Paranormal Operator

Operator Movie Reviews

The Nun (2018) and The Nun II (2023)

***SPOILER WARNING***

Part Un

This movie came out in 2018, and by most accounts came and went. But is it really all that bad? I have watched it recently in conjunction with The Nun II (2023) and it could be worse.

Directed by Corin Hardy and written by Gary Dauberman, the film focusses on a demon who takes the form of a nun in the convent of St. Carta Romania and the Vatican contingent of Sister Irene and Father Burk. Irene and the demon Valak are the main characters. Essentially, Valak is attempting to get out of the convent so it can be free to roam and do demon things, but the abbey is fully of pesky praying nuns who attempt to keep it prisoner. Nearly all the nuns are dead when the last two attempt to access a holy relic, the actual blood of Christ to seal up the breach and vanquish Valak. This fails as the last nun defenestrates herself ending in a short drop and a sudden stop. Why didn’t the nuns reach out to the Vatican for help rallying all the forces of Christendom like they show in a flashback to the Middle Ages? So the movie can happen.

Word of this self-deletion gets to the Vatican, and they dispatch Father Burk and Sister Irrene who is not a fully fledged bride of Christ, but she is assigned anyway because her family is familiar with the area even though she has never been to Romania. They meet the playful, charming local, who isn’t local, Frenchie. He found the body and takes supplies to the abbey. After believing Irene was a nighttime conquest, he reluctantly takes the pair to the abbey. So far the pacing is good, but the dialogue especially from Burk is a bit clunky.

At the abbey they start to see things, hear things, and wonder if the ground is still holy. They are assigned quarters in the convent that has a radio? An electronic radio is the only electronics shown. You don’t see any powerline so how is this thing working? Anyway, Burk gets drawn out of the convent and into a graveyard by an apparition of a boy who died during one of his exorcisms. This leads to him being buried alive. Luckily Irene wakes and is able to find him with her holy vision. Digging up Burk they discover books of occult knowledge which give them Valak’s name although they do not know this demon is Valak presumably. Why, after being buried alive, and experiencing apparitions do they not call in reinforcements? An argument could be made that they are in the backwoods of Romania without a guide and no way back to the village. Fine, but I would have walked back.

Once things really start popping off and Irene realizes she has been talking with ghosts this whole time, they realize the demon is trying to escape and that the last nun chose self-deletion so she would not be possessed. Irene takes her vows to become a nun and they go to battle with Frenchie in tow having returned for the final act. Eventually, they get the relic and vanquish Valak by covering it in the blood of Christ, or so they think. As the group prepares to return to the village, it is shown that Frenchie has an inverted cross seemingly branded on the back of his neck. In the parting scene Irene gives Frenchie a pack of tomato seeds since his dad was a tomato farmer, and Frenchie jokingly explains a life debt since he did save Irene’s life. Roll credits.

Overall, I did not think this movie was terrible, I also did not feel it was very scary. The dialogue was kind of clunky. The set design and cinematography were done well, and I would say the acting was pretty good. At best however, I am rating this a 2.5/5 average. This seems consistent with others as it has a 24% on the tomato meter with 35% audience score. IMDb rates it a 5.3/10 and it has a 46 on Metacritic.

According to Wikipedia (whose particular article has good sources) this movie grossed “$365.6 million against a production budget of $22 million, becoming the highest-grossing film in the [Conjuring] franchise.” Furthermore, it profited around $155 million.

Verdict: 2.5/5

Part Duex

As a sequel, it’s okay. There is a similar formula and story to the first. In fact, you don’t need to see the first to understand it. Normally that would be a good thing, showcasing a strong stand-alone movie, but not in this case. The first movie is referenced a lot and this is probably because the director assumed you do not remember it. For me, however, rewatching a movie in preparation for a sequel is part of the experience. It is not a beat for beat redo, but you can recognize some of the copy and past elements especially the climax.

This time the movie is directed by Michael Chaves and written by Ian Goldberg et al. As the story goes, Irene is a nun at a boarding school in France, and almost immediately we are introduced to Debra a too cool for school, cigarette smoking, to-be nun from Mississippi who had her house bunt down by white folk. I don’t care, and the story never gets me to care, nor is it brought up again, but at least they can check that DEI box. The Vatican shows up and requests Irene perform another miracle and fight the demon. Well, they don’t actually say that so much as they want her to find out what it wants. Most of the movie cuts between Irene and Debra parading though Europe on the trail of Valak and a second boarding school where Frenchie is staring in The Parent Trap part 2 Demonic Bugaloo. Effectively the movie has two “A” plots. While sleuthing, Irene comes across a magazine stand and thus the best scene in the whole movie. This scene was in the trailer, and I think it would have been better to have experienced it on the big screen first. As pages flip open Valak slowly rises from the ground manifesting in the images of the magazines done with practical effects. Bravo. Meanwhile shenanigans ensue as Sophie plays matchmaker between her mom and Frenchie, and Valak terrorizes and kills a few people. Thanks to some visions and deus ex librarian, Irene is able to work out that Valak is killing people who are descended from Saint Lucy – a blind saint with visions, who has been brought up or hinted at several times. Saint Lucy was killed by the pagans. They tried to burn her alive, but she would not burn so they cut out her eyes. Where could this lead, I wonder? Irene also figures out that the demon escaped Romania in Frenchie. Knowing who they are after and where to go Irene and Debra, who is just sort of there, race off to find the St. Lucy Relic and fight the demon. But why? Why not alert the Vatican or at the very least summon every priest in the parish to your assistance? There is not a ticking clock argument here as Valak is not good at finding relics, the blood of Christ relic eluded it for decades.

Anyway, they get to the boarding school, knock Frenchie out, tie him up, and locate the relic. After this the feces really hits the fan with an eight foot tall goat demon chasing students and Debra around, and Valak attempting to retrieve the relic but conveniently failing to kill anyone who might get in its way. Eventually Valak is successful in absorbing the relic’s power and all seems lost until the writer introduces a universe breaking mechanic. Let us remember the ending to the first movie: Irene uses the blood of Christ to defeat Valak. Here, she does not have the blood of Christ. However, she does have barrels upon barrels on vine. I have to hand it to the writer, this is a payoff to an earlier scene about parts of our faith being real only because we believe, specifically referencing communion. A short prayer later and all that wine is the literal blood of Christ. How does this break the universe? The writer just gave every exorcist a golden gun. The blood of Christ should be a top tear, finite resource that while it can defeat anything, can only be wielded by the most skillful, and is reserved for the worst-case scenario. That is how a magic system should work. Here however, the blood of Christ is an infinite resource that anyone who believes may summon and wield with a little vine. And thus, the day is saved.

My original reaction gave it a 2.5; it has dropped to a 2.0. Here is why. The dialogue did improve from the first movie, but the characters development did not. Irene is the only actual character that has an arch, and even it is flimsy. Irene goes from being a nun to a saint theoretically because she is related to Saint Lucy and having fully realized her potential is now Sister Saint Mary Sue. What about the other characters? Frenchie goes from being possessed to not possessed. The surrogate family who are not really characters, more plot devices, go from being a two-some to a three. Debra starts the movie not fully believing in the power of faith and is supposed to believe fully by the end, although it is not shown. Overall, Debra’s character, who was actually a foil like Father Burk, could have been cut along with the librarian who hand delivers the location of the relic and Valak’s motive. Furthermore, after watching the first movie, there seems to be a lot of copy and paste. The first movie starts with a crucifix spontaneously combusting and in the second it is a priest. Frenchie is the charming playful handyman/local fixer who is attracted to a beautiful woman. In the first Burk is led astray by a boy apparition, in the second the Reverend Mother is killed by a boy apparition. In the last act additional knowledge is pulled out of nowhere that is needed for the plot. Valak is defeated by the blood of Christ. There is more, but I will leave it there.

How did other people receive it? As of 9/17 IMDb has it at a 6.0/10, Metacritic is 47, and Rotten Tomatoes is rotten at 50% critic score but a 74% audience score. According to boxofficepro.com it is underperforming with only $56.5 million so far as opposed to the original making $85.1 million at the same point. Also, costing around 35-40 million dollars to make, it has almost broke even all things considered. You may say this is due to a post-COVID world where people don’t go to the cinema. Sadly, you might be correct. This is no excuse for mediocrity.

Verdict: 2.0/5

Sources

Paranormal Operator 23

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