The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It satisfies cheap scares with loud sound effects and spooky demonic curses, but fails to do the bare minimum with its story. Since James Wan did not return to direct the third entry into his horror trilogy, one of the directors of the spinoffs took over, Michael Chaves. He continues to use the same formula for easy jump scares, but it is the shallow quality of the scenes without horror that proves his lack of interest in the characters.

Using a real life court case as an inspiration has so much potential that this film never addresses. The slogan “based on the true story” is just a sticker to put on the cover. Shock and awe is often far more engaging than the truth, but what I read from the Arne Cheyenne Johnson trial is far more dramatic than what happened on screen. The set up is the same in the simplest form, but as soon as it gets interesting—like the concept of how a lawyer will be able to convince a jury about a demonic possession that sounds impossible—the film instead steers into the basic ‘searching for clues’ in the house. The mystery itself falls short of the previous films’ in its weak intensity and consistency. I thought some of the reveals were well executed, but once the true conflict was uncovered, not only were my expectations trampled, but the established reality of this universe was completely abandoned for cool shots during a tunnel sequence. The antagonist could have re-established all the concepts of this cinematic universe, but instead it doubles down on what we already know. And yet in doing so, it ruins all of the rules and crushes any suspension of disbelief… in a film about demons possessing people with Snapchat-filter eyes.

The third act falls apart and honestly brings the whole story down with it. Even when the beginning of the film had a solid build up.

I will give this film credit for spending the entire runtime focusing on one story. The two previous Conjuring films waste entire b-plots back at the Warren’s house to set up Annabelle spinoffs or have The Nun cameos. This film has some shots that can easily lead into branching series, but for the most part we are stuck with Ed and Lorraine as they fight through their toughest case yet. The tension continues to build with strong stakes, and whenever we cut away it shows how Arne is succumbing to the curse as he is trapped in the prison. The only shortcoming comes from Ed Warren’s conflict. It is never directly addressed, forcing the audience to assume his struggle when there needed to be a scene with a doctor explaining his health. It was most likely shot but cut later on to shorten the runtime. In one scene, he’s barely conscious, and the next he is seemingly fine in a wheelchair, but then suddenly he can stand and walk around with a cane—only for us to realize 30 minutes later that he has to take pills, which he keeps forgetting to bring to the investigation. I rarely enjoy direct exposition in scenes, but a doctor laying it all out to Ed that he should really take a break and stop rushing into stressful situations—because he might die—is a scene that needs to be kept in the final cut to help the audience care more about each step he takes to save Lorraine. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga give good performances, but I felt their characters had a weaker grip on the narrative this time around, even though they had the full runtime to draw out those emotional moments.

Overall, there was a finality to this film that I really enjoyed. It felt like a true trilogy. They will definitely continue the spinoffs, but I would be happy if this film was the last we saw of Ed and Lorraine Warren. James Wan successfully started two different horror series, changing the genre with new twists and scares every time he returned behind the camera. Even though he moved on, his influence is still there. The morgue scene especially kept me up at night—and that is the key take away with these films. They never try to be more than what they are. Their execution of fright and terror is efficient and sensational. Going to see this with friends brings out the most fun as they jump out of their seats at different moments. Watching this in theaters far outweighs any shortcomings of character arc or themes, because when the lights go out, my heart rate jumps through the roof.

Story Rating: 5/10

Character Rating: 4/10

Entertainment Rating: 7/10