Review of The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) by Thisguy1 — 07 Jun 2021

As an avid fan of the horror genre and someone who'd rate The Conjuring as an 8.5 and The Conjuring 2 as an 8 out of 10, I was incredibly disappointed in this film. Everything seemed off. The acting/casting, the cinematography, the writing, score/music, lighting, visual effects, editing, you name it.

It had neither jump scares nor creepy "hair on the back of your neck stands up" scares. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga did the best they could and I can only hope they get a proper final outing in the future.

The film was an absolute chore to sit through. My movie making experience is incredibly limited. However, after The Curse of La Llorona and this, I think I'll pass on anything else Michael Chaves puts out.

Not only do I believe he has little understanding as to how to use the camera, sound, and lighting to build tension, but he also included two shots where extras glanced right into the lens of the camera.

The first time, I let it slide thinking my eyes played a trick on me. The second time was near the end. The prosecuting attorney was looking at Arne, then clearly glanced at the camera, then back at Arne.

I rewound it, paused and sure enough... she glanced right into the camera, lens, realized "oh crap, I'm looking at the camera" then looked back at Arne. The fact that Michael Chavez didn't catch during editing this means he's either lazy, hoping no one would catch it or he's incompetent.