With lockdown having prevented me from getting my horror movie fix at the cinema, I was extremely excited to sit down and watch the new edition of The Conjuring Universe.
Written by David Leslie Johnson, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is based on both the trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, and the book The Devil in Connecticut by Gerald Brittle. After a confused and bloodied Arne (Ruairi O’Connor) is found walking the street, he is accused of murder. However, he claims he was under demonic possession. The film follows Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) in their journey to try and prove Arne’s innocence, and includes some heart-warming scenes while diving into their relationship.
I have been a massive fan of The Conjuring Universe, but could not help leaving the cinema feeling very underwhelmed. The reason I love this franchise is due to its ability to still leave me scared and in suspense once I leave the viewing. There have always been signature frightening scenes that make me want to hide under the covers at night- from the Nun running out from a painting, to Annabelle growing into a woman to run through the door. A horror film is meant to leave you analysing all the dark shadows in your room, and this film did not.
However, I must praise the director, Michael Chaves, for not including jump scares in places that were predictable. There were many moments in the film where I thought there was going to be a jump scare, but then there wasn’t. This built the suspense and made the film more exciting to watch. Despite the film being packed with loads of scenes that made me jump and want to cover my eyes, once the film was over, they were all quite forgettable.
As always, the acting from Farmiga and Wilson must be praised. Their portrayal of the characters makes the film so much more vibrant. Not to mention O’Connor’s performance, whose acting was simply incredible. He captured the emotions and experiences of Arne so well, and makes the audience really care about him as a character.
The film left me feeling a lot of mixed emotions. Although the plot was well planned, with lots of twists and turns to keep me engaged, certain scenes came across as rather comical- for any future directors of horror films that may be reading this article, please stop creating cliché horror scenes in morgues.
I would recommend this film, despite it not being as good as some of the other films in the Conjuring Universe, and as a first film back in the cinema it was worth the wait.
3 stars