The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It Review (2021) Worth Watching?

It's about another of Ed & Lorraine Warren's cases, this time involving a court case with a plea of 'not guilty by reason of demonic possession'.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It was directed by Michael Chaves (who also directed The Maiden) and stars Patrick Wilson (from In The Tall Grass, Annabelle Comes Home, The Conjuring 2, Insidious and Bone Tomahawk), Vera Farmiga (from Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, The Conjuring: A Life In Demonology, The Conjuring and Orphan) and John Noble (from The Dreaming).

The Demonic Case That Shocked America

Hot on the heels of Warner Brothers settling out of court (for an undisclosed, presumably very large sum) over a copyright claim, comes another entry in The Conjuring universe, this time featuring a court case.

In the positives column, the stakes are raised in an interesting way. There are the pressures of the court case, as prosecutors are pushing for the death penalty should the defence fail, combined with shockingly sudden ill health from Ed. Although it's the least scary of the franchise so far, the plot plays out in such a way that it seems Ed & Lorraine are now detectives with Lorraine providing a psychic twist. I'd have preferred more scares but I still appreciate the effort to keep things fresh and it keeps their relationship front and centre which is good for those romantics among us. The acting is also very good, especially from Fringe's John Noble who has a surprisingly small but key role.

In the average column, the soundtrack is effective at the time but ultimately forgettable. Also no Patrick Wilson singing Elvis with an acoustic guitar as he does in the second film so that's a major minus!

In the negatives column, the scares that are still there are all jump scares and/or body horror which makes for a great opening scene but then gets old fast and makes the runtime seem a tad too long. Although obviously the murder leading to the court case has to happen very early, there is a mistake made in that the defendant, Archie, isn't fleshed out as a character beforehand aside from a dream of moving away with his girlfriend which feels forced. This means that although the stakes are raised, we're not as invested in the outcome as we should be. The main 'evil' of this film also isn't fleshed out enough so the motivations aren't very clear. Sometimes not knowing makes things scarier but in this case we needed more and it actually dials down the scares. Finally, although I've pointed out that this is a film for romantics the ending is too schmaltzy and belongs in a romcom not a horror.

Worth Watching?

It's worth watching for a sense of completion with the franchise, and definitely worth it if you like the central romance, but it's definitely the weakest entry. The story is interesting enough to enjoy one watch but it's not one to rewatch.

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