By Robert Haile

The Nun 2 moved the story along with real thought and purpose a must see for fans for the genre and franchise.

Set in 1956 France, a priest is murdered as an evil is spreading. Sister Irene once again comes face-to-face with The Demonic Nun.

It is great to see the core cast return to a franchise, it really soothes you to know that they have that much faith in the project with Taissa Farmiga, Bonnie Aarons and Jonas Bloquet reprising their roles.

After the last Conjuring film The Devil Made Me Do It you will be forgiven for thinking that they were running out of steam.

Of course this is a prequel to the Ed and Lorraine branch of the Valak story and fits in perfectly but we don’t know the Demonic Nun (Bonnie Aarons) is Valak yet.

Set in 1956 poor Maurice (Jonas Bloquet) or Frenchie has made his way to Tarascon, France unknowingly leaving a trail of dead clergy behind him.

Bloquet plays the role brilliantly evoking feelings of pity as you watch the helpless Maurice succumb to the possession while trying to make a life at the all girls boarding school.

At the school teacher Kate (Anna Popplewell) and daughter Sophie (Katelyn Rose Downey) both give strong performances and help with showing Maurice’s humanity during his spiral and that glint of hope for him.

The valiant heroes of the film are Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) and Debra (Storm Reid) who both look out of their depths in tackling the demonic counterpart.

After taking on the Demonic Nun in the first film Sister Irene has slipped back into Convent life and has become an unknown legend in monastic life which Farmiga shows subtlety with the look of terror that pierces her facade when the other Nuns are unknowingly taking about her heroics and then when asked to take on The Demonic Nun again.

We get to see a glimpse into Sister Irene’s life which leads to an interesting development involving St Lucy that was hinted at earlier in the film as stowaway Debra says she wants to see a miracle.

Storm Reid is a breakout star and is not just the companion to Farmiga having to show her range from rebellious and comforting to the horror of confronting Valak and everything in between.

Now Bonnie Aarons takes the Demonic Nun to a new level with nothing said, yes possessed Maurice does speak but doesn’t say much.

The delivery of the suspense or jump scare scenes are taken to a point where you don’t know which is coming as the white of the habit comes into view.

In the final confrontation with Sister Irene the true horror comes out as the satisfaction and pleasure Aarons shows as the Nun torments, tortures and terrorises the real Nuns moves it from jump scare and visual to a truly evil villain from when we first met the demon in the Conjuring 2.

The film is an excellent addition to the Conjuring universe that takes us deeper into the motive of Valak, Demonic Nun or the Crooked Man.

A question does linger after the film with Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren making an appearance in a mid-credit scene is there a The Nun 3 or Conjuring prequel on the cards?

My Rating: 8/10