What’s It About
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren take on one of the most sensational cases of their careers after a cop stumbles upon a dazed and bloodied young man walking down the road. Accused of murder, the suspect claims demonic possession as his defense, forcing the Warrens into a supernatural inquiry unlike anything they’ve ever seen before.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
I’ve never been a big fan of The Conjuring series or any of its many incarnations (Annabelle, La Llorona, The Nun), but the first ten minutes of this film really pulls you in. If you’re new to The Conjuring franchise, this one has a much better, easier-to-follow, coherent story that doesn’t involve the viewer seeing any of the past films. Instead, this movie stays true to its narrative regarding the actual events surrounding the 1981 Brookfield, Connecticut murder. That also means we follow Ed and Lorraine Warren, the paranormal investigators given the task of proving the innocence of the man accused of the first-ever murder in the town of Brookfield, Arne Johnson. Throughout the film, the Warrens gather evidence trying to prove Mr. Johnson was possessed when he committed the murder. This is when most people realize just how contradictory our justice system can be. Because when Arne’s attorney responds to the Warren’s claim of demonic possession, she says, “You’ve proven it to the church. This is a court of law. The standards of evidence are completely different.” Mr. Warren answers, “The court accepts the existence of God every time a witness swears to tell the truth. I think it’s about time they accept the existence of the Devil.” A perfect line that should have been in a much better movie. Compared to the other Conjuring films, this one strayed too far from its roots and became an average thriller with standard horror tropes and jump scenes. For those familiar with how things work in this particular universe, you might be slightly turned off by how boring and predictable this movie can be. The other films were challenging, complex, and made you think. This one has training wheels as it slowly takes your hand and guides you with a feeling similar to an overproduced documentary, and at any second, someone from Dateline or 20/20 will come into the picture and explain what you just saw. Sadly, to fully enjoy this movie, you must forget about the others and treat this as a standalone entry. While that will not make The Conjuring 3 a better thriller, it will make it a better documentary-styled flick.
OUR RATING – A DEVILISH 6
MEDIA
- Genre – Horror
- Street date
- Digital – July 23rd, 2021
- DVD/Blu-Ray/4K – August 24th, 2021
- Video – 1080p
- Screen size – 2:39.1
- Sound – English: Dolby Atmos, English: Descriptive Audio, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles – English SDH, Latin Spanish, Parisian French, Cantonese, Complex Chinese, Korean, Italian, German-SDH
Extras
- “By Reason of Demonic Possession” – An in-depth look at the true story that inspired the movie
- “The Occultist” – Meet the terrifying new addition to the Conjuring Universe
- “Exorcism of Fear” – Delve into the making of the movie and the chilling exorcism scene that opens the film”
- “DC Horror Presents The Conjuring: The Lover #1” – A video comic that takes you deeper into the Conjuring Universe