'The Nun 2' Review: Holy Horror Hits the Mark
The Nun sneaking and spooking this sequel is far different from the one we came to know five years ago. In The Nun 2, she’s much more intriguing , and our crew are finally starting to figure her out. She moves with purpose, has an actual motive, and is framed in a way (one of many incoming nods to director Michael Chaves’ direction) that makes her feel so much larger than life. This is the most tantalizing she’s ever been, and that includes the exceptional Conjuring 2.
Taissa Farmiga returns in the role opposite her and delivers a star-making turn that is easily one of the best this cinematic universe has seen thus far. She’s a full-on scream-queen; heartily convincing and undeniably compelling. She’s joined by an array of solid performances, including a surprisingly tender effort from Jonas Bloquet as the formerly annoying, now effortlessly likable Maurice (or Frenchie). His turn-around speaks to what is both the greatest success and biggest misfortune regarding The Nun 2.
That is, it has to do a lot of clean-up. The first film did very little in the way of character work beyond basic motives for the protagonists, opting instead for constant one-liners and jumps that jump just for the sake of jumping. Here, screenwriter Akela Cooper (Malignant, M3gan) overhauls the direction of all their stories, giving them actual arcs and showing glimpses of their journeys, without completely destroying what the first film managed in that regard. What’s more, she layers Sister Irene, introduces Storm Reid as her underling (and gives her a reason to be there), and finally explains Valak’s purpose in attacking the abbeys. All that, and she creates an interesting, standalone story for this film that boasts clever twists and satisfying payoffs. The screenplay on its own may not be superb, but in the bigger picture, it’s a notable achievement.
Still, some issues arise as a result of this necessary hyper-management. The film is non-stop, forcing characters into corners every five minutes for inconsistent scares and revelations. Multiple times you’re swept from a well-crafted set and scenario into a miserable jump that feels engineered to reach a studio-mandated number of scares; the positive handily outweighs the negative, but the dips in quality still leave a mark. In having to fit so much storytelling in a runtime just over 100 minutes, there’s also the undeniable bloat, too. Again, Cooper does a remarkable job in tying it all together, but not even she could essentially cover two movies worth of development in one (which is arguably already stunted).
Cooper and Chaves are a mean combo, though, and when he isn’t filling the cracks with loud noises and stagnant visuals, he’s firing on all cylinders. He’s obsessed with the environment, utilizing everything from wallpaper and magazines to stained glass windows and flickering overhead lights to situate Valak in the most intimidating position possible. Intimidating she surely is, but Chaves also grapples with the inherent goofiness of her character and concept; she’ll often simply stand and smile, or lure people into traps just to spook em’. She’s everywhere but where she needs to be, really, and she seems to be having a blast.
But things tone up in the final act. Chaves turns the lights off, the smile fades, and he pivots into a downright harrowing, spiritually-inspired showdown that may be a new high for the Conjuring universe. It’s about this time too that Cooper’s stories crossover and connect the dotted lines. The last 30 minutes are an unabashed funhouse horror rollercoaster that warrants the price of admission alone. It’s the flagrant mark of a well structured story and well executed vision; you’ll likely forget about any problems you had with the first two acts in favor of simply experiencing it. The commitment is surprising and unrelenting.
That isn’t even to say that the first two acts are downers or anything, quite the opposite. They’re less focused and a little more frantic; a bit distracting on occasion, yeah, especially in regards to the aforementioned filler scares. But this is also where the majority of the character building takes place, and The Nun 2 is the first film in the franchise since The Conjuring 2 to prioritize that.
There are hefty sequences dedicated solely to conversation. You learn a lot about this cast of characters and where they’re at now, and most importantly, you’ll care about them. Horror films with compelling protagonists are always the most effective, dragging you in and forcing you to keep your eyes glued to the screen, worried about the well-being of your heroes. The Nun 2 excels there, too.
It’s definitely a mainstream endeavor, but without a doubt one of the better ones in recent memory. Chaves takes the stripped down, borrowed mannerisms of the first Conjuring film that have been abused by many mediocre copycats since and tries to revitalize them. With James Wan producing, he does just that; even if he doesn’t reach the heights of that first film, The Nun 2 makes clear that it belongs alongside it.
It’s much like Annabelle Comes Home, an excruciatingly underrated entry in the same cinematic universe that is effectively “Conjuring Lite”, briefly featuring the Warrens and starring their child in the lead role. It’s a haunted house, ghouls and goons extravaganza that proved not all these spin-offs had to be bad. The Nun 2 is confirmation of that. It’s slightly more serious than Comes Home, and is certainly more ambitious, but both land in about the same spot: solid, spooky riffs on Wan’s immortal horror formula. Perhaps you’d even spin a film like this one before The Conjuring come Halloween night; it’s breezy, breakneck, and wildly entertaining.
The Nun 2 may not suit everybody, but anyone willing to give it the time of day should find something to appreciate. It’s a thoroughly satisfying horror blockbuster that bends the genre’s common clichés, though it doesn’t break them. Any way you look at it, the film simply works. Michael Chaves and Akela Cooper have redeemed the Nun name, breathing new life into the Conjuring cinematic universe and a cast of characters that had previously been dead on arrival. Valak is back, and this time, it finally feels like she belongs.