The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) - Weakest CONJURING Movie - REVIEW
The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It had its moment when it dropped back in 2021, two out of three is not bad for a trilogy if you think about it. I have been watching the entire franchise after the Last Rite drop, in fact I though would be the ending of it but now they working on spin offs, the Devil Made Me Do It starts strong with a powerful exorcism scene with this kid David getting possessed, its wild how things start off but then everything just sort of tame down after that and never really comes back up. The trailer got me thinking this was going to have some serious courtroom action mixed with all the horror stuff, almost like they were going for that Emily Rose vibe but turns out the court part was just there to kick things off and get Ed and Lorraine running around playing detective for most part of the movie. Not like the first two entries that had everything contained inside a house, a family dealing with paranormal crap in these super tense spaces where every corner could have something waiting for you. When a horror movie takes place in a home it sticks with you because we all live in houses / apartment, you know what I mean, but this third one goes in a completely different direction by turning it into this investigation where the Warrens are jumping from place to place trying to track down some witch who put a curse on people. The detective angle could have been interesting if they had done it right, but this movie just dragged and nothing about it felt scary to me. Most of the supernatural stuff was just effects happening to remind you there is still demons involved, like the possessed people just bend backwards and scream which gets old real fast. The witch part had some cool moments but when thats the best thing about a Conjuring movie you know something went sideways during production.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7069210/
- Platform: PRIME VIDEO
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The movie is all over the place with no clear direction or focus on any one idea, at least thats my perception. The startup scene I was talking about is David getting an exorcism performed on him, the movie seem to try way too hard to copy The Exorcist with those camera angles and the way they framed certain shots that makes it look frame by frame like the exorcist. Ed is doing his thing reading from religious texts, Lorraine is having her visions like always, the kid is doing that wall crawling routine I have seen in every possession movie ever made. Then you got Arnie who is dating Davids sister Debbie and he goes ahead and does probably the stupidest move possible by telling the demon to take him instead of the kid, I get it he did out of good heart because he couldn't take the pressure anymore, every single horror movie tells you not to invite evil into your body but this guy does it anyway without thinking twice about it. The demon obviously jumps at the chance for a new host because why wouldnt it, free fresh meat, then Ed has a heart attack right in the middle of everything which the movie uses as a way to keep him on the sidelines even though he bounces back pretty quick and starts investigating like nothing happened. After this first drive through exorcism happens then the whole movie shifts into this procedural format where its less about scaring you and more about watching Ed and Lorraine investigate clues like some kind of supernatural police, for some time its entertaining but then starts to drag, I know Im complaining a bit on this post but the truth is that this entire franchise is a hit and miss, what helps is that there are multiple movies on it to cover up. Arnie winds up stabbing his landlord Bruno to death while he is under the demons control, at least thats what we are suppose to believe but the murder scene plays out with Call Me by Blondie playing in the background to be all creepy. Using an 80s pop song during a killing is not scary at all, then the rest of the movie is just the Warrens attempting to prove Arnie was possessed so he doesnt get executed for murder. This could have been a cool legal thriller mixed with horror but they barely show any courtroom scenes, just one part where the lawyer brings up demonic possession as a defense and everyone acts shocked before cutting back to more detective work. They go around finding these little curse totems, talking to priests about satanic shit, visiting crime scenes where Lorraine uses her powers to see flashbacks of previous murders, none of it feels like something new to the franchise or even exciting.
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The big twist ends up being some witch named Ilsa who is behind all the cursing and murdering, she just happens to be the daughter of this priest Father Kastner who they consulted earlier in the movie. Like what are the chances that out of every expert they could have gone to for help they pick the one guy whose kid is the actual villain, thats the kind of lazy writing that makes you think why they decided to make the answer so lame instead of working on a more complex mystery. Ilsa has been using these totems to curse random people and make them kill each other as sacrifices for a demon, Isla's whole deal in the movie is pretty straightforward but also kinda messed up, she is basically obsessed with Satan and the dark arts, and she was trying to complete this curse to gain power. The curse requires her to deliver souls to a demon through human sacrifices, specifically three people need to die, one by murder and one by suicide from three different "components". They try to make it seem mysterious by having Kastner say you cant understand satanists because they just do evil stuff for no reason, which is honestly the weakest excuse for a villian I have heard in a while because even in horror movies the bad guys need proper motivations that make sense. The climax takes place in these underground tunnels beneath Kastners house where Ilsas altar is all set up with candles and pentagrams and typical satanic looks, Ed has to smash the altar with a sledgehammer while Lorraine fights off possessed Ed who is trying to bash her head in with that same hammer, the scene was very intense until we fall for the same thing over and over, love. She breaks the possession by reminding him about their love story and how they met at a movie theater and had ice cream at some gazebo, its corny as hell but it works because the power of love beats demons apparently. Ed destroys the altar, the curse lifts, Arnie stops freaking out in his jail cell, then the demon shows up to punish Ilsa for not delivering the souls she promised by snapping her arms backwards and dragging her off to hell. That arm breaking effect was probably the only decent scare in the entire movie, everything else was pretty tame and predictable compared to what the earlier movies delivered.
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The ending has Arnie getting convicted of manslaughter even after the curse gets broken so the entire investigation was worthless because they couldn't get him out of jail, but its also the most realistic part of the whole thing because no judge or jury is going to accept the devil made me do it as a valid defense no matter what evidence you present, we taling about factual events, you might get less years and send to an institution but you are going to complete your time one way or another. He marries Debbie while locked up and they stay together which is kind of sweet but also depressing when you remember he is serving time for killing someone while possessed by a demon that wasnt his fault. The movie wraps everything up with Ed building Lorraine a gazebo replica from their first date decades ago, they kiss and act all happy despite just finishing one of their most dangerous cases according to the story. Problem is nothing ever feels dangerous or tense during the movie but Im not sure if thats exactly what they were going for with the investigator role they added, the scares are weak, the story jumps around without any smooth flow, the villain Ilsa just looks like some angry librarian instead of an actual terrifying supernatural threat. She doesnt do anything particularly that sticks with you, just stands around looking pissed off and doing witch stuff in the shadows.
What made those first two Conjuring movies work so damn well was James Wan behind the camera, he understood how to build real suspense and create moments that made you jump or feel genuinly unsettled long after watching. This third one got directed by Michael Chaves who also did The Curse of La Llorona which was one of the worst entries in the whole Conjuring universe, you can tell the difference immediately because this one has none of that Wan style or those carefully crafted scares that made the originals so effective, this one is more telegraph and obvious. Its not the worst horror movie that I have seen by no means but Im a fan of the franchise so its just obvious that Im going to demand more from it, for a Conjuring movie it falls way short and close a the trilogy on a pretty weak note back then if this was the last time we see Ed and Lorraine as main characters, years latter we find out it was not the case and probably why decided to drop the 2025 addition. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga still bring their A game like they always do, their chemistry together remains the best part of these movies and probably the only thing keeping it from being complete trays, sorry but not sorry. Even with their solid performances they cant save a script this messy and dull that doesnt give them much to work with besides walking around investigating stuff and having romantic flashbacks. I would give it maybe a 7 out of 10 at best, its not that bad bad bad or unwatchable but its not the best Conjuring movie out there, thats the problem with sequels, we all expect that its going to top off the previous movie, although this one just exists as this average horror movie that doesnt scare you or leave any real impression once the credits roll, I have seen horror movies that are not scary but intense as fuck, they could have also took that route but didnt.
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