1956 – France. A priest is murdered. An evil is spreading. The sequel to the worldwide smash hit follows Sister Irene as she once again comes face-to-face with Valak, the demon nun.
“The Nun II” picks up four years after the events of “The Nun.” Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) now serves in a convent in Italy, while Maurice is a handyman at a boarding school in Tarascon, France. One night, Irene has a vision of Maurice asking for her help, but she attributes it to their experience with Valak, the demon nun (Bonnie Aarons), four years earlier.
Several priest deaths across Europe are attributed to Valak, and the Cardinal dispatches Irene because of her history with the entity, along with a fellow nun, Sister Debra (Storm Reid), to investigate. Her trek takes her to Tarascon, where she meets up again with Maurice but quickly discovers that Valak has taken possession of his body. Now Irene and Sister Debra must try to save Maurice and the girls at the boarding school before they are relegated to the bowels of hell.
Michael Chaves, who directed “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” and the criminally underrated “The Curse of La Llorona,” returns to the Conjuring Universe a third time and helps elevate “The Nun II” above the substandardness of its predecessor. While “The Nun” was an origin story, of sorts, “The Nun II” doesn’t focus too much on Valak’s past as that was covered in the first film; instead, it centers on the relationship between Irene and Maurice and even though their relationship is purely platonic, it’s not difficult to see the wanting in theirs eyes.
The first movie showed Valak increasingly as the film progressed, something I never agreed with. With her first brief appearance in “The Conjuring 2,” her presence was felt, and she was genuinely terrifying when she emerged from the shadows, but I felt that giving her her own movie was a mistake. She is a frightening and formidable creature that could materialize throughout the Conjuring Universe when we least expect it, but her own film, I feel, lessened her onscreen impact, especially in “The Nun.”
In “The Nun II,” Chavez dials back her appearances, akin to Spielberg’s “Jaws,” where we see less of the monster, echoing the old saying, “Less is more,” and the movie thrives as a result. While “The Nun II” is far from perfect, it is much better than the original. The story is more focused on the central characters, and while we know Valak is hiding in the darkness and will eventually poke her head around the corner, becoming more acquainted with our protagonists is worth the wait. Let’s see how long before we get the inevitable “The Nun III.”
Now available on Digital HD and on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™, and DVD November 14th
