“The Nun II” is a graphic example of the typical, predictable horror feature, via the director of “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.” We always expect less from a sequel, no matter the genre. The Nun II fails to even meet that lower bar.
The movie opens in Tarascon, France, in a church. It’s evening, and Father Noiret sends his young assistant, Jacques, to get another flask of wine from the basement cabinet for the next sacrament.
In the basement, while perusing the cabinet for the wine, Jacques notices that a brown, rubber toy ball has been moved from where he last left it. Perplexed, he sends it back into the dark recess of the room where it had been, but it’s immediately kicked back to him.
Startled by this, he runs to Father Noiret, who assumes an evil spirit must be in their presence. Walking to gather holy water, to ward off the evil spirit, he sees that it’s all boiled up and, in his periphery, he spots the silhouette of a nun. Its eyes glow an iridescent orange and, once noticed, it sends Noiret into the air, suspending him, and lighting his entire being on fire. Panic-stricken, Jacques flees the church.
The horror schlock, religious rites and suspense in this scene capture the essence of “The Nun II.”
The plot centers on Sister Irene, a former victim of the Nun, who hears that it’s similarly terrorizing churches across Europe to kill the ancestors of Saint Lucy in search of the Saint’s eyes, a holy relic. Maurice, a groundskeeper from the first movie, is the unsuspecting host of the Nun. He, along with Irene, is staying at a monastery where the eyes are hidden.
In the image of its predecessor, “The Nun,” the second “Nun” carries on the sticky, obnoxious writing, where depth for a character is boredom for the audience. The incessant, choppy editing is present too, even more so this time around. The plot is a curmudgeon of adventure, horror and sleaze.
Sticky and obnoxious is saying “holy shit” after a priest resurrects from a monument the actual blood of Christ in a holy relic. That is the first Nun. The “Nun 2,” not far from this, includes a brutal scene where the headmistress of a boarding school is slung over the head with a thurible, the incense-carrying vessel used in Christian liturgy.
The sleaze is when such religious symbols, including the cross, are made into yet another endangering sign that the Nun is around. Neither the Nun nor the writer, have any reverence for the religious symbols at play. Though this could be used to cleverly mock, it’s instead a crutch for the overwrought horror.
Choppy editing, such as the quick cuts before we see the headmistress’ head hammered in with the thurible, a scene that’s reminiscent of “Saw.” The gore continues when, after a monstrous goat creature is brought to life by the Nun, it sticks its horn into the chest of one of the school girls.
Though the plot centered around the relationship between Sister Irene and Maurice, their connection never felt meaningful beyond their place as characters from the first “Nun.” Irene’s given more background than she is in the first film, yet this doesn’t have any relevance past her ability to wield the power of the eyes. The same could be said of Maurice, whose entire character depends on the Nun’s existence, and who would be shallow without having been possessed by it in the first one.
The anticipation of gore and scares is what “The Nun II” was made for. This is not a piece of art in that it’s trying to convey a message or reveal a truth. It is the horror movie you expect, not the one you deserve. I was bored, actively confused and tired by the end. Startling? Sure. Action-filled? Yeah. Moving? No.
