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

 "I think I hurt someone."
-Arne Johnson


While assisting with the exorcism of his girlfriend's little brother, Arne Johnson (Ruairi O'Connor) invites the demon to take him and leave the kid alone.  Soon after, the demon possesses Arnie in order to commit a murder.  With Arne facing the gas chamber, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) have to find evidence of demonic possession to save Arne's life and soul.


What Works:

As is always the case with The Conjuring movies, both Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are excellent and have wonderful chemistry.  This story is far more focused on them than the first two movies were and this is a good thing.  All of these movies are less interesting when the Warren's are not involved and that was probably my biggest criticism of the first two movies, so this was a welcome change.

John Noble is the best new addition to the cast.  He plays Father Kastner, a retired priest who is a really interesting refection of the Warren's.  Noble has an excellent screen presence and I really like his characterization.

The best part of this film is that it is wildly different from the first two.  This is not a haunted house movie.  It's more a super-natural, serial killer, mystery film.  Think Se7en or Zodiac, but with demons.  I like serial killer movies more than haunted house movies most of the time, so I was completely on board for this change of direction, and it works more often than not.

Finally. the 1st act of the movie is truly excellent.  We get a really intense exorcism sequence and an exciting and creepy look at the murder Arne committed.  Everything leading up to Arne being put in jail works remarkably well.


What Sucks:

As is the case with every movie in this franchise, this film is overly reliant on jump scares.  Granted, not every creepy moment is a jump scare, but most of them are.  They are both tiresome and predictable.

The pacing is also a little bit off.  I hate the trope where characters slowly walk around a spooky area, usually calling out for someone, as the movie tries to build tension for the big jump scare.  Sequences like this always take me out of the movie and that is definitely true here.

Finally, the movie doesn't do anything with the premise that was presented in the trailer.  It isn't really about proving demons exist in court or anything like that.  Only two scenes take place in the courtroom.  I was hoping for something a bit more along the lines of The Exorcism of Emily Rose.  I'm a sucker for a good courtroom drama, but we don't get anything of the sort.  It feels like a missed opportunity.


Verdict:

While it is the weakest of the three Conjuring movies, The Devil Made Me Do It is a breath of fresh air for the series.  The story is interesting, the performances are solid, and the first act is really well done.  The later pacing, overuse of jump scares, and the lack of follow through on an engaging premise bring the movie down, but it I would say it's still worth watching.

 7/10: Good 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Argylle (2024) Review

Image
 "The human skull is shockingly brittle." -Aidan Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) is a very successful spy novelist.  She draws attention from the espionage community when plot points in her books come true.  When Elly is attacked on a train by a group of spies, she is rescued by another spy, Aidan (Sam Rockwell), who needs her help with his mission and to do that, she needs to write another chapter of her latest book. Spoilers Below.  Go ahead and read on because I don't recommend this movie, but either way, you've been warned. What Works: Argylle has a really fun premise that really works in the first half of the movie.  It's a fish-out-of-water, buddy-cop, spy movie, and it's a blast.  Watching Ellie predict where to go based on what the characters in her books would do is a lot of fun.  It's what the whole movie should have been. The opening sequence follows Agent Argylle (Henry Cavill) on another dangerous mission as he pursues the villainous LaGrang
Read more

Top 10 Movies of 2023

Image
2023 is finally over and it's time for me to put my Top 10 list together.  2023 was definitely a weaker year for movies.  There were definitely some great movies, but there were also plenty of disappointing and bad movies as well.  I still managed to put together a great Top 10 with a couple of worthy contenders that just missed the cut.  Let's take a look! #10. They Cloned Tyrone They Cloned Tyrone is a wild and fun sci-fi tale that takes place in the hood.  A drug dealer, a pimp, and a prostitute discover a cloning conspiracy and the results are intelligent and hilarious.  This is a really smart and funny movie with some amazing performances across the board.  This was a movie that kept me guessing the whole way through.  What an absolute blast. #9. Renfield I'm guessing Renfield will be the most controversial entry on my list as I feel like I'm the only person who liked this movie.  I love the old Universal monster movies and the fact that we get a direct sequel, whi
Read more

Madame Web (2024) Review

Image
 "When you take on the responsibility, great power will come." -Santiago Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson), a New York paramedic, hits her head in an accident, which unlocks the ability to see glimpses of the future.  When she sees Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) attempting to murder three teenage girls, Cassie intervenes to save them.  As Cassie learns to understand her power, she also discovers the connection between her, the girls, and Ezekiel. What Works: I think the core idea at the center of this movie is a good one and has the potential to be interesting.  Cassie's superpowers are kinda lame.  It's not like they're going to help in a combat situation.  Ezekiel is basically evil Spider-Man.  He has legitimate powers and is a massive threat.  That's an interesting conflict.  How does someone with lackluster superpowers take on a supervillain.  It's a fun idea that I would like to see tried again with greater success.  What Sucks: This movie was embarrassing to
Read more