New Flix: The Nun II (2023)

 In spite of my general Conjuring apathy, I keep watching these.

It's a bad habit.

In the Opening Scene, we see a Priest and a young kid at a Church.

The kid 'heard something' and tells the Priest.

It all ends in the poor Priest being floated in the air and set aflame.

Wondering if the kid survived (and how)?  You have to wait.... a while.

The Film proper follows Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), who's now a Nun.
Is that why this is called The Nun II?

Joking aside, she has visions of Maurice (from the last Film) and is, conveniently enough, sent to investigate the possible return of the Demon where Maurice is.

Oh, and the other Priest from the last Film- he died of cholera between Films.  Oy.

The split narrative follows Maurice- who is possessed, but doesn't know it- and the woman he loves, alongside her kid.

Lots of teasing and a single Nun appearance, where she straight up kills a kid.

Irene is sent on the path of the Demon, who is looking for yet another Religious MacGuffin.  They set it up earlier in very obvious 'this is important' dialog.

What I don't get- why no Priest can stop this demon?
Why can it kill a dozen of them (off-screen)?  Does their God not care?

The Nun pops up another time, but don't get too used to it.

Meanwhile, the Plots eventually intersect as Irene finally realizes that Maurice is possessed and that the MacGuffin is where he is.

This gets us to this long, build-up to a Nun reveal...that no sane person would stay and wait to see it happen!

Can they keep the MacGuffin out of the hands (or face) of the Demon?

Will she show up for more than 5 minutes?

Will the timeline still hold up?

To find out, stream it now...

I don't hate it.  I don't love it.

I guess I'm agnostic.

The Film looks fine.  They used real locations to give it a natural look.
It's not a terrible Plot.  It was funny to see how blatantly they recapped the last Film...with Farmiga mere feet away.

The problem is my usual one with these Wan/Wan-adjacent Films- the Pacing.
The Film kind of meanders along with random jump scares.  For me, the Plot never got all that engaging.

It is not for lack of trying- they threw about 10 Characters into this with a Backstory.

The Film is mostly a series of quick jump scares/Scenes loosely tied together.

I did like the Goat- more of that please.

In closing, I just can't help but think how different things would have been if James Wan had stuck with the original design for the Demon.

Would we have spin-off Films still?

A Film that is decent enough if you're into that kind of thing.  For me, it lacked lots of many variables that will make me come back or even remember it years down the line.