The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It review {Spoiler}

6.7/10

The third Conjuring film and the eighth overall addition in the Conjuring Universe is The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. The newest film is a stark departure from the first two Conjuring films. The previous two are essentially classic haunted house movies where the third, in contrast, is about the real life alleged demonic possession of Arne Johnson. The Devil Made Me Do It dives deep into some witchy shit and is by far the most devilish and darkest film of the franchise.

Being the darkest doesn’t make the film the best, however. That title is still reserved for the very first Conjuring. I think that there’s an argument to be made that it’s one of the strongest of the Conjuring Universe and that only the first Conjuring, Annabelle Creation, and Annabelle Comes Home are superior. Getting into the film – it focuses on the demonic possession of Arne Johnson, a man who in real life committed murder while allegedly possessed by a demon. The case went to trial and drew international press for the “Devil made me do it” defense. The film doesn’t focus on the judicial process at all, but rather on the odyssey that the Warrens partake in to save Arne’s life from the demon that’s coercing him into suicide.

The film follows an occultist as she curses people to give their souls to a demon that she conjures. The film centers on Ed and Lorraine Warren’s attempts at saving the imprisoned Arne Johnson who’s being tormented and tempted into committing suicide from the curse hexed onto him. The occultist previously possessed Jessica, a girl from Massachusetts, into stabbing her girlfriend, Katie Lincoln, 22 times and murdering her, as part of her ritual to the demon. The demon/occultist forced Jessica to kill herself by jumping off of a ledge into a body of water. Arne’s suicide would be the third and final soul killed to appease the demon and finish the satanic ritual.

The level of violence in The Devil Made Me Do It was unseen in previous films of the Conjuring Universe. It was a good decision to take the third Conjuring film outside of the house and to make it darker and more violent. As good as the Conjuring Universe is, it’s tough for any franchise with this many movies to remain novel without making stark cinematic departures, so it was wise to deviate from its previous subject matter and tone.

The film struggles to connect the three victims of the occultist. There’s never an explanation on why Katie and Jessica, or David Glatzel, the demon’s previous occupant before Arne invited it from David into himself to save the eight-year-old boy, are chosen. I’m not sure if they were randomly cursed without rhyme or reason or if there was rationale for the decision. It’s never explained which is an odd thing to leave left to leave to the viewer’s imagination. Another and maybe even larger criticism, is that the occultist’s motivations are never fleshed out. I know that she’s summoning a demon and is offering the souls of Arne, Katie, and Jessica to appease it, but the end-game isn’t expounded upon at all. I’m sure that she’s getting some sort of demonic power and magic in return, but the fine print of their barter is left up to the viewer’s interpretation. I’m cool with some villains being evil just for the sake of evil, but her plan is too specific and too central to the story to leave the full scope of her motivations unexplained.

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga give strong performances per usual as the Warrens. The Occultist is played by Eugenia Bondurant and she’s creepy as hell. Every scene she’s in is unsettling and you get the disturbing feeling that at any moment she’ll lunge at you. She was particularly strong and convincing as a villain. The demonic imagery of the film was definitely a high-point. I thought it was spooky and the kind of shit that’s out of a nightmare. The main factor that’s limiting The Devil Made Me Do It’s rating is The Occultist not being fleshed out beyond surface-level. The film wants to keep her mysterious and in the background for the majority of the film, which is smart and a wise decision because the unknown is spooky, but once introduced, her thoughts and motivations should have been explained. Despite her power she’s still a human whose behavior has reasoning and her rationale not being explained was a letdown.

The film is a quality addition to the Conjuring Universe and will justify future movies. The film was a little better than number 2 but not quite as good as the classic first, which is okay-I don’t think anyone expected the third to surpass the first. The Devil Made Me Do It will entertain fans of the occult and does a better job than most films at depicting satanism on film. It’s a quality film with creepy imagery and story that left some runners on base, but it scores enough points to still be pretty enjoyable.