‘The Nun 2’s Goat Demon Was Inspired by ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’

The Big Picture

• The Nun II introduces a horrifying goat demon as a new monster in the Conjuring universe, expanding the creepy creatures associated with the franchise.
• Director Michael Chaves explains that the goat demon was always part of the story and wanted to show more of the monster’s physical presence.
• The inspiration for the tactile monster came from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, specifically the practical effects of the bat creature, which Chaves wanted to incorporate into the film.

With the franchise having grossed over $2 billion at the box office, The Nun II marks the latest addition to the Conjuring universe and the spin-off sequel recently introduced a whole new monster to the spooky film series. While The Nun II sees the return of everyone’s favorite demonic sister, Valak, the film also introduces a horrifying goat demon which appears to act as an extension of her satanic powers. Ahead of its release on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD, I sat down with director Michael Chaves to discuss some of the key elements of the film including the creepy creature.

Goats have been associated with the devil for centuries and within the past two decades their presence in horror movies has certainly increased with films like Drag Me to Hell and Robert Eggars’ The Witch, and now The Nun II. When asked about bringing the monster to the latest Conjuring spin-off, Chaves joked about many fans’ comparisons to The Witch‘s Black Phillip, saying: “You know, honestly, I love the Black Phillip, ‘It’s a crossover!’ Guys, you found it out. We’re breaking it here: it’s a [The] Witch crossover with the Conjuring universe. We’re expanding. [Laughs] No, that’s a joke.”

He went on to explain that the monster was always a part of the story from horror scribe Akela Cooper‘s first draft. “That monster was already in Akela’s first draft. I love the idea of a goat demon,” said Chaves. “I was like, ‘Oh man, how do we make this look right?’ Because we hadn’t seen any real monsters, it’s usually much more implied in the Conjuring movies, but I wanted to see more of him.”

‘The Nun II’s Creature Feature Pulled From the Epic Bat Monster Reveal in ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’

Chaves went on to say that both he and The Nun director Corin Hardy were heavily inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The 1992 film features a jump scare with stunning practical effects as Dracula’s attempts to woo Mina are threatened by Van Helsing and his band of vampire hunters. In The Nun II, the goat demon terrorizes the other students at the boarding school while Sister Irene attempts to take down Valak for a second time. Chaves went on to explain that Dracula served as a jumping-off point as they developed a more “tactile” monster than we’d seen so far in the Conjuring movies.

“I knew Corin [Hardy] drew a lot of inspiration from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and I thought, ‘I love that movie.’ I really connected with Corin as we talked about that. So I went back, and I loved, in Bram Stoker’s Dracula—I don’t know if you remember or if you’ve seen it—the bat creature. The bat creature that comes out of the closet is so awesome, it’s like practical effects, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, I gotta do that. I gotta put that type of monster in the movie.’ So that was the main inspiration, and then we just kind of went from there, and I think it really worked. It was also very surprising. You know, we hadn’t seen such a monster in that fashion that was very physical and tactile. Usually, they tend to be more demons, and I think that that’s kind of what took people by surprise.”

The Nun II is currently available on Max in the U.S. and you can purchase the 4K UHD, Blu-ray, or DVD edition on November 14. Stay tuned at Collider for the rest of our conversation with Chaves.

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