James Wan and Peter Safran’s Conjuring shared universe is one of the most successful franchise of its kind, spawning not just two sequels but five spin-offs and counting. 2021 saw the release of the third instalment of the core series, but as that was during the global pandemic it has taken until now for me to check the film out. Directed by Michael Chaves, the film focuses on paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) as they race to aid Arne Cheyenne Johnson (Ruairi O’Connor) a man accused of a brutal murder. His defence? He was possessed by a demon at the time.

All three characters are inspired by real-life identities. Arne Johnson genuinely did plead not guilty to a first-degree murder in 1981 Connecticut on the grounds of possession, and the Warrens were involved in that defence. The Conjuring films lean heavily into the idea they are based on true stories, and while it obviously helps with marketing and promotion it also gives them a somewhat dubious ethical position. Clearly the “true” phenomena the Warrens staked their livings on did not happen, but whether they were deluded evangelists or calculating frauds is more open to debate. That latter possibility makes The Conjuring a little uncomfortable to watch, which is a shame as collectively the films represent some of the best studio-backed horror cinema of the 21st century.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It differs from the previous Conjuring films in one key way. The earlier films focused on hauntings and exorcisms. This time around, the majority of the supernatural events occurred before the film began. The film’s focus is on investigation: attempting to find credible evidence that Arne was possessed, and tracking down why he and his family were targeted in the first place. It is interesting stuff, but comparatively sedate. More time is spent talking about ghosts and demons than fighting them, and as a result there is a need for a little more patience than usual.

The film ramps up as it goes, and it is probably not a surprise that the increase in energy matches a gradual increase in supernatural content. One of the strengths of previous Conjuring films has been the highly visual manner in which hauntings and possessions were visualised, and that’s not fully in effect this time around.

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga continue to perform their roles well. With each film tracking a few more years into their lives, they have been able to adjust and transform the characters as they’ve gone. There is a weirdly sweet sense of old-fashioned romance between them, which is another aspect in which the Conjuring films seem to stand out from competing franchises. This time around there is solid support from co-stars like Julian Hilliard, Eugenie Bondurant, Ruairi O’Connor, and particular John Noble – here playing a retired priest with an interest in tracking devil-worshippers.

One frustration throughout the film is that it side-steps plot developments introduced in the second Conjuring film, relating to Lorraine’s impending confrontation with the demon Valek. With that antagonist shunted over to their own series The Nun, it leaves some annoying threads unresolved, and may frustrate viewers expecting some closure.

The general consensus appears to be that The Devil Made Me Do It does not quite match the quality of The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2, and I actually feel that is a little unfair. This is an attempt to tell a slightly different kind of story, more comparable to Scott Derrickson’s The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), and deserves to be judged on its own merits. This is an effective, entertaining thriller.