Wish I could give this a slightly better score, bump it up to at least a three, but I just… I just got bored. Distracted and bored. The movie just couldn’t keep my attention. Which is unfortunate since the previous two films at least managed that (and I rather like the 2nd film).
As with the previous two Conjuring films, this one is based on true events (*snort* <wink>). Ed and Lorraine are out to help prove that a guy going on trial for murder was possessed by a demon at the time. Which was an actual case in the 80s and the details here I’m sure are as accurate as ever (*snort*).
To just get this out there, this is a capably made, competently shot, and well acted film. By the standards of the previous entry into the Conjuring Universe franchise by this director – The Curse of La Llorona – this is a friggin’ masterpiece. By the standards of the previous two Conjuring films, it’s disappointing.
My main issue with the film isn’t so much that it isn’t scary (though I really didn’t think it was), but that it kind of meanders and moseys along with the Warrens as paranormal private eyes. I just wasn’t engaged or engrossed in their investigations into related crimes and confrontations with very human villains. Sure, the leads do what they can as actors far better than the material, but there’s only so much they can do, especially when the film delivers up some capably shot thrills that just aren’t scary.
Plus… the film is only tangentially related to the murder case that’s all over the marketing (and the title). I thought another stab at legal horror like Emily Rose would have been interesting but the film is firmly entrenched in the investigation and introduction of, as I’m sure we all believe, completely real encounters with spooks and witches (*snort*). But the court case… it’s just back seat material.
In the long run, this is better than the usual run-of-the-mill spook movies that barely try. This one at least puts in the effort and isn’t a disaster, even by standards of the Conjuring cinematic universe (which has some real stinkers). It’s just that one notch too dull to make the cut.
Score: 74