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The Conjuring: The Devil Made me Do It deviates from its forebears in that it totally rejects the haunted home idea. The sequel instead centers on a single villain, occultist Isla, the daughter of Father Kastner. Ed and Lorraine first thought David and Arne were possessed by a Demon, but they find Isla really cursed them by laying a witch's totem under the Glatzel's house.
She went after Ed, who tried to kill Lorraine under the curse, to commit murders before they die by suicide; what the Warrens finally find is that she actually required three people: the child (Jessica), the lover (Arne), and the man of God. The trick before Isla went on to the next person was killing her buddy Kate before jumping off the cliff.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It eschewed malevolent spirits possessing toys, people, or conventional hauntings unlike earlier films in The Conjering universe. Although demons have been a feature of the series, The Conjuring 3 alters things a little by eschewing the conventional type of possession—that is, it is not a possession at all.
Isla struck a demonic deal; her preoccupation with the occult fueled her behavior. Arne, Jessica, David, and Ed are cursed; this creates a different transformation since Isla is the one behind-the-scenes manipulating them all. The fact that The Conjering 3 features a regular human being behind the horrific events—someone who is still alive and not dead, like Bathsheba from The Conjuring, for example—makes it much more ominous. The devil is only an Occultist extension, not an entity functioning on its own.
Both the murder trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson and the real-life case files of the Warrens inspire much of The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Based at least on the Warrens' memory, David's exorcism unfolds exactly as it is shown in the movie. Johnson still stabbes his landlord under claims he cannot recall what happened; the Warrens are present all around, interacting with the Glatzels, Johnson, and the police.
His not-guilty plea with a defense of demonic possession is correct, as is Johnson's relationship with Debbie and their living quarters—first at the Glatzel house where David was likely possessed and then at the house that Debbie and Arne shared thereafter. After Johnson stabs Bruno (whose real name was Alan Bono), The Conjuring 3 deviates significantly from real-life events adding visits to Kastner and her link to The Occultist as well as her enigmatic past and how she came to be engaged in demonic witchcraft. In order to this aim, The Devil Made Me Do It selects which real-life events to feature in the movie and relies on whole fiction to create its Horror narrative.
Teenager Jessica Louise Strong disappeared soon after her best friend Katie was slain in the Easter egg-laden The Conjering 3. Actually, Jessica killed her buddy under The Occultist's curse; she stabbed her 22 times before the affliction also drove her to take her own life.
Jessica is not a genuine person who vanished or killed anyone; the particular nature of the case surrounding her is fictional and created especially for The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. That does not mean, though, that there are not analogous cases available. Sans the occult element of the narrative, Jessica's subplot in the movie might be likened with the disappearance of Skylar Neese, a teen who was killed by two of her high school classmates after driving to a distant spot where they stabbed Neese to death.
Given movies in The Conjuring Franchise, The Devil Made Me Do It boasts an unexpectedly high degree of thematic complexity. The Conjering 3 episode, which centers on the prosecution of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, investigates the connection between mental health, belief in the supernatural, and exorcisms in particular. The case was among the most fascinating in American history, and The Devil Made Me Do It gave its own original interpretation that nonetheless managed not to minimize the impact trauma had in Arne's acts.
But thanks to the figure being fictional, The Conjuring 3 also manages to add thematic depth from themes unrelated to the original case thanks to The Occultist. Clear allegory for the perils of avarice and longing for power, the Occultist, Isla, struck a demonic contract she later had to pay good on to save her soul.
Particularly regarding the explanation of The Conjuring 3 demon origin, the ending of the film left viewers with some uncertainties. Creating sequels is a difficult chore since the expectations are enormous and, for a Horror series already in popularity like The Conjuring universe, the pressure is much more great. The Warrens return in The Conjuring 3 to look into David Glatzel's possession and discover an occultist and curse underlying the boy's peculiar actions. This Conjuring villain is unique among other cases.
Although every Conjuring film is based on the case files of Ed and Lorraine Warren, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It uses the actual murder trial of Arne Johnson, who killed his landlord and asserted a defense of demonic possession in 1981. Johnson's case is one of two the Warrens look at, both of which are related back to The Occultist and her chaotic plans; the villain's connection to The Conjuring 3 demon and how this plays out in The Devil Made Me Do It Ending makes for one of the most explosive finales in the franchise thus far.
Ed and Lorraine visit Father Kastner, who devoted his life investigating the occult, to obtain a little more knowledge about the witch's totem they discover under the possessed David Glatzels' house in The Conjering 3. It’s revealed that Kastner actually dealt with the Disciples of Ram, a satanic cult that wanted to bring more demons into the world and which Annabelle Higgins was a member.
This is an obvious reference to Annabelle: Creation and to The Conjuring spin-off film Annabelle, whose soundtrack features a song titled "Disciples of the Ram." Still, they are not a legitimate satanic cult. The Conjuring films have long been focused on the cases the Warrens tackled, but there is a tremendous amount of fictional additions to every movie in the franchise that is meant to elevate the horror more than anything else. The most important lesson regarding the Disciples of the Ram is the connections they keep creating in the cosmos independent of the film.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It had The Warrens through the wringer. Ed suffered a major heart attack that deteriorated his health further. Meanwhile, Lorraine was physically assaulted by the demonic presence wielded by The Occultist, nearly falling over a cliff. She also came very close to being killed by Ed, who was under the influence of Isla’s curse at the time.
The Conjuring films have followed the Warrens for a decade by the time of the latest film’s events. But, considering the couple is still going strong in the films despite some setbacks, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It leaves the door open for a fourth installment. The film is set in 1981, so it’s possible The Conjuring 4 could tackle the Smurl haunting next, with Janet and Jack Smurl claiming they were being terrorized by a demonic horde; Ed later suggested there was also a succubus, a type of demon, existing inside the house. Ed and Lorraine Warren got involved in 1986, and it was another case that was heavily publicized following their involvement with Arne Johnson’s murder case. The Smurl haunting is only one of many the fourth film could explore.
It's no secret that The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It absolutely rocked the box office when it released via theaters and streaming on HBO Max in the summer of 2021. The highly-anticipated horror film grossed $24.01 million during its opening weekend and also had the third-largest box office opening during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. Details surrounding the next Conjuring film are relatively scant, though it is confirmed, and, there are a few things about it that can be surmised.
A truly crucial element behind the success of another sequel would be Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga returning as Ed and Lorraine Warren. After all, the actors can't simply be replaced now that they have become the faces of the ultra-popular horror franchise. While it hasn't been discussed publicly yet, it's very likely that The Conjuring 4 will feature Ed and Lorraine Warren again, with their roles reprised by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga respectively.
Since 2013's The Conjuring, James Wan's Conjurverse has expanded to 8 films, with 2 more and a series due - but what is the best Conjuring movie? The franchise has been going strong since the original film and will continue in this fashion for a few years to come. The Conjuring universe is a fan favorite for horror, with its unique characters and engaging storytelling.
With its signature brand of horror, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It delivered scary scenes fans won't forget soon. The franchise's creators are known for their intricate and fascinating horror stories, which they have woven together with ease in the Conjuring universe.