The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It adds considerable depths to the Warrens

 

Conjuring 3 adds a considerable amount of depth to the Warrens. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

The main Conjuring franchise (not including The Nun, Annabelle and La Llorona) have always been based on the real life case files of Ed and Lorraine Warren, famed paranormal investigators and self-professed researchers in Demonology. The Conjuring 3 is no different. 

Titled The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, is based on the trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson who was convicted of murder in 1981. 

What's different about this third instalment in the main Conjuring franchise is that this movie strays from over the top creature designs, paranormal scenes and cheap jump scares, and instead focuses more on Lorraine's clairvoyant abilities and Ed's sleuthing skills which adds more depth to both characters, and personally, we liked it very much. 

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return to reprise their roles as Ed and Lorraine Warren respectively. They're also joined by Shannon Kook as Drew Thomas, from the first Conjuring, as the Warrens' tech assistant and videographer. 

They bumped up Lorraine's clairvoyance abilities, but not to the point of it being cheesy. (Image courtesy of hitc.com)

The Conjuring 3 starts out with another Warren case file, the Glatzel family, whose youngest son, David, is possessed by a demonic entity after the family move into their new house in Fairfield, Connecticut. 

The movie then progresses from David's possession to Arne's possession and then to an investigation into witchcraft, all leading to well written twists and turns intending to lead viewers on a systematic goose chase to find the real culprit behind all these events connecting one case file to the next. 

It's a pretty straightforward storyline where one thing leads to another and plays out like an investigative film instead of a horror movie. However, it's still peppered with scenes of the supernatural to keep reminding viewers that sleuthing is only half of it and The Conjuring 3 is still horror movie that deserves to be part of the franchise. 

Conjuring 3 is less about Ed and more about Lorraine and even goes so far as to throw Lorraine a handicap in the form of Ed's heart attack. (Image courtesy of cbr.com)

With every Conjuring franchise instalment, the movie has a very high production quality and the set designs are extremely impressive, especially the witch's altar. Though if you're comparing apples to apples, this movie is basically a Granny Smith to the first movie's Fuji apple, meaning it's a little tart compared to the vibrant sweetness of the first one. 

But enough about apple metaphors, The Conjuring 3, albeit a little different, still clings very closely to the franchise's core concept of the paranormal and the supernatural.

The Conjuring 3 focuses on Lorraine's clairvoyance with Ed mainly in the background and takes it a step further by handicapping the duo with Ed's supernaturally-induced heart attack. 

In previous movies, the spotlight was on Ed most of the time as the only non-ordained demonologist recognised by the Catholic church was an important factor to move the plot forward. This time around, Lorraine takes the spotlight with her gifts and offers a refreshing change of dynamics. 

Compared to the other movies, Conjuring 3 has very little creature designs and jump scares, and relies heavily on an immediate sense of danger, mystery, set locations, moods and soundtrack to set the overall tone. 

There were also some good scenes that portray the Warren's relationship with each other, their calibre and experience in the world of the supernatural as well as their credibility.


A beautiful homage to The Exorcist. (Image courtesy of Den of Geek)

All in all, if viewers were expecting jump scares similar to The Conjuring 1 and 2, you'll be highly disappointed. However, the overall movie and plot does make up for it. Despite the third instalment a little slower and not as engaging as the previous two, it does have its merits and we can honestly say it deserves to proudly take its place within the franchise.

Asian Does Horror gives The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It  👻👻👻ghost emojis out of five. Three because it doesn't hold up to the previous Conjuring movies, but it is a decent horror movie. 







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