The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
A chilling story of terror, murder and unknown evil that shocked even experienced real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. One of the most sensational cases from their files, it starts with a fight for the soul of a young boy, then takes them beyond anything they'd ever seen before, to mark the first time in U.S. history that a murder suspect would claim demonic possession as a defense.
jackmeat reviewedJuly 15, 2025
My quick rating - 6.6/10. When the bar is so high, it isn't a bad thing to say this is the worst of the 3. Then again, after James Wan relinquished the directing reins, you knew this would be something different. Still, this one has nice camera work, and Michael Chaves delivers a good-looking flick. But it is missing the scares we have grown accustomed to, and the attention to the details seems to be missing. In the place of scares is a solid foundation for the Warrens to build upon in taking the universe in a different direction. The flawless execution of taking the true story of Arne Johnson from the early eighties murder and weaving it into the lore that has been created is very admirable. Even though most of what you have learned so far is more or less just referred to instead of being part of the story. I am really unsure how it is they found such a perfect pair in Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, but onscreen they just "work" in a way that few onscreen couples can. This is demonstrated as they attempt to prove that the killer (Ruairi O'Connor) was "not guilty by demonic possession," which in the courts just doesn't happen. Though it was a part of this flick, I somewhat wish that since they were going down this road and stepping away from the haunted house & creepy scares, they would have given us a bit more of the actual court case. I also thought that the evil protagonist (Eugenie Bondurant) was about as spooky as can be. Her scenes just oozed the fear that was needed. It may not have been the best of the trilogy (so far), but it is definitely worth seeing.