1022: The Nun II: A Darker Return - Alex First's Review

A genuinely creepy horror thriller. The Nun two harks back to The Nun that came out in twenty eighteen, which concerned a demonic sister named Valek running riot five four three two one here music. This is movies first with Alex First. Well, it's now nineteen fifty six and she's back at her malevolent worst. Vallec terrifies adults and children alike, and again the Vatican prevails on the person who was then on the threshold of her final vows and is now entrenched in the work of the church to exorcize the demon. I speak of Sister Irene taysa farmiga who's called into service again following the fiery death of a priest in Tarascon in France. Joining her is Sister Deborah storm Reid, a strong and forthright novice who's questioning her own beliefs before taking this journey. Their journey takes them to a boarding school in Exxon, Provence. That's where the only other survivor other than Sister Irene, whose faced Valak, Maurice Jonas Blanquette, works as a maintenance man. He's befriended a bright but bullied student Sophie Caitlin Rose Downey, who has taken a shine to him. Sophie's mother, Kate Anna Popplewell, is a teacher at the school, and she too warms to Maurice's friendly and respectful manner. It appears, though, that strange and frightening events are happening at this place, which threaten everyone's well being. A fresh team of writers and a new director has been brought in for this sequel, and the movie is better off for it. I speak of Ian Goldberg, Richard Nahing, and Akayla Cooper that have worked with the characters that James Joan and Gary Dorberman created. Direction for the Nune two is from Michael Chavez, who was at the helm of the Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It that came out in twenty twenty one. This film is also in the Conjuring universe, which this year celebrates its tenth anniversary. There are several threads at play here which take a while to work your way through until it becomes clear just what's going down. I quite enjoyed the narrative arc and how events in one location connected with another. At first, the scares are relatively selective. Although the tropes of the horror thriller genre are evident throughout the darkness, the sound, the build up to the nastiness are all well realized. Towards the end, when we know who's who and what they are up to, matters take a considerable turn. Evil is everywhere and there's no escaping it. As far as I'm concerned, the elongated finish is stretched beyond acceptances. I have a less is more philosophical position, and here the filmmakers have gone way over the top, throwing the proverbial kitchen sink at proceedings. It all becomes pretty preposterous. Until that point, though, I've found the Nune two involving and engaging. I thought the lead actors all performed strongly. Their characterizations were diverse and appealing. Tasa Farmiga brings resilience to her role, while there's a no nonsense attitude from storm Read. Jonas Blanquette exudes decency, Caitlin Rose Downey is measured, and Anna popplewell reserved. A foreboding air permeates the sequel, which is infinitely better than the original, but is let down in the run home. If not for that I would certainly have given it a higher score. While knowledge of the original is helpful, it's not essential. You can appreciate chapter two without having viewed the nun Do stay on as the final credits role because a surprise is in store. The Nune two scores a six out of ten. You've been listening to Movies First with Alex First available at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast player. You can also stream on demand at bytes dot com. This has been another quality podcast production from bites dot com.