[Film Review] The Nun 2 (2023)

Before we begin I want to state that all of us at Ghouls Magazine support Bonnie Aarons in her ongoing legal action against Warner Bros. relating to the studio failing to pay her the correct amount connected to merchandising sales related to The Nun. Without Bonnie, and other actors like her, these kinds of horror characters who have terrified us would simply not exist and they should be celebrated as well as correctly paid for their hard work. 

This year marks ten years since the release of James Wan’s The Conjuring, the story of real life paranormal investigators/well-meaning kooks/dangerous frauds (delete as applicable) Ed and Lorraine Warren. Since then, this has developed into The Conjuring Universe; connected films that build on characters and elements from the main ones. The films have come to represent  the standard for mainstream horror, and you know exactly what you’re going to get with them: set up, sinister locations, jump scares, exposition, more jump scares, victory through the power of love/power of faith, roll credits and maybe a sequel hook or a scene that ties the film into the wider mythology. That doesn’t make it bad. It’s a comfortably reliable and low-effort watch and sometimes that’s exactly what you want. With The Nun 2, director Michael Chaves, who previously helmed The Curse of La Llorona and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It in the series, maintains this status quo, but after a decade is that really enough anymore?

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Sometime after the events of the first film, Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) is attempting to move on with her life. However the Vatican enlists her help when a series of dead clergy across Europe indicates that the demonic nun Valak is not quite banished to Hell. Even more concerning to Irene is that the series of deaths seem to also be connected to her old friend Maurice (Jonas Bloquet) who is now working in a school in France. 

The Nun, released in 2018 and directed by Corin Hardy, failed to dazzle critics or audiences, but it became the highest grossing of The Conjuring Universe so far, so of course it was going to get a sequel. The problem is that everything was pretty wrapped up at the end of the film, so where could this one even go? Not very far seems to be the answer as it feels like The Nun 2 just retreads familiar ground. The returning cast are good, Taissa Farmiga remaining the standout but Jonas Bloquet continues to be charming. Demián Bichir’s Father Burke has apparently died between films of non demon nun related causes, which is disappointing as him being an authoritative presence is missed here. The film’s central frustration is that it feels as though nothing matters, be it the story or the characters. We know Irene is going to be okay because Tessa Farmiga is carrying the movie, Maurice is relatively fine because the last film revealed his ultimate fate as the failed exorcism the Warrens perform that we see in The Conjuring, and as for the new characters we barely know them so it doesn’t really matter if they make it or not. Storm Reid as Sister Debra is fine but her only purpose is to give Irene someone to talk to. There’s a conversation that she is struggling with her belief in miracles, but she doesn’t really go on any kind of arc to overcome that, she just believes again when the plot demands it in the finale. Anna Popplewell and Katelyn Rose Downey as mother and daughter Kate and Sophie are sweet in their interactions with Maurice, but Sophie in particular only exists to get scared a lot. 

Those scares themselves are nothing original, but are very well constructed which is more than can be said for some of the ones from the previous film. The wall of magazines shown in the trailer is particularly well built up. Director Chaves is old hat at this, having now directed more movies in this franchise than its creator James Wan, but you have to wonder if they’re ever going to shake things up. One thing that is a little different is that there is a surprising amount of gore in the film, possibly more than any other Conjuring Universe entry. It’s been reported that this was added to the film after preview screenings, but it doesn’t really achieve anything other than have a brief shock value. Speaking of brief shock value, there is a death in this film which is left  undiscovered, we have not seen this character before their death scene, and nothing is ever mentioned of them again. It seems like that was time that could have been better spent developing the story or other characters. Yes, we’re only here for the rollercoaster ride but after a certain point you need something more than that.

Then just when you think it can’t get sillier, we find ourselves in The DaVinci Code with the descendants of a saint and puzzles to work out to find the holy relic before the demon does because since the demon was once an angel, getting a holy relic will give it power again or something. By the time it gets to the climax you think you’re ready for anything, but the end result manages to go even further that you just have to let go of any nitpicking and just enjoy the ride. Maybe that was intentional when you consider that one of the writers was Malignant and M3GAN’s Akela Cooper, who also came up with the story. This would generally be fine, but when the rest of the franchise plays itself as pretty sincere it’s a bit jarring. Still, maybe in time it will be held up as a camp classic. There’s also an exposition librarian. Gotta love an exposition librarian.

If you want a fresh new horror movie with a fascinating story  which  instils terror in you and makes you dread turning off the lights, that’s not The Nun 2. However, if you want something that you can have a bit of fun with and poke holes in afterwards, you could do a lot worse.

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