Review: The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

Image courtesy of New Line Cinema.

With "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It," the horror franchise started by James Wan seven years ago has taken a noticeable decline in quality. This is not to say that the expanded cinematic universe spawned by "The Conjuring" films - which include the poor "The Nun" and "The Curse of La Llorona" and the "Annabelle" movies, which vary in quality - has necessarily all been good, but the first two "Conjuring" films were effective and frightening.

The downgrade on this third outing might be due to Wan handing over the directing reins to Michael Chaves - who also directed "La Llorona" - as well as the decision to add a fair amount of extracurricular activity for its two leads, Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga), to accompany its central plot, which tells the true story of the widely publicized case of Arne Johnson (played here by Ruairi O'Connor), who stabbed his landlord to death in Connecticut in 1981 and claimed in court that he was possessed by demons.

As the film opens, Ed and Lorraine are battling a particular sinister demon in David Glatzel (Julian Hilliard), a young boy whose sister is engaged to Arne. The entire opening sequence reeks of "The Exorcist" influence, from the boy's body twisting and his speaking in creepy voices to a priest who shows up at the house with a briefcase in hand (the shot nearly matches that of the iconic one in William Friedkin's 1973 classic). In a moment of bravery, Arne grabs the young boy and tells the demon to take him instead. We later find it that it has complied with his wishes.

After Arne later stabs his gregarious landlord - to the tune of Blondie's "Call Me" - and is taken to jail, Ed and Lorraine realize that there's something they must have missed during their treatment of David. The demon possessing Arne appears to come and go, and it's here that the film's plot veers wildly off track as the Warrens investigate the disappearance of a young woman in a nearby town and start to see some connections between the two cases.

While the extension of one's disbelief is necessary to enjoy the "Conjuring" films - which are based on "true" cases - some absurd liberties are taken in this third film, most notably a scene in which Arne, in a prison hospital, undergoes some sort of moment of possession in which he floats around the room while a priest and his young wife - do they really let prisoners' spouses just wander around inside a jail without supervision? - try to perform an exorcism. Also, a subplot involving a master satanist who the Warrens believe is behind both cases seems to have been just thrown in for entertainment purposes, although it weighs the film down with too much uninteresting exposition.

While the previous "Conjuring" films had some moments of pure fright, nearly every horrific scene in "The Devil Made Me Do It" involves windows blowing open, loud shouting, items flying around rooms and an apocalyptic vibe every time the demon is confronted. It's as if Chaves is channeling his inner Michael Bay for a movie that might have used a bit more subtlety for its scares.

As usual, Farmiga and Wilson are a pleasure to watch, although they are stuck delivering leaden dialogue with a straight face. And once the plotline involving the satanist kicks in, the main attraction - the notorious Arne Johnson case - is pushed to the side, leaving Arne's character with the sole purpose of occasionally being possessed and causing a scene at the jail. 

Perhaps, the "Conjuring" universe has suffered somewhat from overkill. The spinoff films have been of lesser quality and now the main series is starting to lag. If they decide to make a fourth film, let's hope the story is more compelling and the adage "less is more" is applied. This third "Conjuring" film is proof that the series is starting to show some wear and tear.