The Nun II (2023) | REVIEW

Taissa Farmiga standing in front of a mysteriously unguarded newsstand at night in THE NUN II — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures.

Directed by Michael Chaves — Story by Akela Cooper (Hell Fest)– Screenplay by Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and Akela Cooper.

Even though DC films have relentlessly tried to catch up to Marvel, the only cinematic universe that I think even comes close to being as much of a widely enjoyed success is that of The Conjuring. Since James Wan’s The Conjuring was first released to critical acclaim in 2013, two sequels and five spin-offs have been released. Although James Wan has moved on to different projects, the horror-centered cinematic universe is still chugging along. The Nun II is the ninth film in the series, and it has been directed by Michael Chaves, whose three feature films as a director all exist in this universe. As such, you could say that Chaves is the heir apparent to Wan. However, I should also say that I have not been entirely happy with his entries thus far. His debut The Curse of La Llorona was wholly forgettable and I was merely lukewarm on his The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Although The Nun II hasn’t completely turned things around for Chaves, in my opinion, I do think The Nun II is significantly better than the original The Nun spin-off.

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REVIEW: Annabelle Comes Home (2019)

Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a review of Annabelle Comes Home — Directed by Gary Dauberman.

The lesson Hollywood first learned from the Marvel Cinematic Universe was to rush into these grand connected universes of films. The DC Cinematic Universe almost crashed and burned. The Godzilla-King Kong connected universe of films is currently struggling. Meanwhile, the Universal Monsters so-called ‘Dark Universe’ never really got off the ground. Surprisingly, the attempt to copy the highly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe that has worked the best has been the Ed and Lorraine Warren-inspired Conjuring Cinematic Universe. Continue reading “REVIEW: Annabelle Comes Home (2019)”

REVIEW: The Nun (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a review of The Nun — Directed by Corin Hardy.

A funny thing happened when I sat down in a local movie theater room to watch The Nun — the newest The Conjuring spin-off film (this one having been inspired by a demon from James Wan’s The Conjuring 2). It was a packed theater full of people of all ages, shapes, and sizes, and right behind me, three young men sat and talked with one another. When the film opened with a scene from The Conjuring 2, I could hear one of them say: “wait, is this a Conjuring-movie?” Then another one said with his mouth full of popcorn: “oh, I haven’t seen the second one yet.” Continue reading “REVIEW: The Nun (2018)”