Conjuring : Sous l'emprise du Diable

It's a different Conjuring, trying and innovating, not only in the story (no haunted house here) but also in the use of camera/direction, where we feel that we have a new director and with a different identity (good).

The scaries don't work as well as in the first two films and the new characters aren't as intriguing as The Nun or Annabelle, so, even if we still have very strong horror moments, we don't feel the same tension as we felt in the previous two. The Warrens do, once again, a fantastic job and I loved some references to The Shining or A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Personally, I still think the 2nd is the best Conjuring by a large margin (scarier, frenetic, fantastic direction, editing, atmosphere, London). The first one isn't as scary as the second, but it's really well executed with a very strong plot. This one is the weakest, but it's still interesting to see the couple in a different type of story and it's still a pretty solid horror film.

Not hating on the movie and I'm actually glad they moved away from the haunted house formula, injecting a bit of other genres like criminal investigation but even though it's well paced, there's less of those nail bitting moments i love from the series. The cast still deliver the goods and the story, despite having a few weak spots was still engaging, but with far less memorable moments compared to the previous chapters.

NO SPOILERS! Weakest of the series and and I have to believe the missing piece was director James Wan. The scares were way too predictable, the script felt one note and even though I went in cold I could still see the ending a mile away. Solid turns by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as they have always done but still even they couldn't elevate this one.

This third movie in the series was just ok. The director attempted to move the story away from the typical haunted house storyline of the previous two films. The problem is that the first couple films were very much liked so why deviate? True there needs to be some variety but most of these hauntings have enough variety to satisfy that.

The beginning scene is the best as it is the climax scene in a typical Conjuring movie, the exorcism. The film then devolves into satanic curses and flashy special effects while Ed and Lorraine investigate the source. In the end there is a small step between the sublime and the ridiculous and this film takes that step big time. They made the same error with the Conjuring 2 where the end scene with the lightning and the tree windows bursting would put to rest any question of demonic possession. This film goes even further with levitating and exploding windows and helicopters around.

Still the movie has some redeeming qualities. The special effects are good and the investigation, while choppy and navigating without a compass at times, is still intriguing. The scares are less but they are still there. This would be a good horror movie standalone but as a Conjuring movie it is weaker.

The most disappointing part is that the "true" story (depends if you believe in this stuff) would have made for a good movie. The documentary from Discovery "A Haunting" covered this case and it was a very good episode when I saw it.

In the end it is worth your time but it is a weak link in the series. I feel they should return to their roots for a Conjuring 4.

Super predictable jump scares, not nearly as scary as the other movies, it's so easy to tell when something scary is about to happen but when it does it's not even really scary.

But I will say the acting is great and the story is told pretty well, this however has to be one of the most embellished of the movies yet. It's honestly more of an action thriller than a horror movie.