Movie Review: The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do it

6/10

Same tropes and narrative structure as the first two Conjuring films, but with some effective jump scares and great performances.

If you’re considering watching the third Conjuring film, odds are that you’ve seen the first two. Odds are you also know what to expect, and rest assured the third film will deliver few surprises. Sometimes, though, a repetition of what worked in previous installments isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

As in most franchises, the main character motivations are well established by the third installment of a series. In Fast and Furious, for example, it’s made abundantly clear in each installment that Dom is motivated purely by family. In The Conjuring, the Warrens are motivated by saving vulnerable souls from the sinister forces that aim to disrupt God’s work. You know they’ll have to reluctantly perform an exorcism or two, and you know the Annabelle doll will make an occasional cameo.

The first two Conjuring films succeeded partly from director James Wan’s expertise in creating jump scares, and partly because the performances from Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the Warrens are well-done and believable. The two have legitimate on-screen chemistry, and the story keeps us hooked because of their unique occupation as exorcists/demon hunters, as well as their endearing marriage.

The third Conjuring film is mostly more of the same, but most of the elements that made the first two films successful remain. One can’t help but feel an emotional pull when one or both of the Warrens are in danger due to their quirky and believable relationship and affection for each other.

The Devil Made Me Do It does incorporate more procedural elements to the story as the Warrens investigate the forces behind a young murderer’s suspected demonic possession. Having a human behind the devilry adds a bit more of a physical threat that one would expect in detective film. However, I can’t say the procedural elements succeed in elevating the film above previous installments. They are just barely engaging enough to hold our attention between what we really want: the jump scares.

The scares are more or less created with the same formula: characters wander into and under places they shouldn’t, and we anticipate a terrible consequence, which tends to jump out at us suddenly. That said, they mostly work.

Don’t go into Conjuring 3 expecting a revolutionary horror film. However, it’s a fun diversion for the viewer looking to recapture the same tension and fun of the first two films.