The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

Everyone who's complaining that they're too much story and not enough scares, are you kidding? Story and character is the reason why we care about the stakes-that's where drama, tension and horror comes from. If it was all jump scares and lacking in story (the movie Winchester comes to mind), I guarantee y'all would've been even more disappointed. But if that's your thing, you'll probably be just as entertained by a jack in the box. While remaining faithful to the Conjuring universe, I appreciated that this third movie explored new territory so it wasn't just a repeat. It is a quality addition to the series with good production value, and much more thoughtfully-written than the spin offs. It's a win for what it is considering the impossible task the writer and the director had of pleasing all these harsh fans who couldn't even tell you what they liked about the first two conjuring movies other than "it was scary."

sorry if that's you and I read you for filth; go ahead and downvote my review ;-)

Not hating on the movie and I'm actually glad they moved away from the haunted house formula, injecting a bit of other genres like criminal investigation but even though it's well paced, there's less of those nail bitting moments i love from the series. The cast still deliver the goods and the story, despite having a few weak spots was still engaging, but with far less memorable moments compared to the previous chapters.

As I said, the film doesn't have the same power and unique feel as Wan's 2, but it is a nice continuation in the franchise with an intriguing story that does delve into the crime drama genre along with giving us the scares we come to know. You can tell Wan still was involved with certain camera works and scare concepts much like he was with the mediocre yet entraining curse of LaLlarona which this director Michael Chaves debuted on. While he doesn't fill Wan's shoes at all, he was able to follow a certain format for this particular franchise to move forward though at dragging pace at times.

The actors are all very good as usual and the duo of Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as the Warren's are phenomenal bursting with emotion as always. They carry this film completely. The effects are decently executed and the cgi looks near flawless. Some of the scares are a mixed bag of ambition and some are tremendously cliche, but they all do their jobs for the horror aspect. The ominous settings are fantastic and add rich environment for the frights to flourish.

Overall it's an effort that felt satisfying to see the premier franchise continue, but there's a definitive void without Wan's genius eye.

This third movie in the series was just ok. The director attempted to move the story away from the typical haunted house storyline of the previous two films. The problem is that the first couple films were very much liked so why deviate? True there needs to be some variety but most of these hauntings have enough variety to satisfy that.

The beginning scene is the best as it is the climax scene in a typical Conjuring movie, the exorcism. The film then devolves into satanic curses and flashy special effects while Ed and Lorraine investigate the source. In the end there is a small step between the sublime and the ridiculous and this film takes that step big time. They made the same error with the Conjuring 2 where the end scene with the lightning and the tree windows bursting would put to rest any question of demonic possession. This film goes even further with levitating and exploding windows and helicopters around.

Still the movie has some redeeming qualities. The special effects are good and the investigation, while choppy and navigating without a compass at times, is still intriguing. The scares are less but they are still there. This would be a good horror movie standalone but as a Conjuring movie it is weaker.

The most disappointing part is that the "true" story (depends if you believe in this stuff) would have made for a good movie. The documentary from Discovery "A Haunting" covered this case and it was a very good episode when I saw it.

In the end it is worth your time but it is a weak link in the series. I feel they should return to their roots for a Conjuring 4.

Super predictable jump scares, not nearly as scary as the other movies, it's so easy to tell when something scary is about to happen but when it does it's not even really scary.

But I will say the acting is great and the story is told pretty well, this however has to be one of the most embellished of the movies yet. It's honestly more of an action thriller than a horror movie.