After stopping an exorcism, the Warrens must help defend a
murderer who claims he was possessed by a demon that made him kill. HORROR
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The Conjuring: The Devil
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The Conjuring has been a consistently good series of films since 2013, with James Wan behind the camera guiding the horror to the right place. Without him, the various spin-offs have faltered in one way or another, never quite living up to the quality of those first two films. The worst of those has easily been The Curse of La Llorona, and yet somehow Wan saw fit to bestow that film's director, Michael Chaves, with the reins to the most anticipated entry in this franchise, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. I don't know if it's inexperience, too long a wait, or a story that really stretches the concept of "Based on a true story" as far as it can stretch, but this third film just isn't up to snuff.
We open with demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren in the midst of performing an exorcism on a young boy. The demon is persistent, and overpowers the Warrens. A neighbor boy, Arne Johnson (O'Connor) summons the demon into his own body to save the boy. Only Ed sees this, but the heart attack it gives him takes precedent at the time. Arne Johnson, now possessed, goes on to commit a brutal murder and pleads not guilty by means of demonic possession. That's the extent of the actual story that's in this film. The rest is an intriguing hunt for a Satanist who is cursing people by summoning this demon, meaning that this is the only time we actually get a "conjuring" in this franchise (haha). Most of this film is fairly dull and doesn't match the intensity and staying power of the first two films, and I think that's owed to a change in leadership above all else. After five years and a pandemic delay, my expectations were pretty damn high for this film. Apart from the dead fat guy, I wasn't all that scared. I was hoping for some courtroom action, considering this was the case that got "demonic possession" entered into a court of law, but we get nothing. A gruff, ex-priest John Noble is entirely wasted and the villain is so generic and forgettable that she doesn't even have a name. I'm giving it bonus points for that dead fat guy and for Wilson and Farmiga's unwavering performances. But this isn't a throwaway spin-off, Chaves. This is the big time. If you're gonna sit in the big chair, you gotta prove you deserve to be there. |
It’s been quite a long wait for this third installment. And, shockingly, not even mainly due to a year-long delay thanks to the pandemic. It mostly had to do with some of the spin-offs being worked on first and finding a new angle after two films set in haunted houses. Now, with this longer wait also came the news that franchise creator and director, James Wan, would be stepping down from the director’s chair for this one. Instead, he would produce and focus his efforts on the four or five other projects he’s attached. In his place, the reins were handed over to The Curse of La Llorona director, Michael Chaves. While I’m not the biggest fan of that particular film, I was more than willing to give him a chance with this supposedly darkest installment in the franchise yet.
I want to start by saying how much I appreciate the marketing not just banking on the whole darkest chapter angle. What I mean by this is instead of doing this to get people interested in seeing this third installment, it is actually quite dark in its story and tone. The Occultist makes for a truly terrifying villain and is a huge reason for the darker tone. Our two leads, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, also continue to excel as the Warrens. Their chemistry is just as strong as ever and they deliver the genuine, honest performances we’ve come to expect from them. Unfortunately, outside of those elements, this film suffers from not being all that engaging. The opening and closing is the franchise at its absolute best and offer tons of terrifying imagery. The problem is everything in between feels generic and doesn't go all that much outside the franchise box. Admittedly, Wan’s directorial touch is missed here. While the villain is scary, the tone is appropriately dark, and our two leads are as magnetic as ever; this film struggles to maintain your interest through most of its runtime. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a solid horror film. But it is also the weakest installment in the main Conjuring films. |