After a botched exorcism of a little boy, the spirit of a demon goes into his older brother. A few days later, he kills somebody while under the influence of the demon. He’s arrested for murder and it’s up to the paranormal investigating team of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) to prove he’s not guilty by reason of demonic possession.
The Conjuring Cinematic Universe is spotty at best. There have been a couple of good entries, but the pendulum of quality swings wildly into the realm of cinematic shit just as often. I knew I was in trouble when I saw this one was directed by Michael Chaves, who also helmed one of the worst Conjuring spin-offs, The Curse of La Llorona.
The opening exorcism scene is laughable. From the visual rip-offs of the Friedkin classic, to the cheesy looking body contortions, it’s pretty pathetic in just about every regard. It only gets worse from there.
This is also one of those movies where everyone speaks in hushed tones, so you have to keep turning up the volume on your TV to hear what they’re saying. Then… BAM! There’s a loud noise or a sting on the soundtrack and it about blows out your goddamned speakers. (Speaking of which, I’m glad I was able to see this streaming at home on HBO Max instead of venturing out into the theaters.)
For all the predictable jump scares, the only jump cut that works is a (intentionally) humorous one in which another one of the Conjure-Verse’s characters gets namechecked. Other than that, it’s pretty much a mess. Ultimately, it’s nothing more than a bunch of assorted ideas that never gel, including moments that rip off Amityville 2, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4, and The Shining.
It might’ve been somewhat reasonable at ninety minutes, but since it clocks in at nearly two hours, it’s kind of a chore to sit through. (Again, thanks to being home, I could pause it and make myself a sandwich or something whenever things got dull.) It doesn’t help when much of the movie is so repetitive as many scenes boil down to Wilson standing around with a look on his face like he has an ice cream headache while Farmiga wanders off on a psychic field trip through a crime scene.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is not out-and-out awful like Annabelle, or as relentlessly dull as La Llorona. I guess the presence of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga alone guaranteed it wouldn’t be a total washout. Even though this one isn’t very good, I kind of like seeing them growing old together and solving supernatural mysteries and shit, even if they look like they’re pretty much going through the motions this time around.
The Conjuring Universe Scorecard:
The Conjuring: ***
Annabelle Comes Home: ***
Annabelle: Creation: ** ½
The Conjuring 2: **
The Nun: **
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It: * ½
The Curse of La Llorona: *
Annabelle: ½ *
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