8 Years after the series commenced, and 5 years since the last mainline entry…and multiple MULTIPLE spin offs and sequels that were 'alright', but didnt properly cut the mustard for me personally. The series seems to return to some form of 'form' with 'The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made me Do It'. a film that actually surprised me that it was actually quite a bit better than i'd expected.
The film continues to follow the Warrens as the explore and document the occult and supernatural. Its 1981, and the film opens with them taking part in an exorcism of a little boy who is seemingly possessed by a demon. However; during the exorcism, Ed suffers a bad heart attack and the demon possessing the boy, seemingly jumps into the boys sisters boyfriend 'Arnie'.
Ed's rushed to the hospital, and everyone assumes, since things have stopped flying around and the kids alright, that the exorcism was a success. But a short time later, Arnie is picked up on the roadside covered in blood after murdering the owner of a local kennel. Though; its quite quickly apparent that the demon is FAR from exorcised, and that something MUCH more sinister is going on than just your bog standard possession.
With Ed on a strictly 'take it easy' instruction from the hospital, The Warrens are summoned to the prison, where Arnie explains that he believes the demon has possessed him and killed, asking Ed and Lorraine to help them prove that 'the Devil made him do it.' the court, solicitors and the police are MORE than skeptical. But Ed and Lorraine believe Arnies story, Putting the Warrens on an journey to trace how the demon possessed the family in the first place…and down an even darker pathway of satanic rituals, witchcraft and a direct attack on the Warrens that threatens to take the pair out for good.
And, this is probably the most solid work that 'The Conjuring' franchise has offered since its initial entry. I'll be honest, after 6 films of 'Ghost/demon possesses someone and everyone gets spooked for 2 hours' I was starting to get fatigued. By introducing cults, witchcraft and other forms of possession into the mix, and shifting the action away from a single entity possessing a household and terrorising a family, it gives this entry and great refresh to explore the characters and scenarios in a way that the series hasnt really done up until this point.
Across the board, I have very little to complain about, the pacing moves at a reasonable clip, the act structures are clearly in place and have seamless transitions to flow between them. the characters have a decent complexity and arc to help develop them, the script itself is largely serious but contrasts very dark moments with some genuinely funny edits and tonal changes that help create a sense of variety across the runtime. Which is something I can say this film does quite a bit better than the first entry.
There are a few moments where things slow down a little bit, but these are minor quibbles, and the film ends about as strongly as it could do given the plotting. All in all it feels like they really learned from their mistakes while making the spin offs and older sequels and really tried to bake in fixes that do help to keep the thing boiant.
Outside of that? the directions pretty solid, maybe not as adventurous as it could have been, but definitely a step up compared to all other previous entries. Its a studio picture, so the basics are a given, but here it really does try to create a stylish and engaging output that I felt was satisfying to watch.
Same goes for the cine, which is well composed, and looks equally stylish and brings a good creative flare to proceedings. the edit is razor sharp, and really elevates the footage to the next level. I feel had this bit just been 'Competent' the rest of the film would have badly suffered for it. But I have to say, I think this really is a solid piece of work, that definitely bumps things up in my opinion.
The performances are a bit of a mixed bag, the supporting cast I personally thought were a bit flat and didnt quite come across as believable. I would have liked to have seen a bit more depth. but it just never quite gets there for me. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are slowly on their was to flandarization as Ed and Lorraine Warren, but they are still the strongest performers, and get the widest range to work with in this, which they do very well. I feel here, their relationship is portrayed the most genuinely of the trilogy, after the first film felt a bit too 'hallmark-y' and the second one felt WAY too heavy on the 'WE LOVE EACH OTHER!!!' vibes. Here, it still gets a bit schmaltzy at times…but it feels more realistic, especially when dealing with Eds heart attack and the fallout that comes with that.
And the soundtrack? is the same as it always has been, ambient drone and spooky orchestral tracks intercut with jukebox hits of 1980/1981. Its a good mix and blend here that helps keep things interesting, well used for the most part, but still feeling a tad generic to me.
The 3rd 'Conjuring' film left me overall pleasently surprised. I liked the pivot away from the usual 'haunted house' efforts. and across the board it felt like improvements had been made to correct issues the franchise has been struggling with for years. However; while it IS a lot of big improvements across the board, some pacing issues, dialogue choices and performance choices did hold it back from being an out and out success for me. I still dont believe these films *need* to be 2 hours long. and had this one been 10-15 minutes shorter, i'd have probably been a LOT happier.
Nevertheless, I can happily recommend this one, whether you've seen any of the other 'Conjuring' films or otherwise…this is probably the best entry since the first one. and is the first one I can definitely say I'd want to watch again without being prompted to. So yeah! I'd say, check it out.
source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/the-conjuring-the-devil-made-me-do-it/
