The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

The first two Conjuring films carry a fair amount of corniness, but the period adventures of real-life paranormal problem-solvers Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) have consistently received a major boost from James Wan’s expert horror direction.

No such help is present in the third installment, The Devil Made Me Do It, which unwisely subs in Michael Chaves (the director responsible party for the abysmal The Curse of la Llorona) behind the camera.

This lack of guidance makes the Warrens look like a middle-aged Fred and Daphne as they clumsily chase down an occultist to prove to a court in these here United States that a young man was possessed when he committed murder and should be found innocent.

The upgraded budget and support system inspires Chaves to dish out a few suspenseful sequences, though any identifiable filmmaking craft is absent from the surrounding scenes.

It all builds to a goofy finale that stretches the limits of whatever credulity The Conjuring films had left, and strongly suggests that, while Wan successfully handed the reins of the Insidious series to Leigh Whannell in 2015, his taste in choosing successors isn’t what it used to be.

Grade: C-minus. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Biltmore Grande, and Carolina Cinemark. Also available to stream via HBO Max through July 4

(Photo: Warner Bros.)