The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)

Or better yet: The Witch Made Me Do It

Let’s start by showing y’all the trailers, shall we?

⚠️ Content Warning: Contains courtroom boredom, hammer-swinging husbands, and a movie that lies to your face with its own title.

The Real Case vs. The Movie

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is loosely based on the infamous Arne Cheyenne Johnson trial from 1981 — the first known U.S. court case where the defense argued that demonic possession was the cause of murder. Johnson stabbed his landlord, Alan Bono, multiple times during a heated confrontation. His lawyers claimed he was under demonic influence, pointing to a prior exorcism performed on his girlfriend’s younger brother, David Glatzel, where the Warrens were present.

Now compare that to the film: instead of focusing on the messy legal and religious fallout, the movie rewrites history into a supernatural detective story. In the movie, Arne takes the demon from David during an exorcism, murders his landlord, and the Warrens spend most of the runtime trying to prove demonic influence while uncovering a secret Satanic witch pulling the strings.

Here’s the problem:

In real life, there was no witch cult, no shadowy altar, and no demon named Valak’s cousin twice-removed.

The trial itself was a landmark moment because the court rejected the possession defense outright — Johnson was convicted of manslaughter and served five years. The Warrens’ involvement was controversial even then, but the film brushes right past the actual skepticism and court drama.

The film leans on flashy horror tropes (witch curses, jump scares, “The Shining”-style chase scenes) instead of wrestling with the real uncomfortable core: a man killed someone, and his defense team tried to make “the devil did it” fly in court.


So what we’re left with is a very Hollywood-ized version of the case, where the grounded, eerie legal angle gets swapped for a generic supernatural thriller. In reality, the Arne Johnson trial was chilling because of how normal it was: a court of law tried to grapple with the concept of possession and decided, “nope, not admissible.” The film completely dodges that, which is why a lot of people left feeling misled by the title.



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🧾 Non-Spoiler Rundown

The Conjuring franchise once had bite. Creepy haunted houses, unsettling vibes, and the Warrens actually mattered to the story. This? This is Ed in a coma for half an hour and Lorraine moping while Arne (the guy the movie is supposed to be about) gets thrown into a courtroom subplot that goes absolutely nowhere.

The trailers lied. The title lied. The courtroom doesn’t matter. And by the time the witch twist drops, you’ll be questioning why you even pressed play.

🤦 The “Are They Fakers?” Problem

Here’s where this movie completely faceplants. By film three in the mainline franchise (after two bangers and like five spinoffs), you don’t get to suddenly play the “maybe the Warrens are frauds” card. Excuse me? We’ve already watched Bathsheba perch like a demonic gargoyle on a wardrobe, Carolyn puke blood through a sheet while levitating, Valak cosplaying as Marilyn Manson in a habit, and Annabelle being a glorified UPS package for demons. That’s not subtle — that’s undeniable.

So when The Devil Made Me Do It tries to gaslight us with “oh maybe none of this is real,” it doesn’t feel suspenseful — it feels insulting. Like, you don’t get to Scooby-Doo your own franchise after a decade of full-blown CGI horror setpieces. We’re not buying that card. It kills the tension because the audience already knows too much.

Instead of giving us a real sense of fear, it just feels like filler. A courtroom drama trying to cosplay as horror.



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👥 Cast of “Eh, They Tried”

Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson): Half-hospital patient, half possessed Jack Torrance knockoff.

Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga): Crying, vision-having, and delivering inspirational speeches to hammer-wielding Ed.

Arne Johnson (Ruairi O’Connor): Remember him? He’s on trial. The movie sure doesn’t.

The Witch (Eugenie Bondurant): Surprise Scooby-Doo villain with an altar. Somehow scarier as a concept than as an actual character.



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✅ Pros

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are still watchable no matter what junk they’re in.

Opening exorcism is decent. For about 10 minutes it feels like an actual Conjuring movie.


❌ Cons

False Advertising 101 – They promised “the first trial where demonic possession was used as a defense.” We got “witch lady playing peekaboo.”

The Title Lies – Should’ve been called The Witch Made Me Do It.

The Warrens’ Work Doesn’t Matter – They prove possession… court goes “nah, manslaughter.”

Ed in a Coma – Who sidelines your lead for the first act?

The Witch Villain – Pops in and out like she borrowed powers from Casper.

Possessed Ed With a Hammer – Bootleg Shining cosplay. Zero originality.

Courtroom Fake-Out – Barely used. Just flavor text.

Ending = Pointless – The Warrens technically succeed, but it changes nothing.

🤦 Final Thoughts

This movie gaslights you harder than any demon could. It tells you it’s about the Devil. Nope, witch. It tells you it’s about a courtroom trial. Nope, just set dressing. It tells you the Warrens will prove possession. Nope, ignored.

It’s dull, it’s lazy, and it’s a sad excuse to slap Conjuring on the poster. This series officially flatlined here.



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🎯 Rating

1/10
This isn’t horror, this is a franchise that ran out of ghosts and decided witches were on clearance. Misleading, boring, and a total waste of two hours.


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⚠️ Spoilers Ahead ⚠️

Okay, gloves off. Let’s break this trainwreck down.

Opening Exorcism 💔 – Arne shouts “take me instead!” Demon shrugs and says “k.” Ed immediately has a heart attack and faceplants. Lorraine spends 30 minutes moping in a hospital. Great pacing, guys.

Arne’s Murder 🔪 – He stabs his landlord 22 times under possession. This is supposed to be the case. The movie then… forgets about it. He’s basically a background extra in his own story.

The Witch Twist 🧙‍♀️ – Midway through we find out, surprise! It wasn’t the Devil, it wasn’t even demons. It was just some random witch with an altar who apparently subscribed to “Demons-R-Us.” Lazy doesn’t even cover it.

Possessed Ed 🪓 – Ed gets controlled by said witch, grabs a hammer, and chases Lorraine down a hallway. If you thought “huh, this feels like The Shining,” congrats — the writers thought stealing is homage.

The Final Showdown 🪑 – Lorraine smashes the witch’s altar (yes, a table) and poof, problem solved. Two hours of buildup ends with Home Depot furniture destruction.

The Big Trial ⚖️ – The Warrens prove Arne was possessed. The court goes, “Cute story. Guilty.” So… literally everything we watched had no impact. Arne gets manslaughter, 20 years. Why did we sit through this again?