The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It Movie Review

 

The Conjuring franchise has certainly been one of the better modern horror franchises. When the first film released all the way back in 2013 with director James Wan at the helm, it was a breathe of fresh air and still is amongst the finest mainstream horror films released in the past 10-15 years. It was genuinely terrifying, but also had characters you can care and fear for.  The sequel was also surprisingly great and certainly one of the better horror sequels out there. As for this new sequel though that is now released both in theaters and on HBO Max, I've been a bit more skeptical about it as it's the first Conjuring film not to be directed by Wan, and also the lack of marketing from Warner Brothers themselves gave me the sense that they must have not had a lot of confidence in this one. Much to my surprise though, while The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It can't stack up to the sheer terror of the previous two installments, there's enough solid scares and performances to make for a fun time at the movies.

The beating heart and emotional weight of The Conjuring films has always been Patrick Wilson & Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren. That's the same case with this new film, as they are ultimately the key holding everything together. Individually, the two are already terrific actors, but together in these films they especially carry such a natural and wholesome chemistry on screen with one another that it makes them one of the strongest on-screen deception of a healthy marriage I've seen in recent memory. You care so much about these two characters and the moving bond they share just gives these films such a nice heart that so many other horror films lack these days. Some of the new cast additions from Ruairi O'Connor and Sarah Catherine Hook are very solid as well. It was fun seeing Shannon Kook return as Drew too. Michael Chaves is in the director's chair this time around, and one thing for sure is that his work here is a big improvement over his feature film, The Curse of La Llorona (a pretty terrible spin-off of The Conjuring universe released a few years back). Chaves still can't quite make up for the loss of Wan in the chair, but this is still definitely a well shot sequel with a creepy atmosphere and solid tension. Both the opening sequence and the finale in particular have some solid scares. 

There are definitely elements holding this installment back from reaching the great heights of the first two films though. As I've already pointed out, Chaves work here is very commendable, but he's no James Wan. The film just lacks the consistently unnerving suspense and impactful scares that made those previous films such special horror films in the first place. Yes, those films had their fair share of jump scares, but Wan definitely made me work in the films favor and so many of them would actually stick with me well after the film was over. The jump scares here aren't bad, there's definitely some good ones, but they aren't the kind of ones that really stayed with me since after seeing the film. The story here is just not quite as engrossing, but I will at least give it props for at least trying to do something a little different and not be a complete uninspired retread of the first two. In a way, this film almost presents itself as a better mystery film. I liked both O'Connor & Hook in their roles here, but I wish the characters were fleshed out just a little better, as the Warren's part in the story is definitely far more engaging.

Nevertheless, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It I feel is much better than it had right being. The absence of James Wan in the director's chair is definitely felt, but with the heartfelt performances from both Vera Farmiga & Patrick Wilson and some solid thrills, I think these quality elements help merely elevate this sequel being just another run of the mil studio horror film. It's the weakest of the main Conjuring films and could've been better overall for sure, but when you add in the numerous of spin-offs we've had in the Conjuring cinematic universe (such as the Annabelle films for example), I think this still definitely marks one of the better entries of the franchise. If you're a fan of the franchise, I think it's worth a night at the movie theater or just streaming from the comfort of your home on the HBO Max app.

Final Grade: B  

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