The Nun II (2023) or, Nun 2: Second to Nun!

9/27/2023

The Nun II (2023) or, Nun 2: Second to Nun!

♥

The titular nun in the confession box looking less than saintly on this dark poster for Michael Chaves' The Nun II

Sister Irene leads a quiet convent life, when she is once again tasked with dealing with the lethal demon nun Valak, who seems to be sweeping across Europe, leaving behind a trail of satanic-themed deaths.

The Nun II is written by Ian Goldberg (Eli (2019)), Richard Naing (The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)) and Akela Cooper (M3GAN (2022)) and directed by Michael Chaves (The Curse of La Llorona (2019)). It is the 8th film in the Conjuring universe and the sequel to spin-off The Nun (2018).

Quality plummets here in a strictly commercially mandated followup that lacks the Gothic luster and gloomy fun of the first film by Corin Hardy. Chaves' modus operandi is to quickly set up characters and situations without much believability, inherent interest or audience investment, and then to attack them; either killing them in death scenes that usually last less than 10 seconds, or to menace them for longer, - mostly if they are young females, - in which case they get expanded screen time to scream, scream, - and then to scream some more.

The film may be a scary experience for young first-timer audiences in the horror genre, but for veteran fright fans, it is regrettably a quite tiring chore to sit through. The appealing Taissa Farmiga (The Long Dumb Road (2018)) is trapped in a cynical and boring contraption here. A cast of young characters with perfect skin and perfectly plucked eyebrows attempt various European accents while failing miserably at presenting any semblance of authenticity as a present day version of 1956 Europe. No story or character details are followed up. The nun doesn't get really scary scenes that stand out. She is overcome with a nonsensical story of religious magic, and her backstory remains unexplored, despite it being the obvious place to go for a Nun movie.

The first film's unconvincing but model-looking Jonas Bloquet (Par le Sang (2018)) is brought back for a bigger, central role in the new film that also fails to deliver scares or rack up interest. Basically his lamely friendly boarding school repairman becomes overtaken by a demon at times. It is unclear whether he is overtaken by Valak the nun, because she is also busy spreading frenzied terror on her own elsewhere.

The fright scenes are fast and rely heavily on CGI, mostly to little effect besides incessant screaming from the girls on-screen. The danger scenes lack originality and directorial vision. But despite the lowly movie at hand, its impressive commercial results mean that we might as well start bracing for more nun-sense to come.

Conjuring franchise: 2019 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

2019 in films - according to Film Excess

Annabelle Comes Home (2019) or, Annabelle: Bored to Death!
The Nun (2018) - Hardy succeeds with old-timey Gothic horror on FX steroids
Annabelle: Creation (2017) - Sandberg's orphanage doll prequel is slow but rewarding

The Conjuring 2 (2016) - Wan's sequel is a long horror treat with terrifying periods
Annabelle (2014) - Leonetti's creepy if derivative Conjuring spin-off

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess
The Conjuring (2013) - Best horror film in 7 years

Watch a trailer for the movie here

Cost: 38 mil. $

Box office: 205.3 mil. $ and counting

= Too early to say but already a big hit (has returned 5.40 times its cost to date)

[The Nun II was released 6 September (Indonesia, Mexico, Uruguay, Philippines) and runs 110 minutes. Shooting took place around October 2022 in France. The film opened #1 to a 32.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it has currently held #1 for its first 3 straight weekends. The film has one slated market left to open in; Japan on October 13. Chaves does not have his next gig announced yet. Farmiga is slated to return in a feature titled She Taught Love. The Nun II is rotten at 52 % with a 5.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Nun II?

No comments:

William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (5-24)

9/27/2023

The Nun II (2023) or, Nun 2: Second to Nun!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (4-24)

My Blog List