The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It Review

The Conjuring series has returned for a third film, or eighth if you include the extended universe. This film sees the Warrens getting involved with the Trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson.

In 1981 the Warrens have been called to exorcise a demon from an eight-year-old boy. When the demon leaves the boy, it ends up possessing Arne Cheyenne Johnson (Ruairi O’Connor) and leads to the young man killing his girlfriend’s boss. The Warrens set out to prove the existence of demons to prevent the young man from receiving the death penalty, but their investigation leads them to more than supernatural evil.

The Conjuring Universe has become one of the most successful horror franchises in recent memory and surprisingly one of the most cinematic universes operating. The first two Conjuring films were both critical successes. The Conjuring saw a new director take the helm; Michael Chaves replaced James Wan who has moved on to the Aquaman series. Chaves had a titanic task because he had to live up to the success of the previous films and offer something that was familiar and different at the same time. Chaves manages to do this.

James Wan still has a story credit for The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and the screenwriter, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick co-wrote the previous Conjuring film. Many members of the crew have worked on previous films in the cinematic universe, including Chaves. The Devil Made Me Do It kept the same look and tone of the previous films. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga knew their roles inside-out and fans of the franchise were invested in their characters.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It started off differently because the Warrens were already in the middle of an exorcism which goes wrong because Eleanor suffered from some strange visions and Ed suffered a major heart attack. The film then turned into an investigation story because the Warrens end up on the hunt for a Satanist who has summoned a demon. The film ended up a detective story as much as a supernatural horror and the Warrens had to face a human threat. The Warrens had to do lots of research, detective work, and logical reasoning during the case. It was a refreshing twist on the formula.

The Warrens were weakened in this film. Ed’s heart attack made him frail whilst Lorraine couldn’t use her gifts because their nemesis was able to conquer them. The main villain wasn’t a demon possessing a child who was tormenting a family but someone who was more targeted. The Occultist (Eugenie Bondurant) made the battle against the Warrens personal which added potency.

Chaves shows himself to be a director with potential. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It was his second film as a director and he does have visual flair. The exorcist scenes clearly referenced the 1971 namesake, especially when bodies contort in impossible ways. The bone cracking sounds were something to behold. During the final act, one of the characters was framed like Jack from The Shinning.

Early in the film Chaves there was an impressive continuous shot where the camera follows Arne and his girlfriend, Debbie (Sarah Catherine Hook) from their apartment to Debbie doing her job. There were properly some skilled cuts to make it look like it was done in one take as the camera moved in and out of the building. One of my favourite scenes in the film was when the Warrens go to a crime scene and the film crosscuts between a character committing a murder and Lorraine re-enacting it.

However, Chaves was from the jump scare school of horror. The volume just shot up so audiences would naturally react. One of the big monsters in the film was a decomposing obese corpse. He was more grotesque than scary.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It was a solid offering from The Conjuring Universe, showing there’s life in the franchise. It dared to be a little different whilst keeping fans of the franchise satisfied.