THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT (2021) – Nothing “real” about this supposedly true story of demonic possession

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, starts off by claiming that the film is based on a true story. Making such a claim for a horror movie especially for a horror franchise is a bold statement. Either it is meant as a joke or it is telling us that what we are about to witness is going to be “real”. Unfortunately it turns out to be neither. When I see a “based on a true story” claim, my mind automatically begins to question the validity of that claim every time something that feels exaggerated or goes overboard with the horror takes place. The only exceptions for such scenes under such a context is under the condition the scene is depicting a nightmare or hallucination.

In The Devil Made Me Do It, there are plenty of standard horror movie stuff like corpses that comes alive and attacks its victims, a possessed water bed, extreme contortions during exorcism scenes, satanic worshipping involving supernatural powers, and many more incredible situations that are horror movie staples. Each time this happens, it makes we doubt the authenticity of the true story claim and I have to admit that this was distracting. Even as a straight forward horror entry to the genre, the film does not stand out in any particular way. The quality of the acting, and production values are good but not outstanding. The scares seem familiar and although, suspenseful at times, just felt too staged.

I have to confess that I have not really seen a single one of the Conjuring movies and hence am not in any position to compare this with the rest of the series. However, I can tell that lead actors Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga seem very comfortable in their roles as the Warrens, and came across as veterans in their fields of horror research convincingly. As far as I can see, director Michael Chaves who is no stranger to horror movies having directed The Curse of La Llorona, failed to present anything new to the genre. It feels so slick and by the numbers, almost like it was on auto pilot. Perhaps if James Wan who was the director of the original The Conjuring took the helm, this may have been more creatively different.

The end credits offered a peek into the actual event by sharing snippets of the actual exorcism performed on the young boy that was showed at the beginning of the movie, as well as some photos of the real people. This provided glimpse as to what really happened in real life. Something that the movie failed to deliver in its entire running time of almost two hours. I am giving this movie a generous two stars in solely in recognition of its production values and for its generic entertainment value.