The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

This is a tired, corny, and predictable sequel in a franchise where the wellspring of ideas seems to have dried up, permanently exhausted, replaced only by increasingly louder sound effects. The movie makers stretched the movie out to near under a two-hour running time, just because the movie is part of a well-established and commercially successful franchise, however, with such a sparse plot and sluggish pacing, it makes absolutely no sense. The movie is visually appealing, the amount of money spent on this movie is obvious, when you look at the screen, and Patrick Wilson does the best he can with what he has been given to work with, however, otherwise it is just an amalgamation of things we have seen in countless other movies where they were carried out in more imaginative ways. (06/11/2021)

The previous concept of a torturous haunted house horror movie has been replaced in the third installment with the motif of a criminal satanic thriller, which relies on suspense rather than heart attack jump scares and in many ways takes inspiration from the most famous exorcism films. This sidestep worked for me (though I'm clearly in the minority) and I found it interesting to watch the Warrens fight the judicial system in addition to the evil forces this time around. [70%] (07/09/2021)

So I finally got through The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. It's a bit disappointing that James Wan isn’t behind the camera this time, and you can feel that in the final product. However, it’s still a solid entry in the genre with plenty to offer viewers. The main acting duo keeps the quality in the above-average range; over the years, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson have built a strong bond, and I believe their characters' struggles completely from a viewer’s perspective, which is a clear advantage for the film. The plot manages to captivate, but personally, I see a downside in Michael Chaves's decision to rely on simpler jump scares; there are definitely more of them compared to Wan’s films. The over-the-top action in the finale didn’t help much either. Still, the film offers a few unforgettable scenes, from the exorcism at the beginning to the morgue visit! (the best scene!). So all in all, I’m seeing it as a strong three stars. 7/10 P.S. I’d still appreciate a continuation :) (09/04/2021)

Nothing against it. I stopped expecting major films with ambitions that would deliver something interesting, original or truly scary from the Conjuring universe, memorable films that could be inducted in the modern hall of fame. And that’s the reason why I quite enjoyed the third entry in the main series. Technically, it’s far more competent than Chaves’s The Curse of La Llorona, it’s not ridiculous and the leading couple remains likeable. The opening exorcism and the scenes with the fat man from the morgue are even excellent, but it’s a pity they don’t use the main villain enough. I could give it three stars, or four, I don’t care. But whatever, it’s four. (06/10/2021)

With its effective subject matter, The Devil Made Me Do It freshens up the franchise, taking it in the right direction. It starts out as an ambitious “whodunit” with mysterious question marks and a search for connections between two events, with a third event gradually coming into play. However, in the final build-up of the story, Chaves doesn’t quite have the directorial skill to handle the interconnection of the settings and their characters, and the ideas slide into genre mediocrity. Scenes that could have been powerful moments for the whole franchise (Ed’s first attack on Lorraine) are told in passing at the expense of focusing on the details in the “secondary storyline" with the young convict. And the epilogue is outright kitsch. (09/24/2021)