Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren take on one of the most sensational cases of their careers after a cop stumbles upon a dazed and bloodied young man walking down the road. Accused of murder, the suspect claims demonic possession as his defense, forcing the Warrens into a supernatural inquiry, unlike anything they’ve ever seen before.
I’ve been watching horror films since I was ten years old and while slasher movies can sometimes be fun, I much prefer pictures that deal with the supernatural. In them, there is no reliance on blood and gore and body parts, instead, the filmmakers must try to conjure up (pun intended) an intriguing narrative and compelling demons and/or spirits, in order to keep the audience terrified and glued to their seats.
“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” does exactly that and while the film keeps the story fresh and manages to deviate from the same old monsters and demons we’ve seen before, it offers a new take on the conventional “possession” tropes we have become accustomed to within the confines of the Conjuring universe by introducing witchcraft, and while this concept is nothing new to the horror genre, it is a welcome addition to a franchise that relies solely on spiritual and demonic possession.
As the story begins, Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) are assisting their old friend, Father Gordon (Steve Coulter) with the exorcism of 8-year-old David Glatzel (Julian Hilliard), a young boy who has been displaying symptoms of demonic possession ever since he and his family moved into their new house. When the exorcism takes a decidedly nasty turn and young David’s body begins to contort violently, accompanied by loud demonic screams, family friend Arne Johnson (Ruairi O’Connor) and fiancé to David’s older sister Debbie (Sarah Catherine Hook), intercedes and demands the spirit enter him instead. Shortly after, David’s body returns to normal and everything quietens down until Ed drops onto the floor unconscious from an apparent heart attack.
While Ed recovers in the hospital with Lorraine by his side, David, his family, and Arne proceed to get on with their lives, that is until Arne stabs his and Debbie’s landlord, Bruno Sauls (Ronnie Gene Blevins), to death. With Arne now in jail, Debbie reaches out to Ed, now recovering from his heart attack, and Lorraine, and tells them that leading up to Arne’s attack on Bruno, he wasn’t acting like himself. Ed and Lorraine visit Arne in prison and have him read from the bible, whilst surrounding him with religious artifacts and come to the conclusion that if he were possessed by a demon or spirit, it would have reacted ferociously to the bible and the religious antiquities.
They decide to go back to the Glatzel house to see if they can unearth any clues as to how and why David’s possession initially began, and why it might have transferred to Arne. While searching under the house, Lorraine discovers a witch’s totem, a device used by witches to summon demons with the intent of possessing people, and realizes that the family is cursed. Ed and Lorraine send out photos of the totem to all nearby police departments in the hopes that they might be familiar with it and they hear back from Sergeant Clay (Keith Arthur Bolden), a cop who works for the Danvers Police Department. He informs them that two local girls disappeared and that one of them was found murdered, stabbed repeatedly, while the body of the other girl was never recovered. A totem was also found near the dead girl’s body.
Ed and Lorraine accompany Sergeant Clay to the location where the young girl’s body was found and she is able to initiate a vision of what transpired and ascertains that one of the girls was under demonic possession when she stabbed the other. She then ran away from the scene of the crime and fell to her death from a nearby cliff. The police recover the girl’s body but Lorraine continues to receive visions of a witch’s altar and is able to assume the point of view of the person responsible for the curse. At the behest of Father Gordon, they reach out to Father Kastner (John Noble), a former priest who previously dealt with the Disciples of the Ram, a satanic cult that worships demons and the devil. He informs them that someone intentionally placed the witch totem under the Glatzel house with the sole intent of being able to possess anybody within the home. He also tells them that in order for the curse to be broken, the witch’s altar must be destroyed.
Ed and Lorraine make their way back home after receiving a phone call from Debbie, stating that Arne is not doing well. After unearthing additional information about the curse on the Glatzel family, Ed and Lorraine determine that in order for the curse to be successful, three lives must be taken. With Bruno already dead, Lorraine travels back to Kastner to figure out how to break the curse to prevent any further deaths but when she reaches his house, he reveals a secret from his past, one that has haunted him to this very day and one that could be the very cause of everything taking place around them. When they hear footsteps coming from above, he opens a secret door in his study and ushers her inside. She quickly makes her way down into the basement, and there, she discovers the witch’s altar. She remembers that in order to break the curse, the altar must be destroyed but before she has the opportunity to do so, the one responsible for invoking the curse in the first place appears, and a battle between good and evil ensues.
As I stated earlier, “The Devil Made Me Do It” introduces a brand new element into the series, that of witchcraft, and although it could be a deterrent for some die-hard fans, they utilize it in such a way that it manages to stay in sync with everything that has come before. It was a big gamble that in this critic’s opinion, paid off because while its predecessors relied on the same antiquated formula time and time again, changing things up every now and again can be advantageous, for both the filmmakers and fans alike. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are perfect in their respective roles, they have undeniable onscreen chemistry that has carried them through the series thus far, and will hopefully endure should they partake in any future iterations. James Wan passed the directing reins to Michael Chaves, who directed the creepy and effective “The Curse of la Llorona,” which also takes place in the Conjuring universe, and while he does a commendable job here, Wan’s skillful use of the camera, including digital zooms, slow panning shots, and quick jerks of the camera to reveal someone or some thing, and his use of psychological elements over blood and gore, are sorely missing. But hey, this is a “Conjuring” film, and if you are a fan, you will not be disappointed.
Now available on Digital HD and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD August 24th
