The Nun II (2023) - Conjuring Timeline 1956
We start this one four years after the events of The Nun. This one starts with the death of a Priest in Tarascon, France (yes, where they defeated the Tarasque). We also find Sister Irene in an Italian Convent, and Maurice, aka Frenchie, is working at a school in France. Father Burke, we learn, is dead.
Sister Irene is charged with investigating Valak again. This time, the setting shifts across Europe, with the demon’s shadow stretching into the French boarding school. That shift works: there’s something inherently creepy about children in peril, especially when Catholic ritual and dark demonic legend overlap.
The visuals remain the franchise’s strongest card. If you’re into ruined chapels, candlelit corridors, and sudden blasts of holy fire, this movie has you covered. Valak remains terrifying, arguably even more so here than in the first film. She looms larger, and the filmmakers lean harder into the iconography: shadowy halls, painted saints staring down, and that pale face waiting just past the edge of the light.
Where it falters is pacing. At times, the movie wants to be a detective story, with Irene piecing together the mystery of Valak’s hunt for a sacred relic. At other times, it just wants to throw another jump scare at the screen. The result is uneven. There are moments that feel like The Exorcist by way of Hammer Horror, and then there are moments that feel like a haunted house ride we’ve been through before. The shadow of the Exorcist looms large.
Still, I found this one more satisfying than the first. It is a slower burn, and there’s a stronger sense of continuity, not just with The Nun, but with The Conjuring films overall. The lore deepens, and the stakes feel higher. Farmiga is still great, and she anchors the film with quiet intensity, and Storm Reid (as her ally, Sister Debra, and from A Wrinkle in Time) brings some fresh energy to the dynamic. Honestly, I want a movie of these two criss-crossing Europe as demon hunters. Psychic Irene and skeptic-but-looking-for-her-faith Debra in a trans-European romp. Doesn't fit the vibe of the series at all, but it would be fun.
Is it perfect? No. But The Nun II knows what it’s about, and it leans harder into the occult Gothic aesthetic that made Valak such a standout villain in the first place. If you liked the first but wanted more, this delivers. If you didn’t like the first at all, this won’t change your mind.
Occut D&D and NIGHT SHIFT
From an RPG perspective, The Nun II plays out like a second act in a campaign. The first adventure introduces the villain; the second broadens the scope, drops hints of deeper lore, and raises the stakes with bigger set pieces.
October Horror Movie Challenge 2025
Viewed: 7
First Time Views: 6
No comments:
Post a Comment