If you are not familiar with The Conjuring franchise, it revolves around Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga respectively) who are based on real people and their case files that investigated the paranormal and possessions. This case revolves around a real case that occurred in 1981 when Arne Johnson (Played by Ruairi O’Connor) murders an individual and the Warrens are brought in to prove that he was under demonic possession during the murder. The movie starts prior earlier in the year when Arne’s little brother is the one possessed and the Warren’s trying to exorcise the demon out of the boy until Arne sacrifices himself to take the possession from his brother which will catch up with him shortly after. I have never been a fan of The Conjuring universe as they now call it, though the legal aspect to me sets the tone different to where I was a little more invested than just the jump-scared-filled paranormal encounters. Wilson and Farmiga as with the other films have wonderful chemistry and the scenes where they are together discussing the case are the ones that keep me connected to the movie, as much as I do no like this franchise, I could just watch these two walk around all day together bouncing stories off each other. Fans of the franchise might be thrown a little by the shake-up in formula having this one grounded as a legal thriller. I did find this one also incredibly predictable, partly because as the audience we know more than the Warren’s do and while I did not know all the details I had heard of “The Devil Made Me Do It” case growing up in the ’80s, I knew the outcome for the kid just not how the events to that judgment played out. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is one that I am okay with it coming out on HBO Max day and date as the theatrical release, I do not feel I missed anything by watching this in theaters and to me was the weaker of the recent Conjuring and its’ spin-offs. ***
