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The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It is the latest entry into the Conjuring movie universe, which features not only the Conjuring and Insidious series – both of which I have seen, but also the Annabelle series, which I haven’t (no particular reason for that, but they’ve just dropped off my radar at the time of release).
It’s July 18th, 1981, and Ed ((Patrick Wilson – Midway) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga – Godzilla: King of the Monsters 3D) are called to check out the exorcism of David Glatzel, age 8. I watched this late at night, had the voulme loud and jumped out of my skin, early on when it all started kicking off.
For reasons which will become clear, the demon passes to Arne Johnson (Ruairi O’Connor), and led to the Warrens’ biggest case yet, since these films are based on real life situations. How he’ll explain it to girlfriend Debbie (Sarah Catherine Hook) is anyone’s guess, though.
There’s going to be a murder, but will a plea of being under the influence of demonic possession cut it with the law? Based on the madness we see – which obviously I won’t detail here, all I can say is that to me, it appears justified, but in the cold light of day, and when reality kicks in, is it so easily explained?
Well, as Ed Warren says, if a court acknowledges the existence of God every time someone swears on the Bible, surely they should do the same for the devil? That’s a fair argument.
For me, the first two Conjuring movies in the series were fairly disappointing, so I didn’t hold out much hope for this threequel, but I was massively surprised with a kick-ass opening with 5.1 sound to give your home cinema equipment as massive workout!
Yes, this film has jump scares, but thanks to misdirection, they’re not always ones I was expecting, and it has a number of lingering shots as you’d left wondering what the reveal will be.
However, while the film starts brilliantly, the longer it goes on, the more it throws random, nonsensical supernatural elements at the screen, which don’t seem to connect with each other, other than telling us a curse needs to be broken. Or, perhaps I just didn’t understand it. That’s always a possibility 😉
What will be a certainty, is that it’ll make a fortune again – this time as a mix of box office receipts (as cinemas are opening again) and streaming subscriptions – and The Conjuring 4 will be assured. These films are quite the moneyspinner, since in the pre-streaming days, The Conjuring 2 – for example – took $320m worldwide against a $40m budget, so they’re quids in!
Regarding what follows after the opening exorcism, I’d love to know just how much was real, and how much was James Wan‘s usual mad, fantasy nonsense. I will look that up.
As an aside, for some musical interludes, Blondie’s second of three No.1 hits in 1980, Call Me, features, as does Elvis Presley’s Suspicious Minds. I watched The Conjuring 3, three days after Army of the Dead, where it also pops up.
Also, as the credits begin, there’s a brief clip of the Warrens, as well as actual audio recording of the exorcism, plus press clippings, which is interesting to check out. Let’s just hope if you do see this in a cinema, it’s not one of those who ramp up the lights as soon as the credits begin (Vue Cinemas, I’m looking at you!)
The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It is released in cinemas on Wednesday May 26th, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD.
However, you can buy the 6-film The Conjuring Universe on Blu-ray, featuring the two Conjuring films, the three Annabelle movies, and The Nun. It’s also available on Region 1 DVD.
Check out the trailer below:
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 112 minutes
Release date: May 26th 2021
Studio: Warner Bros
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Rating: 6/10
Director: Michael Chaves
Producers: Peter Safran, James Wan
Screenplay: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick
Story: James Wan, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick
Music: Joseph Bishara
Cast:
Ed Warren: Patrick Wilson
Lorraine Warren: Vera Farmiga
Arne Cheyenne Johnson: Ruairi O’Connor
Debbie Glatzel: Sarah Catherine Hook
David Glatzel: Julian Hilliard
Kastner: John Noble
The Occultist: Eugenie Bondurant
Drew: Shannon Kook
Bruno: Ronnie Gene Blevins
Sergeant Clay: Keith Arthur Bolden
Father Gordon: Steve Coulter
Father Newman: Vince Pisani
Jessica: Ingrid Bisu
Katie: Andrea Andrade
Meryl: Ashley LeConte Campbell
Judy Warren: Sterling Jerins
Carl Glatzel: Paul Wilson
Judy Glatzel: Charlene Amoia
Young Lorraine: Megan Ashley Brown
Young Ed: Mitchell Hoog
Infirmary Patient: Davis Osborne
Doctor: Nick Massouh
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.