The Nun II is a 2023 horror thriller from director Michael Chaves (The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It), from a screenplay by Akela Cooper (M3GAN), Ian Goldberg, and Richard Naing, who worked on Fear the Walking Dead together. It is the 9th film in the Conjuring universe, and is the follow-up to the 2018 film The Nun.

In 1956 France, a priest is murdered, and it seems an evil is spreading. Sister Irene once again comes face to face with a demonic force.

Taissa Famiga returns alongside Bonnie Aarons and Jonas Bloquet, who all starred in the previous film. New additions to the film and to the franchise include Katelyn Rose Downey, Anna Popplewell, and Storm Reid.

The Nun II made its debut in theaters September 8th, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.

THE GOOD

I’ve been a big fan of The Conjuring films from the beginning, so naturally I was looking forward to the latest entry in the franchise. Back in 2018 I had high hopes for The Nun considering the cast and the connection to The Conjuring films, but I was admittedly disappointed. I remember walking out of the theater and talking with my buddy about how ridiculous certain elements of the story were. Just so many of those “why would they do that?!” sort of moments which took away from the overall feel of the film, but I digress. Once the trailer dropped for The Nun II I was admittedly excited. It felt like they found a way to regain momentum for this spin-off story and I was excited for what they had in store. So, was The Nun II yet another talking point for a failed attempt at a horror film or did I leave the theater satisfied? Keep reading to find out!

The Nun II was a satisfying horror film that for the most part met my expectations. It wasn’t as scary as I would have preferred which I will talk about later, but it did some really good things and made for a theater experience well worth the price of admission. The Conjuring franchise has become synonymous with horror in the last several years, and much of the continued success hinges on these spin-off films. With that in mind I felt like The Nun II did a great job building on the story, and it also found a way to surpass the original film as a much more well-rounded horror film that had a clear identity and stuck with it. The story is immersive and the jump scares are aplenty ensuring that the vast majority of horror fans will be very satisfied. I also thought they did a really nice job with the soundtrack and score which helped to add to the uneasy feel of the film.

Two of the primary bright spots for The Nun II are the story and the cast, both of which largely contributed to the overall experience. The story was great in my opinion, building on the stage that was set by the original while creating a more immersive experience. I felt like this was a great addition to the Conjuring films as it was able to add value to the this particular story and how it all fit in within that universe. I expected the cast to be pretty good overall and I was once again impressed by Taissa Farmiga.

The little sister of star Vera Farmiga who plays Lorraine Warren in the films, Taissa has proven herself as a solid actress who is more than willing to embrace the horror genre. I thought Jonas Bloquet was really good as Maurice, and his character was very important to the effectiveness of the story. Actress Storm Reid who is quickly making a name for herself did a very nice job here as well and is a welcomed addition. I also really liked Anna Popplewell as Kate. The supporting cast was all solid as well without any major blemishes to speak of.

On the technical side of things The Nun II impressed me at pretty much every turn. The production value in general was evident from the start, once again reinforcing the fact that The Conjuring films tend to come backed with a legit budget. The film featured some fantastic visuals and some really cool sequences that added another layer of creativity. As I already touched on briefly I thought the soundtrack and score from Marco Beltrami was perfect and helped to give the film the identity it needed. Director Michael Chaves did a really nice job utilizing some creative camera work helping to get and keep viewers invested. I was really impressed with cinematographer Tristan Nyby as he provided some beautiful shots of historic France. I also have to shoutout the costume design from Agnes Beziers, the production design from Stéphane Cressend, and last but not least the set decoration from Emmanuel Delis. The trio helped to recreate 1950’s France and I thought they did a fantastic job.

THE BAD

The Nun II does a lot of really good things as I talked about earlier in the review but I just felt like it struggled to get over the hump on terms of fear factor. Now as a horror fanatic I’m not as interested in jump scares, I want to feel chills that you only get from some of the more terrifying horror films. For me it is a balance of story and feel, and as of late the best horror films serve up 99% dread, leaving little space for positivity during the majority of the film. Sure that may sound depressing but I find it to be the recipe for success when it comes to modern day horror films.

Examples I would use just off the top of my head would be Ari Aster’s Hereditary, or even the more recent horror film The Night House. Both films fixate on the horrors of real-life with an underlying evil that threatens to rear its head at any moment. The interesting thing about The Nun II is that the good sometimes bled over into the bad, meaning that what I felt was a well-written screenplay made the film a bit less scary at times if that makes any sense at all.

THE VERDICT

Featuring an immersive story and the top-tier production value we have come to expect, The Nun II may not terrify hardcore genre fans but is still a solid entry in one of the more successful horror franchises in recent memory. I really wanted it to be scarier beyond some great jump scares, but I can’t deny that this movie serves up more good than bad, and for that reason is still easy to recommend for horror fans.