The Conjuring 3 - The Devil Made Me Do It
Day 41
Movie 41
I feel like I should remind my dear readers how much of a love/hate relationship I have with horror movies. I love to watch them during the day, when the sun is still brightly shining. As soon as the sun goes down, I freak out. Any and every bump in the night is something there to terrify me! All that being said, I knew I wanted to watch this movie. I really enjoyed the first 2 films and have so much respect for Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson. I decided to be brave and watch this in the safety of my own living room, on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Thank you HBO GO!
I will try to be as spoiler free as possible. The movie starts with a bang and ends with a bit of a fizzle. There was a new director for this film and while he gave it his all, it did feel different from the other 2 films in the series. The film starts so fast and ridiculously intense, it seemed Herculien to even attempt to go up from there. I honestly thought I had somehow started in the middle of the movie. It was like getting pushed into a freezing cold pool with no warning. It was hard to keep that same intense energy for the entire film. Even the attempted big finale was nothing compared to the opening. The best part of the movie was the opening 10 minutes.
One thing that bothers me about horror movies is trailers filled with spoilers. So often the trailers spoil so many of the scary moments of the movie. I felt like 90% of the jump scares were shown in the previews. I understand the studio needs to market and promote the movie but this franchise has a loyal following. There are so many spin offs from this series, look at the box office returns for The Curse of La Llorona, The Nun and 3 Annabelle movies. They already know people are going to see it. Don't spoil all the good parts before we actually see the movie!
The chemistry between Vera and Patrick is electric, pure and sincere. I believed they were an old married couple, who just happened to fight demons. They are the real heart and soul of the movie. I found myself invested in their personal love story more than anything else in the movie. They do a great job carrying these films.
It is clear the director wanted to switch the format of these movies around a bit. The director really pulled away from the typical haunted house movie. He focused on the people and their stories. So often, the haunted house becomes a character in horror movies. Personally, I wish they would have stayed with the house. I found that so much more terrifying. It felt like something was missing the whole movie.
At the end of the day, the movie was good. I was on the edge of my seat and covering my eyes several times. If you've enjoyed the other films in The Conjuring series, you will enjoy this one as well. Definitely not as horrific as it's predecessors but still creepy. It might make you sleep with the lights on.....almost!
