I don’t care for the Conjuring movies. I’ve only seen the recent spin offs in theaters, and that’s cause of A-List. I eventually caught the originals on BluRay, which confirmed my suspicions. They’re lazy horror. Things jumping out going “boo” with minimal story. Not my thing. So while I’ve been hearing a lot of Conjuring junkies say they disliked …Devil… because it was so different, that’s actually why I kinda liked it.
After the series took some turns investigating various artifacts that have appeared in these films (looking at you, Annabelle, and your 27 movies) we’re back with Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga both of whom I adore. Instead of investigating a haunted house, we start with an exorcism gone wrong. The demon successfully leaves the little boy he’s possessed, but jumps to a young man who is present. That man goes on to kill someone while under the influence of said demon. He’s put on trial and pleas “Not guilty by reason of possession”. It’s up to the Warrens to find a way to prove he was in fact possessed.
I liked it because there was more story, more mystery, not just freaky things happening around them while they sit and stare in a house. It was an investigation. However, it wasn’t a courtroom drama/horror like the trailer suggested, which would have been cool. Scenes in front of a judge or lawyers were minimal. So it still felt like the Ed and Lorraine show, but out in the wild instead of confined to a single location. For me, that’s a step up.
A bigger step up was the increased focus on Ed and Lorraine’s relationship. Give me that movie! We see where they met and how strong their relationship has been throughout the years. Again, adore these lead actors, so I would have watched the whole film with minimal horror and maximum backstory.
Eventually the film did kinda devolve, as most lazy horror films tend to do, where it’s all mayhem until some arbitrary action stops it. The logic behind things was very hazy because who needs explanations when you can have jump scares. Still because the story was stronger than usual, it held my attention for far longer than any other Conjuring or Conjuring adjacent film has before. For what it is, I call that a win
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – \m/ \m/ \m/