The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs

Ups...

5. The Excellent Opening Scene

This film hits the gas hard in its opening scene, though sadly never gets back to that level of inspired, white-knuckle filmmaking.

The instigating set-piece depicts how protagonist Arne Cheyenne Johnson ends up possessed by the demon, and though the scene wears its Exorcist influences on its sleeve, it ratchets the bonkers intensity up to a level the rest of the film never reaches.

It lays the groundwork for the story exceptionally, yet neither the script nor the direction manage to hit that stride again, ensuring the remainder of the film unfolds in its long shadow.

It's by far the most Wan-like part of the movie, but sets high expectations from the jump that it can't get anywhere close to again. As a self-contained short film, though, it's great.