"The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It" Explained 2023

Introduction

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (also known as The Conjuring 3) is a 2021 American supernatural horror film directed by Michael Chaves, starring David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick from a story by Johnson -McGoldrick and script by James Wan. The film is the sequel to The Conjuring (2013) and The Conjuring 2 (2016), and the eighth installment in The Conjuring universe. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as paranormal investigators and writers Ed and Lorraine Warren, also starring Ruairi O'Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook and Julian Hilliard. Wan and Peter Safran return to produce the film, based on the 1981 Arne Cheyenne Johnson murder case in Connecticut, as well as The Devil in Connecticut, a book about the trial written by Gerald Brittle.

Originally slated for a September 2020 release, the film was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It was released by Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema on June 4, 2021 in the United States, where it was simulcast on the HBO Max streaming service for one month. The film grossed $206 million against a budget of $39 million and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Wilson and Farmiga's performances but criticized the script and said it was more weaker than previous films. A sequel, The Conjuring 4, is in development.

Explanation

In 1981, demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren documented the exorcism of 8-year-old David Glatzel in the presence of his family, his sister Debbie, her boyfriend Arne Johnson and father Gordon in Brookfield, Connecticut. During an exorcism, Arne invites the demon into his body instead of David's. Ed witnesses the transport of the demon from David's body to Arne as he suffers a heart attack and is taken to the hospital in an unconscious state.

The following month, Ed wakes up in the hospital and tells Lorraine that he saw the demon enter Arne's body. She sends the police to Glatzel House, warning that a tragedy is about to occur there. Arne and Debbie return to their apartment above a kennel where Debbie works. After feeling unwell, Arne kills his owner, Bruno Saul, by stabbing him 22 times due to his demonic possession. With the support of the Warrens, his case became the first US murder trial to allege satanic possession as a defense, which resulted in an investigation into David's original possession. The Warrens later discover an evil curse told by a witch's totem and meet Kastner, a former priest who once ministered to a cult of Rama's followers. He tells them that a wizard intentionally left the totem behind, which resulted in a curse on Glatzel, causing David to possess it.

The Warrens travel to Denver, Massachusetts to investigate the death of Katie Lincoln, who was stabbed 22 times. Detectives find a totem in Katie's missing friend Jessica. Lorraine enters a vision to recreate the murder, and learns that Jessica stabbed Katie while she was near her before jumping to her death from a cliff, allowing detectives to recover her body. The Warrens go to the funeral home where his body rests, and Lorraine touches the corpse's hand to help find the location of the occultist. Lorraine, in a vision, sees Arn the occultist trying to kill himself, but stops him in time. Lorraine is threatened by the occultist and tells Ed that the connection works both ways.

The Warrens return to their home in Connecticut to investigate further. Drew reveals that he found a book on Stregharian witchcraft which states that to remove the curse, the altar used by the wizard must be destroyed. Ed is affected by the curse, discovering a totem in a jar delivered to the house, but is stopped by Drew attacking Lorraine. When they learn that Katie is attending nearby Fairfield University, they begin to believe that the occult is at work in the area. Lorraine returns to Kastner for help, and he reveals that he secretly fathered a daughter, Isla, in violation of the Catholic Church's requirement of clerical celibacy. While researching the occult, Isla became fascinated with it, later becoming an occultist. Kastner tells Lorraine that Isla's altar must be in the tunnels under the house, leading her to them before Isla finds and kills her. Ed soon arrives and finds his way into the tunnels through a drain hole blocked with a hammer. He is briefly smitten with Isla and tries to kill Lorraine, but she forces him to remember their first meeting, reminding him of their love. Ed comes to his senses and destroys the altar, escaping as well as Lorraine and Arne. Isla reaches her broken altar, only to be killed by the summoned demon after failing to complete the curse.

Ed places the altar cup with the Wallach painting and the Annabelle doll in the artifact room. Arne is convicted of murder, but ends up serving only five years, marrying Debbie in prison. Ed shows Lorraine a gazebo as they kiss for the first time.