HCA Gradebook: ‘The Nun II’

Film: The Nun II (2023)

Plot: France. A priest is murdered. An evil is spreading. The sequel to the worldwide smash hit follows Sister Irene as she once again comes face-to-face with Valak, the demon nun.

Cast: Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Storm Reid, Anna Popplewell and Bonnie Aarons.

Director: Michael Chaves

Studio: New Line Cinema

Number of Graders: 14

Average Grade: C+

MEMBER REVIEWS

Catalina Combs
Well, that was fun! I love how The Nun 2 is straight to the point. We know what this is and we know what we are here for. The Nun 2 provided all the horror-loving tension that we have grown to love from The Conjuring Universe. The pacing was quick. There was no dwelling in the death. It worked tho. I will say, that while I am generally a fan of this universe and its characters, there are some choices that were a miss for me this time around.
Grade: B

John Nguyen
The Nun 2 is a fun and creepy good time at the theater. The cast is solid and the visuals are dark and moody. It’s not the best in the series, but it’s a nice addition to the franchise.
Grade: C+

Mike Manalo
The Nun II is, in general, a big improvement over the first film, with better-executed scares and a much more solid story. It does fall shy of reaching the heights of the first Conjuring movie, and Annabelle: Creation, but it’s about on par with The Conjuring 2 in terms of how high it ranks within the franchise. A pretty good installment, even if it’s got some issues and isn’t the most memorable. Get ready to have some fun with The Nun!
Grade: B

Dark Sky Lady
The Nun II is one of those movies where the experience improves based on friends’ or audience engagement. It aims to endear characters to the audience and foster investment in them. There are multiple plot points the film seeks to tie together. While most wrap up in a neat bow by the credits, dialogue hinders some performances. Fans of laughing at silliness who can suspend hope for any loosely based truth can enjoy The Nun II for what it is: ridiculous fun with a plethora of jump scares and swear-worthy moments.
Grade: C+

Sara Clements
With nine films in its universe, The Conjuring franchise is bound to make an appearance on our screens at least once from now until Halloween. Whether that’s doing a rewatch at home or watching a new one in the theatre, for many, it’s a tradition. Admittedly, the films in the franchise haven’t always been good. The Nun, for example, is one of the worst. Luckily, though, Michael Chaves’s The Nun II is a masterpiece in comparison. The Nun II is a bigger film than the last. The stakes are higher and the haunting follows the characters further, and it keeps us looking over our shoulder like the best ghost stories. It may not be anywhere near getting a spot on a list of best horror films, but when it works, it really works.
Grade: C+

Aaron Neuwirth
2018’s The Nun may have parlayed an effective trailer into massive box office success, but the film had little to offer. Now we have The Nun II, and whether the film actually succeeds in what it’s attempting to do or I’m just in much better spirits, I found the film to have the right kind of entertainment value to make this creepy flick worthwhile. At the very least, it was able to silence some of the demons of the past and deliver sufficient bumps, jolts, and eerie goats.
Grade: B-

Demetri Panos
The Nun 2 is pure Nun-sense! It is Nun 2 Good, either! It’s amazing how this character, which is deemed so important within the Conjuring Universe, has no interesting story or significance. It made me angry, or I could say I was Nun 2 happy watching it.
Grade: F

Zachary Pope
About on par with the original. Not sure where I fall on this one as the set pieces are great, the production design is eerie, & the genre blend of a murder mystery is intriguing, but everything just feels middle of the road… mixed bag
Grade: C

Jeremy Mathai
Ultimately, The Nun II doesn’t come close to matching the highs of the mainline “The Conjuring” films. But neither does it succumb to the shortcomings that bedeviled its predecessor. Instead, this follow-up settles for something less ambitious — and somewhat less rewarding — as a result.

The Nun II makes the mistake of delving too deeply into its antagonist’s oddly straightforward motivations. The sequel’s constantly silly plotting is easily forgiven thanks to the script’s deft ability to remain in on the joke (at one point, the horror flick unexpectedly turns into “Raiders of the Lost Ark” as our heroes search for an ancient religious relic hidden in the school), but the damage this does to the once-unknowable Valak simply doesn’t justify the trade-off.
Grade: C+

Grant Hermanns
Michael Chaves takes the rein and infuses a better sense of tension through the movie, making the various scares far more effective than the 2018 spinoff, and Farmiga remains at the top of her game, but as the movie falls back into the MacGuffin-driven formula of its predecessor, it becomes a little too predictable and ends on a somewhat confusing note for tying the franchise’s wide threads together.
Grade: C+

James White
The Nun II represents a strictly formulaic horror movie, loaded down with predictable jump scares and some ridiculous plot contrivances. You’re unlikely to be converted by this one.
Grade: C

Silvia Nittoli
Grade: B

Gaius Bolling
The problem with The Nun & now The Nun II is that they both fail to capture what made Vakek scary when she was introduced in The Conjuring 2. Perhaps less is indeed more because two movies with her as the “main attraction” have failed to impress.
Grade: C

Semira Ben-Amor
Who wouldn’t be afraid of a demon nun? I’m scared of most horror movies, and I am one of those people who is still afraid of looking under the bed at nighttime. Demon nun doesn’t sound too lovely, yet here I am.

The Conjuring Universe has done amazingly well, and the new baby Nun 2 continues to jump-scaring people safely and predictably. Following the original The Nun (2018) story, Valak, the demon nun, is back scaring little and some older girls in a catholic school in 50’ France. Taissa Farmiga is Sister Irene, the heroic nun willing to save all, and she is not afraid of anything. Nun 2 follows a formula that generally works but doesn’t leave room for extra surprises.

The set is beautiful, with many dark places, alleys, rooms, and more where to get scared. Storm Reid helps as a sidekick to carry this film, and still, something is missing. I was jumpy and nervous at several points of the film, but nothing surprising.
Grade: B-