ConjuringVerse sequel The Nun II sets out to atone for the biggest sin committed in 2018’s The Nun: an emphasis on atmospherics and lore over the sinister scares that made Valak (Bonnie Aarons) an instant fan favorite in The Conjuring 2. The Nun II dials up the fear factor, wasting no time establishing the merciless nature of Valak as it takes the “more is more” approach to everything from set pieces to mythology. It makes for a livelier entry that stumbles in its excess.
Set four years after the events of The Nun, Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) now lives the quiet convent life as she works hard to put Romania behind her. Helping to distract her is newcomer Sister Debra (Storm Reid), a rebellious young nun who’s taken to Irene’s unwavering patience. But her fellow survivor, Maurice (Jonas Bloquet), didn’t escape Romania unscathed and has unwittingly become a pawn to Valak, even as he establishes a life as a boarding school groundskeeper.
A trail of bodies across Europe emerges, and, despite her wishes, Sister Irene gets tasked with performing yet another miracle to thwart the demonic forces at play.
Director Michael Chaves (The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It) opens the sequel with an attention-grabbing scare sequence that introduces Valak’s latest reign of terror and the stakes. After a harrowing death or two, The Nun II splits its focus between Maurice and Sister Irene’s dueling storylines to set the stage for an inevitable convergence and confrontation. It’s here where screenwriters Ian Goldberg & Richard Naing (The Autopsy of Jane Doe) and Akela Cooper (M3GAN, Malignant) – based on Cooper’s story – expand the mythology. Plotting takes precedence over narrative as Sister Irene’s quest takes her across Europe in search of Valak and Valak’s purpose. Chaves breaks up the lore-building with a few scares to maintain pacing. Still, characterization gets handled in broad, superficial brushstrokes as the sequel is more interested in building the mystery behind Valak’s machinations.
The shift into quest mode puts Valak’s early vicious streak on the back burner, diminishing the demonic nun’s presence as it overcomplicates a relatively simple mission. Chaves does his best to distract with more expansive set pieces and a satisfying climactic showdown but struggles with narrative balance. Sister Irene, Debra, and Maurice get swallowed whole by an excess in lore, and the heavy-handed exposition frequently threatens to detract from the pacing and scares. The Nun II also lets itself off the hook of the previous film’s final coda, disrupting the larger continuity. Not even a fan service mid-credit scene can illuminate how this sequel fits into the larger universe by the time this sequel is said and done.
The Nun II is deceptive in that it offers more of the same but swaps out atmosphere for a busier body count, expansive set pieces, and crowded plotting. That alone will be enough for those seeking scares and a few extra details behind the divine and demonic powers of Sister Irene and her blasphemous foe. But the more crowded sequel struggles to maintain Valak’s sinister presence and the scare crafting. It also squeezes out the characters themselves as the mythology takes center stage. While Bonnie Aarons gets more room to shine, barely, The Nun II follows in its predecessor’s footsteps in its inability to capture what made Valak so scary in the first place.
The Nun II releases in theaters on September 8, 2023.
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