The Best Indiana Jones Movie Of 2023 Is The Nun 2 (And The Pope's Exorcist)
This article contains some spoilers for "The Nun II."
If horror has a name, it must be ... Indiana Jones? Scoff if you must, but the first three cinematic adventures of Henry Jones Jr. contain numerous horror movie bonafides, from the melting faces of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" to the heart-ripping terror of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and, of course, the rapid-aging transformation seen in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."
Honestly, though, it'd be fair if you did scoff, because Indiana Jones has become a little less synonymous with religion-inspired horror imagery thanks to his latter-day sequels, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny." Supposedly the last ever Indy installment (certainly the last with star Harrison Ford), this year's "Dial of Destiny" sent Dr. Jones off with what I consider to be a clever, insightful, and richly layered adventure film. However, the only scary elements in that movie are a cabal of neo-nazis and the attacking Roman army during the Siege of Syracuse. It's scary, sure, but not exactly spooky.
Fortunately, 2023 turns out to hold not one but two horror movies that make up for what "Dial of Destiny" failed to provide: that special mixture of adventure, action, and terror. "The Pope's Exorcist" and (especially) "The Nun II" bring the spooky, adrenaline-pumping goods, proving that horror adventure is just as viable a genre mash-up as horror comedy.
It's not the demons, it's the mileage
At its worst, director Julius Avery's "The Pope's Exorcist" is yet another pale imitation of the immortal William Friedkin (RIP) 1973 film "The Exorcist," featuring a tween character (a boy played by Peter DeSouza-Feighoney) possessed by a demon and forced to spew filthy dialogue (and/or other attendant fluids) while upsetting his family and sending the titular exorcist into a crisis of faith.
Fortunately for the film, that exorcist is Father Gabriele Amorth, played with delicious Italian aplomb by the Aussie Russell Crowe. Father Amorth was a real-life figure, whose alleged battles with the forces of darkness were turned into a documentary entitled "The Devil and Father Amorth" by — you guessed it — William Friedkin (again, RIP!), making "The Pope's Exorcist" a riff on both "The Exorcist" and the "based on true events" franchise begun by 2013's "The Conjuring."
Perhaps sensing that the film required a little extra spice to compete with such horror genre luminaries, Avery brings a little of his "Overlord" juice to the movie, allowing Crowe to fill his portrayal of Father Amorth with fun idiosyncrasies (who hasn't swooned at the sight of Crowe riding his scooter?) and giving the movie an adventure film pace and vibe. This is most apparent during the final act, when Father Amorth and his sidekick, Father Esquibel (Daniel Zovatto), venture into a hidden subterranean lair beneath an abbey and battle the demon Asmodeus. A secret conspiracy dating back to the Spanish Inquisition is discovered, and after Father Amorth and his pals vanquish Asmodeus, the exorcist is given a map with 199 other sites of evil to go cleanse in (hopefully) future installments. What's more "Indiana Jones" than hopping around the world?
Only the penitent Nun may pass
If you really want your Indy horror fix, however, check out director Michael Chaves' "The Nun II." Sure, the first half of the sequel to "The Nun" (and the ninth film in The Conjuring Universe) follows in its predecessor's footsteps, as the demon known as Valak who takes the form of a Demon Nun (Bonnie Aarons) stalks and murders its victims while it hides out at a girls' boarding school that was once a monastery.
In the second half, though, all Hell breaks loose in a big "Indiana Jones" way. First, our nun heroines Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) and Sister Debra (Storm Reid) are put onto the trail of the object the Demon Nun is after: a case that supposedly holds the eyes of the martyred Saint Lucy. Eventually, the nuns learn that the Eyes are hidden somewhere in the boarded-up chapel section of the boarding school. To find it, they turn to the young student Sophie (Katelyn Rose Downey), who tells them about a schoolgirl game where when the sun hits a particular stained glass window portrait of a goat, the goat's eye lights up. Irene deduces that this glowing eye is, in fact, a marker for where the Eyes are buried, and Debra shines her flashlight through the window, revealing the Eyes' location in a manner similar to how Indy finds the Well of Souls in "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
Throw me the Eyes, I'll throw you the rope
As if that weren't enough adventure, once the Eyes have been uncovered, the Demon Nun uses the possessed body of Maurice (Jonas Bloquet) to attack the women and obtain the Eyes for itself. During the fracas and mayhem, the rope holding the old church bell is cut, causing the massive object to crash through the tower (in a moment reminiscent of, well, not Indy, but "Batman"). Poor Sophie finds herself stuck on a piece of wood that is perilously connected to the stairs by a rapidly unraveling strand of rope while the possessed Maurice claws at her, dangling from the same fragile piece of wood. That's right, folks: it's a literal cliffhanger moment, an "Indiana Jones" franchise staple in the middle of this spooky horror film!
"The Nun II" has even more surprises in store during this final act, which I won't spoil here. Suffice to say that it does the thing that "Conjuring" director and franchise patriarch James Wan tends to do so well, blending horror with other genres, typically action and adventure (see also: Wan's first two "Conjuring" films, "Malignant" and, yes, "Furious 7"). While, as I said, I found "Dial of Destiny" to take the character of Indiana Jones to intriguing new places, for those of you who found yourselves let down by the film, I'd encourage a peep at "The Pope's Exorcist" and/or "The Nun II." They just might give you the spook-a-blast ride you were initially looking for!