THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT

THE SPOILERING

Well, it's a shame. I've really enjoyed the Conjureverse thus far - yes, even The Nun - but sad to say it feels like it's running out of steam now. Even as a straightforward Boo! machine with scary faces looming out of the half-light, this third Conjuring instalment feels very much by rote, very average, very straight-to-streaming, and if I'd had popcorn it would have remained defiantly unjolted. And last night I slept entirely untroubled in a totally dark room: a far cry from having the lights on all night after the first Insidious.

Things do get off to a lively start with a dining-table exorcism of a young boy (and a couple of shots of the priest arriving that don't so much echo The Exorcist as bellow it through a bullhorn at you) with much shouting, flying objects and impossible contortions and twisted limbs. Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga) believe the demon has gone. But it's soon clear that the demon has found another host and soon the curse will start again. Are there other cases that will lead them to the source? What's with the creepy animal skull under the house?

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It isn't as creepy and as scary as it should be given that it's supposedly inspired by a true account (which frankly I don't believe based on the evidence here) of demonic possession inspiring its cursed victims to murder and suicide - the latter subjected to an undetectable trim by the BBFC in order to avoid an 18 certificate. The voyages into The Further in the Insidious films were always the least frightening sequences and never as coldly effective as those in the real world, and it's a similar case here with scenes using the psychic connection that allows Lorraine to remotely journey into The Occultist's lair or telepathically witness an earlier murder. They're visually striking, but not actually scary; by contrast the most effective moment is a simple one where Lorraine Warren suddenly feels that she doesn't want to go into that basement. The discovery of the skull in the crawlspace works better because it's of this world rather than a psychic vision, and because it's a prime example of one of the bases of horror: something that doesn't belong.

It's also possibly less effective because - spoiler alert - they're not vanquishing demons or supernatural entities this time, but the twisted individual who summoned them, who as a mortal human being is physically vulnerable (unlike, say, the Annabelle doll which is briefly glimpsed in its sealed case). It still has nice moments, it's solidly put together, the period design (1981) is fine without drawing attention to itself, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. But it doesn't have nearly as much effect as it should have and it was no longer at the forefront of my mind by the time I'd crossed the cinema car park. And for a Conjuring movie, given the first two in particular and the spinoffs as well (even The Curse Of La Llorona, which was directed by this film's Michael Chaves), it's really not enough. It's watchable enough but disappointing considering its heritage.

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