists are (spoiler alert!) pitted against an enlarged Valak in the middle of the room.
It’s a scene reminiscent of a video-game boss fight. It may be exciting for some, but scary, it is not; subtlety is definitely a commendable value when it comes to creating scares.
Well then! If the scares aren’t great, how about the characters, the other make-or-break factor of any horror film? The central players in “The Nun 2” are serviceable at best.
While they are thankfully not annoying enough for you to root for the demon, they are pretty basic with nothing much to speak of. And they don’t seem to have a sense of self-preservation, either, given their propensity for investigating unusual noises.
It seems every single strange sound and sight needs to be checked out, if only to give Valak the chance to jumpscare them and the audience – who are apparently expected not to see it coming.
Ultimately, “The Nun 2” has some “eek” moments but has the habit (heh) of undermining its own fear factor by overplaying its hand.
As of press time, ‘The Nun 2’ is screening in cinemas nationwide.