The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is, unfortunately, one of those sequels that falter despite a rich heritage and a capable cast. James Wan made The Conjuring series a leading name in horror, despite the simplicity and commonality of their haunted house mysteries. This is the first film without Wan’s involvement, and director Michael Chaves (who debuted with The Curse of La Llorona) doesn’t quite manage to make a smooth transition.
The film begins with a harrowing exorcism attended by Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) that goes horribly wrong when a demon flees from a child to his older brother, Arne (Ruairi O’Connor). Arne soon murders his landlord when he mistakes him for a demon, and his attorney later decides to plead a case of demonic possession, which the Warrens try to prove with their investigation. They investigate similar murders in the area and soon they discover that a malevolent person is behind the killings.
Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson continue to bring a soft, sensitive touch to their portrayal of the Warrens. These middle-aged heroes play against the type of younger protagonists. While previous films had stronger narrative arcs for them, this time they don’t have as much to play off against. There is the lingering danger of Ed having another heart attack, but it get upended in the third act.
The jump scares don’t always work here. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It performs the cardinal sin of horror movies: it becomes boring. Though, the introduction of the new antagonist does spice up things, although the ending is more soapy and melodramatic than one would expect from the franchise. The first act of the film is also a bit stilted, as it focuses on Arne and how his visions slowly drive him mad.
That’s not to say The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is entirely bad. There are some good scares, such as a flashback where David, the little boy, first encounters the demon in a waterbed.
However, the slow burn nature of the first two movies is done away for a more generic, procedural focus.
The Conjuring universe is now eight films long and a lot of it just doesn’t hit the mark. Sure, the Annabelle trilogy was decent, but then there was The Nun and Curse of La Llorona. Let’s hope we see more well-crafted and inspired stories from this universe instead of bland cash grabs.