The Nun II  ★★½

SINCE when did nuns become scary?

I can’t recall the exact time or circumstances, but The Conjuring franchise has created a pretty good one.

The demonic sister Valak made such an impact when she played a small role in one entry that she gained her own spin-off with 2018’s The Nun.

It was fairly entertaining and, despite not being one of the best in the franchise, still made a healthy profit.

So now we have The Nun II which is the ninth instalment in this modern series of horror films.

Again, it’s not the best entry, but director Michael Chaves tries hard to create the right atmosphere and tension.

Chaves has made two other films in the franchise so knows his way around a haunted house or two.

This film is set in 1956, four years after Sister Irene was involved in the attempt to banish Valak.

Unfortunately for the Church and her victims, Valak is back and working her way across Europe despatching members of the clergy in horrific ways as she goes.

One of the heroes from the first film was the Romanian villager Frenchy who now has a new identity as the caretaker at a girls school in France.

He is possessed by the demonic Valak and Sister Irene is forced into service again.

There’s a little more to the story than that, but you get the gist – it’s basically the same thing over again.

All the cast work hard with the basic material, including Tessa Farmiaga as Irene, Jonas Bloquet as Frenchy/ and Bonnie Adam’s as the legitimately frightening Valak.

But it’s Chaves and his technical team who work hard to create the right atmosphere through the use of locations, set dressing and use of darkness and shadow.

It takes a fair bit to scare me this days. This is scary by jump scares and I certainly jumped a few times.

No doubt The Nun will get an origin story next.