The Nun II: Rewrite.

The writing friend’s prompt for me this week: Rewrite the ending to the last movie you watched.

My prompt for her: Write a scene about someone comforting their sad friend, but they’re severely distracted by their sad friend’s awful sweater. Prepare for some giggles by her response!

Now, I have quite a dilemma. When she initially handed me this prompt, the last movie I watched was Bottoms by Emma Seligman, but I already had a ticket for a rare showing of Perfect Blue by Satoshi Kon that I knew I’d end up watching before I had time to respond to her prompt, and just yesterday I watched The Nun II by Michael Chaves!

So what do I do?

I’m of the opinion that a rewrite is a mini-spoiler due to it revealing what doesn’t happen.

Bottoms was HILARIOUS. I laughed so hard that my legs cramped. It’s as if you took a typical high school script, gave it to the writers of South Park and Grand Theft Auto V, and said “No limits. Do your thing.” With it still in theaters, I’d be sad to spoil it. Go watch it!

Perfect Blue was phenomenal. It’s a psychological thriller hailed as a must-watch of Japanese animations. A common experience for other Asian Americans my age is sitting crisscrossed on a rug to watch the family VHS of Spirited Away while you’re itty-bitty, growing up exposed to all sorts of American media, then learning about Perfect Blue once you’re emotionally ready for its dark, adult themes. Knowing absolutely nothing walking in is crucial to your viewing experience, so I’m hesitant to give you a glimpse of what actually happens and what doesn’t. Go stream it!

The Nun II waaaaaas….decent. I have zero guilt about spoiling it and it is the last movie I watched.

I’m inclined to follow my gut and not get caught up on a technicality, and I’m sure my writing friend would want me to do the same.

Spoilers ahead for both The Nun and The Nun II. This is the point of no return.

The short and sweet of The Nun series: A gothic supernatural horror centers on a demon named Valak in the 1950s. In the Dark Ages, a Satanic duke tries summoning Valak through a rift in the catacombs of his castle in Carta, Romania. Religious knights interrupt the ritual and seize the duke before sealing Valak away. Centuries later, the bombings of World War II crack open the rift and Valak appears. Sister Irene, a promising nun, banishes Valak in the first movie, but the demon lives on by possessing a man named Maurice. In the sequel, Valak now seeks an ancient relic that will grant her godly powers: the gouged eyes of St. Lucy preserved by her descendants, buried in a winery turned boarding school and monastery in Tarascon, France. A Cardinal tasks Sister Irene with investigating the matter. The main cast gets terrorized and roughed up by Valak throughout the movie, but it all builds to the climactic scene of Sister Irene, her companion Sister Debra, and Valak having a holy battle over the relic in an old wine storage room. Sister Irene and Sister Debra pray until the wine in the room becomes the blood of Christ and washes over Valak to banish her once again. Maurice is saved and happily goes his way.

Now, a rewrite:

One week after the events at Tarascon.

The sun parts a cloudy sky to shine through the window of a somber, pensive office. Documents to be addressed are neatly stacked on the table out of paranoia over tidiness. The Cardinal shifts impatiently and uncomfortably in his seat, having little capacity to take pleasure in the favorably named god rays. He nervously awaits a knock at his door, a bead of sweat running down his cheek.

Three thuds break the silence, startling yet delivering a small reprieve to the troubled mind. “Come in.” His voice stirs with urgency.

“Your Eminence,” a much younger man respectfully greets, his voice soft with a touch of wonder as he steps in, gently closing the door behind him. “The…guest has arrived.” The news is presented with curiosity.

“Show him to his quarters. Be sure he is well-nourished.”

“Of course, but…Your Eminence, he does not accept food or drink.”

“And he shall not voice it. He has taken a vow of silence. Provide what is needed and he will do the rest.” The Cardinal’s hands remain folded before his face, his elbows digging hard into the wood of the table. The young man hesitantly turns to leave, opening but closing the door after a brief pause, not taking his exit.

“If I may, Your Eminence, what is the nature of his arrival? He dons black from neck to toe and conceals a blade at his side. He barely blinks. He stares ahead as if possessed. The people whisper that his steel was consecrated.” The young man speaks in hushed tones, unsure of what he is afraid of invoking. The Cardinal gives a deep sigh, his shoulders raising and dropping.

“Sister Irene was unsuccessful in France.”

Silence befell the room once again.

“…and the man?” The young man’s hands trembled. He felt his throat would close at any second.

“Do you recall that the monastery in Carta was first a castle?”

“Yes, of where that wretched duke attempted to call upon Satan before our holy men stopped him centuries ago. What of it?”

“The man out front travels from Romania. He is a descendant of the knight that led the charge into the castle. He has vowed not to speak until evil is driven from France.”

“…How will he pray?” The young man’s blood ran cold.

“We shall pray for him.”

The clouds pass over the sun. The room darkens once again.