Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
This Sequel, which comes five years after its predecessor, sees Sister IreneĀ (Taissa Farmiga) and theĀ Demon NunĀ (Bonnie Aarons) come face to face once again.
Now living in France,Ā Sister IreneĀ feels at peace knowing she defeated the powerful evil. However, when a Priest is murdered in another town in France the Vatican gets involved. They informĀ Sister IreneĀ that the demon she claims is defeated appears to be back. And worse yet, itās been travelling from Romania and making its way West across Europe. They request thatĀ IreneĀ hunt down and defeat the evil once and for all.
Fans of 2018’sĀ The Nun can breathe easy. This is an honourable Sequel to a beloved character while also paying homage to The ConjuringĀ Universe. Not only isĀ Sister IreneĀ back, but so isĀ Maurice (Jonas Bloquet), who helped defeat the Nun last time around. Or so he thought. What really happened was that the demon went inside him and is now using him as this vessel to travel around Europe in search of a long-buried artefact. An artifact that it believes is at a boarding school in France. Bloquet excels as the possessed yet caring Maurice.
The only problem with following these two storylines,Ā Sister IreneĀ on the hunt andĀ Maurice at the boarding school, is that in the beginning, it becomes hard to follow. There are moments when these two different locations within France feel like they are from different timelines. But as the story progresses the linear timeline becomes more fleshed-out.
ScreenwriterĀ Akela Cooper (who wrote the Horror hits MalignantĀ andĀ M3GAN) crafts a suspense-loaded Script with heart. The heart lies within a mother and daughter who live at the boarding school the demon is now calling home. The Script along with the direction from Michael ChavesĀ creates suspense that crawls under your skin. At each corner of the boarding school dread lies.
The Horror relies heavily on the build-up of tension. When we see the Nun itās shocking each time because it comes when we least expect it and are accompanied by effective sound production.
Warner Bros. Pictures Canada release THE NUN II in theatres Friday, September 8, 2023.
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