Review-"The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It"
The Conjuring (2013) is a modern horror classic. Not only are the scares genuinely terrifying, but it also features some great acting and an emotional story at its core. In short, it’s a tough one to beat, even for the other movies in its own series. To date, there have been 8 entries in The Conjuring universe, including spin offs for the Annabelle doll from the first entry and The Nun from the second. Unfortunately, none of them have come close to topping the original. So how does The Devil Made Me Do It compare?
Since I hadn't heard much about this new entry and saw the middling reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, I assumed Devil Made Me Do It wouldn't be that great. And judging by the previews, it looked to be a rip off of The Exorcism of Emily Rose with it being half horror movie, half court case drama. So I was mildly surprised to find that even though it's centered around a murder case, not much of it actually takes place in the courtroom, focusing mainly on the Warren's investigation. This alone is a huge improvement to what I thought it would be and I enjoyed what it had to offer.
Right off the bat, however, I figured out why the critics were so split on the movie. While the original was subtle with its creepiness and took the time to set up an unsettling atmosphere before the big scares came, this entry just jumps right into it. In the span of 5 minutes, a kid goes from being haunted in his bathroom, to full on possessed by a demon and jumping around the room attacking people. I know that this is what sets up the plot and that he was in the middle of an exorcism to begin with, but it went off the rails too fast. Unfortunately, most of the scares are like this. Some of the jump scares in here are really effective, especially near the end. But for the most part, they scares would have been more effective if they had allowed some more time to put the audience on edge before something popped out. Compare these scares to the first Conjuring with the infamous "clapping" scene. It took time to make you feel really uneasy, then it had a great jump scare. Or the scene with the woman hiding on top of the dresser...pretty sure I blacked out the first time I saw that.
The highlight of Devil as well as the other two Conjuring movies, is Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the Warrens. They always commit whole heartedly to their roles and I love how well they work together. Even in scenes that on the surface are pretty ridiculous (like following ghosts through the woods or fighting devil worshippers) I always feel like I'm watching a real couple deal with these insane situations and hoping they make it out ok. Like the other entries, I really enjoy watching them discover why the people they choose to help are being tormented. While 1 and 2 mainly focus on the houses of the victims, I liked the police procedural feel to Devil as they had to interview different people and find clues across the town. I also thought Wilson and Farmiga did a great job during the finale, it's a pretty intense sequence and I don't think it could have been pulled off if it had been left to lesser actors.
One problem I did notice while finishing the movie, is that it doesn't have a very memorable villain. While the first entry had Annabelle the Doll and the second gifted us with the nightmare fuel known as The Nun, Devil's isn't as great. While the villain is creepy and has an interesting backstory, unlike the other two, I don't see this one getting a spin off. Not every movie has to create its own memorable monster and this one has some good moments, but it is a disappointment compared to the others.
Over all, I thought The Devil Made Me Do It was a solid entry in The Conjuring universe. Even if its not as seat grippingly terrifying as the first two, it has some scary moments and a genuinely tense finale. If you're a fan of the series and have HBO Max, I'd recommend it. If not, I don't think it's one you have to rush out to the theater to see but if you're looking for an excuse, you can do worse than this.
Rating: 3.5/5
Sources: IMdB
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