2023 seems to have been a year with a surprisingly strong list of horror movie releases, with a range of titles such as Beau Is Afraid, Evil Dead Rise, and more recently, Danny and Michael Philippou's Talk To Me.
But it seems as though the most recent addition to the Conjuring universe, The Nun II, sadly will not be joining the long list of impressive horror films that we have been treated to in 2023.
For years now, dating all the way back to 2013, the Conjuring universe has been frightening it's brave audience members, potentially scarring portions of viewers to the point where they are put off horror films forever.
The franchise began with James Wan's 'The Conjuring' 10 years ago, with little intention or idea as to what the film would snowball into over the next decade.
But 10 years and 9 titles later, die hard horror fans were gifted with the second instalment to the Nun's storyline. A gift that would later turn out to be more unwanted than it was desired.
I will start off by saying that if you have seen any horror film over the past 15 years or so, there is no need to watch The Nun II, as you will have already seen it.
Director, Michael Chaves, fails to inspire any new and intriguing content within the second instalment of the Nun's storyline, and eaves audiences with no help but to play a game of spot the difference between this film and its predecessor.
Not only are the same main characters utilized across the two movies, but the same structure, themes, talking points and overall story seem very similar to what we witnessed back in 2018.
The unique selling point of any modern day horror film is the general idea that they are going to frighten their audiences, and this is a skill that the Nun II simply fails to master.
I can count on one hand the amount of times I felt genuinely intrigued or encapsulated into the story arc of the characters, to the point where I was frightened for them, and I wouldn't even need to use all of my fingers.
The majority of performances within this film are bland and emotionless, which could very well be the reason why I felt this way throughout. But Chaves (director) also failed the task of creating frightening sequences throughout the film that would usually leave the audience on the edge of their seat.
Given the fact that recent projects within the Conjuring universe have failed to hit the heights and success of the movie that started the entire franchise, this begs the question: How much longer can the Conjuring world go on for?
It goes without saying that The Nun II is a step in the wrong direction, and I'd go as far as saying did we even really need to see a Nun II in the first place?
I personally would much rather see new and original horror ideas brought to the table, such as Smile (2022) and Talk To Me (2023), than see a sequel to a movie that died back in 2018.
Comentarios