The Nun II
Warner Bros. | Release Date: September 8, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
12
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
ColliderSamantha ColeySep 7, 2023
With its tight script, well-balanced characters, and bone-chilling scares, The Nun II is the first Conjuring spinoff operating at the same caliber as the franchise's core films, proving that this universe is far from played out. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonSep 7, 2023
The Nun II has some interesting ideas and some thrilling sequences. Read full review
70
IGNTom JorgensenSep 7, 2023
The Nun II is a marked improvement on its predecessor, as the winning duo of Taissa Farmiga and Jonas Bloquet reward the faith of Conjuring fans with a scarier, meatier boarding school nightmare that makes great use of Valak the Demon Nun, even if the mythology-heavy plot specifics get a little lost along the way. Read full review
67
IndieWireAlison ForemanSep 7, 2023
If The Conjuring Universe is a horror force you want to believe in again, then The Nun II will bring you back to the faith. Read full review
66
Paste MagazineAurora AmidonSep 11, 2023
If you’re expecting a totally original horror flick, you’ll be disappointed. If you’re looking for a film that cohesively fits into and helps explain the Conjuring universe, you should know better by now. But if you’re looking for nothing more and nothing less than a film where a barbaric nun slaughters everyone in its sight, well, look no further. Everyone else will be nun too pleased. Read full review
60
CNNBrian LowrySep 7, 2023
The Nun II doesn’t trifle with the formula, which relies heavily on jump-out-at-you scares, vivid nightmares and spooky spectral visions. Read full review
60
VarietyDennis HarveySep 7, 2023
In some respects an improvement on its predecessor, in others not, this is finally one more good-enough if unmemorable entry sure to extend the series’ life in lucrative fashion. Read full review
60
The IndependentClarisse LoughreySep 7, 2023
The Nun II, unlike Malignant or M3GAN, is unfortunately tethered to seven previous films of demonic activity, and suffers for it. There are too many established rules to follow. You can almost feel the film squirming around in those restraints, trying its best to claw at something new without violating any preexisting evil nun lore. Read full review
60
EmpireBen TravisSep 7, 2023
The result is a middle-of-the-table Conjuring universe film — one unlikely to make a dent in horror history, but well-constructed, with moments of inventive imagery, and that continues to cement Akela Cooper as a writer with a clear eye for freaky fun. Read full review
60
The TelegraphTim RobeySep 7, 2023
Notching up his third entry in what I suppose we’re meant to call the CCU, Michael Chaves looks alive, as often, with the set pieces. Read full review
60
SlashfilmJeremy MathaiSep 7, 2023
One can't help but wonder how both "The Nun" movies might've played out as original scripts without any shackles to pre-established lore ... but, at the same time, one would have to assume that neither film would even exist without those connections in the first place. Read full review
50
The New York TimesClaire ShafferSep 7, 2023
The pacing of the film, set in the 1950s and directed by Michael Chaves, is too neat: It runs like haunted clockwork, shoving characters down dark alleyways or abandoned chapels every five minutes with little justification. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchKatie WalshSep 7, 2023
Reaching for meaning in The Nun II is as fruitful as a wander down a dark and dusty old hall. You’ll find things that go bump in the night but not much else underneath all the doom and gloom. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanSep 7, 2023
It’s all so confusing. But reason is an obstacle to appreciating The Nun II. What you need, like Irene and Debra, is faith — in this case, in the power of pure nonsense. Read full review
40
The Observer (UK)Ellen E JonesSep 10, 2023
Aside from one marvellous set piece at a magazine stand, The Nun II’s mid-century design is tasteful to the point of tedium, and a disgrace to the good name of 70s-era nunsploitation. That really is the gravest sin. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleJenny NulfSep 8, 2023
The Nun II might be a slight step up from the slog that was The Nun, but that’s a low bar to creep up from. Read full review
40
Total FilmNeil SmithSep 7, 2023
The Nun 2 feels like an unnecessary sequel to a hoary offshoot that was hardly essential in the first place. Read full review
39
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiSep 8, 2023
The problem with describing a movie like The Nun II is that its many inane moments sound entertaining when you list them all on one page, but they’re so spread out through this movie that the entertainment is usually quite scarce. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubLuke Y. ThompsonSep 7, 2023
At least the jump scares are effective, especially in IMAX theaters where the headrests rumble every time Valak makes a sudden move. That, and a couple of decent makeup tricks are pretty much all The Nun II has. The character deserves better, and so do you really. Read full review
30
Screen DailyNikki BaughanSep 10, 2023
Logic, though, is not at the forefront of The Nun II which, like its predecessor, attempts to force the fear through endless jump scares and bombastic music rather than take time to build any real tension. Read full review
25
RogerEbert.comPeyton RobinsonSep 8, 2023
There's an overall lack of thoughtfulness in The Nun II regarding scares, and Chaves is vehemently loyal to oversaturated tropes. The movie starkly neglects creativity and, in turn, lacks effective fear. Read full review
25
Movie NationRoger MooreSep 8, 2023
What a random, almost plotless debacle The Nun II turns out to be. Read full review
25
The Associated PressMark KennedySep 7, 2023
A new directing and writing team fails to shock or scare with a color-by-numbers plot and a meandering, languid wannabe frightfest. Read full review
20
The GuardianRyan GilbeySep 7, 2023
In neglecting to vary her routine, she is not unlike the film-makers behind this ninth visit to the Conjuring universe – although “universe” is a misleadingly large word for a franchise that is impoverished in all but its box-office gross. Read full review
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