Michael Chaves directed The Nun II, a direct sequel to The Nun, and the eighth iteration of the Conjuring Universe of movies that also include the Annabelle (currently three films) series and the Conjuring (currently four films) series. The Nun II tries to fire the brilliant spark that was the first The Nun, but to no avail. Returning to their roles are Taissa Farmiga as Sister Irene who has moved up from novitiate status in the first film and is a sister at an Italian convent.
Buy The Nun II Blu-rayWe also have Jonas Bloquet returning as Maurice / Frenchie. He works at a boarding school in France and has been given a much more appropriate love interest in a young teacher (as opposed to when he was obviously in love with Sister Irene in The Nun), Kate (Anna Popplewell), who has a young daughter Maurice has formed a special bond with, Sophie (Katelyn Rose Downey). Most importantly, because of her decidedly scary countenance and ability to suddenly be staring at you from a surprising corner, we see the return of Bonnie Aarons as the Demon Nun.
In the opening of The Nun II, a priest and an altar boy are investigating a disturbance in their church when the priest is lifted into the air and engulfed by flames. Sister Irene works at a convent where everybody knows the story of what happened in The Nun, but nobody suspects Irene had anything to do with the repulsion of its demonic forces. The Church knows, though, and asks Sister Irene to investigate several recent demonic happenings. She is joined, covertly, by a novice, Sister Debra. This gets them right back to Frenchie who has been possessed ever since the events of The Nun.
Unfortunately, it is Sister Irene and Frenchie who have the real chemistry here, even though he is supposed to be interested in the teacher, Kate. It is not a story problem, it is a casting problem. Frenchie and Kate very clearly love and will protect Sophie, but the viewer is definitely rooting for Irene to leave the cloister and run into Frenchie’s arms. It is a horror movie: sequels with a fallen nun might have been interesting.
Valak makes her return finally, and she is just as scary as she has always been. It is an easy complaint to say there is not enough of her throughout. The Conjuring Franchise has a tendency to pull away from scares the moment you most expect one. While this works to keep you on edge, a couple of those moments could have led to nice scares with the Demon Nun, Valak, inches from your frightened face.
