The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
The first Conjuring movie came out in 2013 Anne has spawned a long running series with multiple spinoff movies. Now the franchise returns with the third movie in the original series, focusing on the cases of Ed and Lorraine Warren. Losing original director James Wan, this new film also loses a lot of what made the two previous Conjuring movies work, leading to a movie that is disappointing compared to what came before.
One aspect that worked really well for the two preceding Conjuring movies was strong character and world building. Time was spent on making the Warrens and other characters feel fleshed out, real, and sympathetic. The scene of Ed Warren sitting down with the haunted family in The Conjuring 2 to play some Elvis on his guitar is a prime example of how the characters were developed. Time was taken to make those involved feel relatable and likeable. Scenes designed to make characters feel like living people helped to make the plots more engaging as well as give the audience people to care about, something that that unfortunately completely missing from this third entry. The plot constantly seems to be stepping on the gas, never taking time to take a break, and let the tension build. No time is taken to invest in the Warrens or the new victims of the haunting, creating a situation where there feels like there is little to care about in this movie.
The lack of tension due to the fast pace hurts the scares drastically in this movie. Jump scares in this movie are completely ineffective because no time is taken to set them up. The previous Conjuring movies did a great job building up tension leading to jump scares, creating some of the more effective jump scares of the last decade. The movie in general feels like it is deviating away from going for scares. Instead, the movie focusing so much on the action that at times it feels like an occult superhero film, coming off as cheesy at times and never being a frightening flick. The story is still engaging and can be interesting at times with the twists and turns it takes but it comes off as nowhere near as entertaining as previous movies.
Luckily, the movie is still headlined by some good acting. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson continue to shine as the Warrens, making them a lovable couple that are easy to root for. The are the heart and soul of the franchise and this movie does a good job of keeping the focus on them and continuing to develop them and their relationship. Supporting actors also do a good job as well, with Ruairi O’Connor giving a good performance as the tortured soul that is being targeted by demons in this entry. Special note should be given to Julian Hilliard, who gives one of the better child actor performances in a horror film that I have seen in a while. Good performances, especially from the leads are what manage to elevate an underwhelming plot into a passable movie.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is easily the weakest film in the franchise. It doesn’t reach the lows of spinoffs like The Nun or Annabelle, but it is a massive downgrade from the previous Conjuring movies. A plot more focused on being nonstop hurts its ability to pull off being an effective horror film. Luckily, good performances take an okay plot and make this become a movie that is just barely passable. Watch this one on HBO Max if you are really interested to see more of the stories of the Warrens, just don’t expect anything groundbreaking or exceptional from this experience.
6 / 10
