Originally Posted by Irishman12
THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT

Ed and Lorraine Warren are back for another paranormal adventure from their case files. This takes place during 1981 in Connecticut and involves the exorcisms of both David Glatzel and Arne Johnson. The film opens up with the exorcism of 8-year-old David and at first, I figured this would be another short story opener like the two previous films before transitioning towards a new case. However, the demon who's possessing David moves into Arne, who then early in the film commits murder and is the first person (in this country anyway) to use demonic possession as a defense during his manslaughter trial. When I first heard this was going to be about exorcisms and demonic possessions, I wasn't exactly thrilled as I'm not a fan of the subgenre (and yes, that includes THE EXORCIST as well). The first film was fantastic, the second was a worthy follow up, and this unfortunately is the worst of the bunch. James Wan's tension, suspense building, and overall touch are sorely lacking. This is the first film in the trilogy that delves deep into Lorraine's clairvoyance gift as it's used in passing during the first 2 installments; however, here it's a major theme, which was one of the issues I had with the film, bouncing back-and-forth from vision to realty. Not as many scares either as there aren't characters stumbling around in the dark, seeking out a spirit who's ready to scare the crap out of them and the audience. I do give the studio credit for trying to go in a new direction, rather than continuing to churn out the same old haunted house motif, but this entry falls flat. The previous 2 films have been criticized for the portrayal of the Warren's and how much they actually had a hand in these cases, so who knows how much of this installment is true? Although I do enjoy Patrick Wilson's and Vera Farmiga's performances as these characters, this was a messy, disappointment film for the franchise. I'd be up for another one of their adventures, hoping they could end things on a higher note than this. 5.5/10


Watched it on my flight home. What a mess of a movie. I thought the first one was rather good, but then they just lost it. The Warrens were full of it in reality, but it's perfect fodder for Hollywood and excellent entertainment for people who get a kick out of the genre. Sadly, they didn't deliver this time around.

But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way
Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away