The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It
The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It MA15+
In 1981, demonologist Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren successfully rid a young boy of a demon’s spirit. Unfortunately, the boy’s older brother Arne Johnson welcomes it instead, and wackiness ensues!
The Conjuring Universe is now quite vast, including spin-offs, prequels and sequels of their various characters and demonic objects. With lead Patrick Wilson also involved in the Insidious universe as well, there is a collective of current spooky movies which harken back to the 70’s and 80’s horror genre such as The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby and The Amityville Horror.
This latest effort veers away from the haunted-house formula of the previous entries and instead concentrates on the first real-life court case that offered the defence of demonic possession, riffing off of the excellent The Trial of Emily Rose in the process. The Warrens race against time to save a young man’s life both from a court system that wants to execute him, and from occultists that have placed a curse on him.
Shot darkly, with a menacing, spooky atmosphere, The Conjuring 3 beautifully encapsulates the classic haunting movies of the past. A stronger motive from our antagonist is however needed for a stronger thematic punch.
As the Warrens have plenty of tales to tell, bring on part 4! Grab some friends, drinks and food and head to Limelight’s XD comfy recliners on a cold, wintery night for full effect! 4 Demons out of 5.
Luke McWilliams, themovieclub.net
