La religieuse II

Demons thrive in abbeys and churches, tarnishing their supposed sanctity. These modern holy places are far from what they seem. Even the senior priests, who should embody righteousness, exude an unsettling aura of soullessness and relentless rigidity. It's as if they harbour cryptic similarities and questionable motives. The subsequent demise of the young protagonists fails to deliver the anticipated dread, leaving one unimpressed. Despite the stellar performance of the actress portraying the demon nun, her appearance lacks the desired impact. The entire narrative unfolds predictably, with conflicts following a formulaic pattern. Watching this fabricated tale requires great effort, a luxury I simply cannot afford. 😒😒😒

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)

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Set four years after the first, the Vatican decides: "Valak's back, doing his Michael Myers-in-a-habit act. Who do we send?" A seasoned exorcist? Some old bearded guy wielding a crucifix the size of a lamppost? Nope. They dump the mission on a poor nun who should realistically be popping Prozac after her first trauma. But she accepts it like someone being offered a pilgrimage to Lourdes. Psychological coherence? About as solid as a soap opera plot.

Sure, filming in a gothic convent in the south of France sets the mood. Cold stones, candles, stained glass... it's basically Dark Souls: Catechism Edition. But a setting isn't enough. It's like dropping a Twingo engine into a Ferrari: shiny outside, useless under the hood.

The real problem? Fear. There isn't any. The jumpscares land with all the subtlety of a jackhammer. You wait for them like you wait for an Amazon delivery. Valak is supposed to embody dread, but here he's got the charisma of a supermarket security guard.

Why is Valak after some random relic? Mystery. Why do the boarders leave and come back like nothing happened? Mystery. Why doesn't the nun stop and say: "Guys, I nearly died last time, send someone else"? Mystery. The script isn't a movie, it's a Sunday homily written by a hungover priest.

Sequels are supposed to raise the stakes. Here, Valak looks like he lost his balls in a holy water font. No strategy, no tension, just random appearances. Even Freddy Krueger on sedatives would be scarier. The demon feels stuck in a summer camp job contract: show up, growl, vanish. Thanks, bye.

The Nun: The Curse of Saint Lucy is a mass without faith or law. No fear, no thrills, just pretty sets and a demon on autopilot. Michael Chaves manages to sign one of the worst entries in the entire Conjuring saga-which is almost impressive, given how low the bar already is. The only real curse? Realizing you wasted two hours and the price of a ticket.

In my opinion, the character "The Nun a.k.a (Valak)" was best portrayed in the movie "The Conjuring 2". I didn't like its first solo movie. The atmosphere wasn't bad, but I didn't like it anyway. I didn't like the second movie either. It could be better. In terms of atmosphere, it wasn't as good as the first movie. The plot of the movie was poor. There ara lots of horror movie clichés. There were many jump-scare scenes. I thought it was out of fashion nowadays, but they used it too much in this movie. This spoils the viewing pleasure. There were a few scenes that I liked very much. Even though it was a jump-scare scene, I liked the goat scene. The acting was good, of course, but the weak script. BTW Bonnie Aarons was great again.

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.