“The Conjuring” universe has become one of the largest and most well-loved horror franchises of the past decade.
The most recent addition to the universe is “The Nun II,” directed by Michael Chaves. The second addition to “The Nun” series follows Sister Irene (played by Taissa Farmiga), who is asked to investigate the murder of a priest — and once again — put in the direct path of an evil spirit.
Seeing as the whole “Conjuring” universe is interlinked — courtesy of James Wan’s genius in creating these characters — I recommend watching the movies to gain a full understanding of the storyline.
When watching the trailer for this film, I was surprised to notice it seemed much more eerier than its predecessor. The jumpscares felt much more deliberate, and there was a bigger emphasis on the evil at play — Valak.
Valak was first introduced in “The Conjuring 2.” This demon seems to link the Warrens to Sister Irene and the others.
The strongest scenes in this film were the ones including Sister Irene and her current partner in crime, Sister Debra (played by Storm Reid). The use of Sister Debra’s lack of faith, or pressure to have faith, in fighting Valak added the extra connection missing from the first film.
In the first film, the audience is not yet familiar with Sister Irene — therefore, a large amount of time is spent introducing her, leaving little time to focus on what links her to Valak. Sister Debra’s lack of faith in “The Nun 2” is used as a premise for the fights between good and evil and how this faith comes just in time to save them.
In the end, Sister Debra’s combined faith with Sister Irene saves them all and condemns Valak back to hell (once again).
“I think that having that balance, this epic battle of good and evil is one of the things that is one of those core elements of ‘The Conjuring’ Universe,” Chaves said in an interview with Slash Film.
The violence and gore were the most I have seen in “The Conjuring” universe. With the addition of shapeshifting creatures and a lot of deaths and fights, I was much more intrigued as to how they would be able to end this year’s long battle.
“It is definitely more violent than what they [the audience] expected from a ‘Conjuring’ movie,” Chaves said in an interview with SFX Magazine.
The final battle scene was masterfully done. It reminded me of the bathroom scene in “It (2017)” and “It: Chapter 2 (2019).” To put it briefly, the blood was very abundant.
While gore may not be everyone’s cup of tea, the battle scene in “The Nun II” left viewers mesmerized. Without giving too much away, I can only say it was an anxiety-inducing battle between good and evil.
This movie was a great experience. The entire theater was gasping and flinching throughout the night.
As with many movie franchises, we are given a post-credit scene including Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), which leaves the audience impatiently waiting for the next installment of the series.
