The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It might break the formula a bit but I found myself a little disconnected and the primary saving grace is once again with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, both still great together and gives the film the necessary heart.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
(2021)
Genre(s): Horror, Supernatural
Warner Bros. | R – 112 min. – $44.98 | August 24, 2021
Date Published: 08/24/2021 | Author: The Movieman
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Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
Note: The screen captures were taken from the included Blu-ray disc.
THE MOVIE — 3¼/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (PATRICK WILSON, VERA FARMIGA) take on one of the most sensational cases of their careers after a cop stumbles upon a dazed and bloodied young man (RUAIRI O’CONNOR) walking down the road. Accused of murder, the suspect claims demonic possession as his defense, forcing the Warrens into a supernatural inquiry unlike anything they’ve ever seen before.
Quick Hit Review: While I haven’t been much of a fan of the spin-offs (Annabelle, The Nun, etc), I have genuinely enjoyed both Conjuring movies, mostly due to James Wan’s skillful direction and the performances from Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, giving so much warmth and compassion to real life characters who, at least in my opinion, probably weren’t as saints as portrayed in these movies. But that’s neither here nor there. This latest, third film entitled The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It does stray a bit from the formula of the first two where instead of an opening that is detached from the main plot, a prologue if you will, this one finds the Warrens taking on a demon possessing a young boy which, after the demon inhabits a man (the child’s sister’s boyfriend), he eventually begins experiencing violent tendencies before being arrested for murder, after which the Warrens, with some reluctance following a health scare for Ed, help mount a defense of demonic possession. Now this aspect from what I can tell is true, the rest that happens in this movie, namely a sorceress of sorts is the one who summoned the demon. It doesn’t quite connect very well, especially compared with the first two films.
This go around, with James Wan busy with other projects, takes on a strictly producer credit with also contributing to the story. Stepping in to the director’s chair is Michael Chaves, whose debut was the poorly made The Curse of La Llorona, the fifth of the spin-offs, and probably the loosest though does see the return of a character from I believe Annabelle. Not entirely sure why Chaves was chosen though maybe he kept a tight schedule and budget. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2½/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover and inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. The Occultist (4:03) — Short featurette on the villain in this entry in the series. Includes interviews with Director Michael Chaves, Producer James Wan and Actors Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga amongst others. By Reason of Demonic Possession (5:24) examines the real life aspect of the story and interviews with the real people involved including Arne Johnson. Exorcism of Fear (5:47) takes a look at the exorcism sequence in the opening. DC Horror Presents: The Conjuring: The Lover #1 (12:51) — In the DC Comics horror line, this is a motion comic. |
4K VIDEO – 4½/5, BLU-RAY VIDEO – 4½/5 |
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Warner Bros. releases The Conjuring 3 onto 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray, presented in the original 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and given 2160p and 1080p high-definition transfers, respectively. For the most part the movie looks nice in both formats. Now, this is a dark looking movie from beginning to end, whether it’s for daylight or nighttime scenes. Detail is decent enough but you’re not going to get any bright or rich colors. However on the plus side, I didn’t notice any major instances of artifacts, aliasing or other flaws. Doing a quick comparison with the Blu-ray, I didn’t notice a significant difference, perhaps the 4K is smoother in the motions and the grain is a bit finer, otherwise you’d be perfectly fine watching the Blu-ray if you don’t own a 4K player yet. |
AUDIO – 5/5 |
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Both of the discs come with a robust and strong Dolby Atmos track. One of the biggest pluses with the Conjuring movies is with the sound design and score. Here, both are immense and immersive, the haunting score with an extra boost courtesy of the LFE channel and ambient or off-screen noises permeating the front and rear channels with the center speaker being relegated for dialogue or on-screen action. While the movie may not impress some, this Atmos track is excellent. |
OVERALL — 3½/5 |
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The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It might break the formula a bit but I found myself a little disconnected and the primary saving grace is once again with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, both still great together and gives the film the necessary heart. The film itself isn’t all bad and probably worthy of a rental, but it’s a decent step down from the previous entries, yet still above the spin-offs. |