The Nun II

My dedication to the horror genre leads me to seeing a lot of films at the cinema that I fully expect to be rubbish. Like the Nun II, which I had very little real interest in watching since I couldn't remember much about the first one, other than the fact that I didn't like it. And for a long time, the film is just as bland and generic as I had imagined it would be, director Michael Chaves taking matters far too seriously, with a dreary pace, gloomy cinematography and all of the religious horror clichés he can cram in.

Then, just as I was about to give up all hope of being entertained, Chaves seems to remember that, hey, horror films can be fun! After the introduction of a demonic goat (Satan himself?), the film really picks up, with action, excitement, and a few well-crafted scares (I think I actually jumped a couple of times, but that was probably down to the extremely loud noises that accompany the jumpy bits). If only there had been some of this liveliness during the earlier parts of the film - The Nun II could have been really good instead of just okay.

My rating: 6/10.

The Nun II takes its time building the narrative and delving into character development. Unfortunately, the Christian relic's relevance and backstory, especially concerning Sister Irene, remain underexplored. While the film is well-crafted and directed, the resolution of the mystery and subsequent events feel somewhat rushed compared to the extensive setup.

Taissa Farmiga delivers a solid performance, but one craves more depth in her character beyond the initial portrayal. Jonas Bloquet's likable character arc from the previous installment is a highlight. However, Bonnie Aarons as the titular character lacks the expected menace and terror, except for a memorable encounter with Maurice's young friend, Sophie.

The Nun II boasts occasional atmospheric brilliance but falls short of consistently delivering in the vast Conjuring universe. Its low scare factor, uneven pacing, and reliance on horror cliches hold it back from reaching its full potential. While it somewhat redeems its predecessor, it still doesn't meet overall expectations.

Given that The Nun (2018) was nothing more than a polished-looking series of loud noises and nonsensical happenings, I was not looking forward to the sequel.

And even though The Nun II has its share of cheap scares and a few unintentionally funny moments, I was shocked by how much better it is than the first film.

Flashes of greatness are seen here-more often than not it's directed with considerable skill and far more restraint than the first movie was. It's quieter and more patient at first, fleshing out its characters before things get insane in the third act.

As for these character dynamics, they're actually interesting this time around. The dialogue is sometimes cheesy, but there's a sincerity to the humans in this story that gives a gripping quality to the film's perilous moments.

There's certainly quite a bit of bad to be found here, but I actually liked more of this than I didn't. Hopefully these movies will get back to being good.

So, I was actually quite looking forward to this one. I wasn't expecting much from the original since sequels, prequel's and spinoffs often times are not up to par with their predecessors. However, I was quite pleasantly surprised with the first Nun and still think that it is a wildly underrated horror. So, after viewing this one, I must say that I was pretty disappointed. It was not a bad film by any means, but it did not live up to the quality of the first one and really landed in a very mediocre place.

It had a quick start and didn't waste any time, throwing us into the action. Yet, even then, I stopped and thought "well, that could've been cooler ". This same sentiment persisted throughout the majority of the film. It gave us some fun and creepiness, but then proceeded to move at a snails pace for quite some time. It felt like we were about 45 minutes in until I got any semblance of a real story line or something particularly intriguing. It really felt like they were going through the motions, an outline for a horror movie. As if they were following a map with very similar chain of events as the original.

It is no secret that this franchise loves a jump scare. The first one was full of them, however, it was also balanced out by genuinely creepy and cool effects with a general effective spook factor. This one had a bit of that, but was mostly just riddled with cheap, unnecessary and superfluous jump scares. Even most of the kills, while still entertaining, were pretty basic. At the same time there were also some effective imagery especially in the third act, some gnarly effects, and some pretty awesome stunts that stuck out.

I think my biggest issue with this is that the first one felt very deliberate and purposeful in many ways. It felt planned out and detailed... whereas this one felt like it was thrown together with the very bare minimum they could get away with as far as storyline went. Again, not a bad film, but nowhere near the quality of the first one for me. Would recommend, but not vehemently.

(Also, what's up with all these fake reviews? Weird. Lol)

IG - howlingatthemoonreviews.

Well, well, well,.... I really like the first Nun....so lets keep this in mind. It was original scary and new. Many times we struggle with sequels and this is no exception. All I remember is maybe Spiderman 2,,can you tell me of another ?Anyway, I wasn't expecting so much so I kinda wasn't that disappointed! It tries to expand the Nun universe but does it work? Is it needed? Ummm.....is it even scary? They tried but there's nothing new here. I dont think the cgi is better here,neither. Yes, we know more about the nun demon ,the actors are doing their best and the cinematography is beautiful but there's something missing here!