The Conjuring 3, The Devil Made Me Do It

The Conjuring 3, The Devil Made Me Do It, is the third installment in the Conjuring story line, all supposedly based off true stories and the 8^th in the Conjuring Franchise. This story is supposedly based off a true story investigated by Ed and Lorainne Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga in each of the Conjuring movies. This story involves the story of the first prosecuted criminal case in the United States that involved a Not Guilty Due To Demonic or Satanic Influence in the defense. Although the original defense was not allowed they play out the premise in the movie. 

 

The true story took place in Brookfield Connecticut and was the first murder case in the history of that town. In the true story Arne Johnson stabbed Alan Bono to death. Bono was the landlord of his girlfriend Debbie Glatzel. Glatzel had a younger brother David they and the Warrens had claimed to have done an exorcism on some months earlier. The actual audio of that exorcism is played during the closing credits of the movie.

 

What happens in stories of this nature on screen is the overdramatization with scare tactics by the filmmakers. After doing some research on the story there is little doubt that the filmmakers took a great deal of liberties in embellishing the story and turning it into the final product that is on screen. That isn’t to say it isn’t an enjoyable story or entertaining film. It is to say that what is often presented as true may in fact, not be entirely true. I’m not here to evaluate the authenticity of the movie though, I’m here to express my thoughts of what I saw on screen.

 

I have enjoyed each of the Conjuring movies over the years with Ed and Lorraine Warren. I haven’t enjoyed all the programs in the franchise, but I do especially find myself intrigued by the characters portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. There is just something about the way they do it that in a way, turns them into the real characters. Of all the series in the Conjuring movies, let me say, I like this one much more than the 2^nd movie in the series but not quite as well as the first Conjuring.  The scare tactics are still here, and the questions are as well, especially when it comes to the reality of demonic possession and the attributes of God.

 

The issues are brought up in the film, that if God exists, why can’t we come to the conclusion that evil via demonic and satanic characters exist. It is a belief that for many seems to be lost and in the loss of that belief we see as presented in the movie, that if Satan and his demons do exist, then the potential of influence on others, even to the point of possession and having them do things contrary to their nature must exist. The movie does a good job of asking the question, at the point of influence; who is to blame when bad things happen? Ultimately in this movie we see the primary character asking for what he gets without taking seriously the overall risks of what he is asking. As a result, great harm comes to others.

 

There is a great debate on the existence of good and evil, yet experiences on the earth, be it an Adolph Hitler or Mother Theresa seems to indicate that yes indeed there are clearly good and evil forces. The question then becomes how do we counter or fight evil?  The role of love, with the understanding that ultimately, despite the perversions of truth of many, that God is ultimately the purveyor of love. Of course, it is ultimately in our ability to love each other. In that love we can obtain the strength to overcome evil. The question is not in the how to overcome evil, and the schemes of Satan and his demons, but are we willing to keep our focus on and ultimately practice love for others? It resembles the great command by Jesus as mentioned all through the Bible, the ultimate command is to Love God and the Love Others.  

 

I really liked this movie, again, not as much as the first but a great deal. This type of film is in all honesty not for everyone as there are scary moments and the truth is not all people can handle movies with themes that have demonic aspects to it. I will say in The Conjuring series and most movies of its sort, Good ultimately wins and we see the power of good over evil, God over Satan, the power of love over hate. But as I said, some themes are tough and not everyone is mature enough to handle such themes.  I would also say that it seems as if examples of demonic attacks as portrayed in the movie happens less and less than what the Warrens seemed to observe in real life. I hold out the possibility that may be just because Satan has us ultimately where he wants us, at a place that loving others is the last thing on our mind.

 

On a scale of 1 – 10, take away the Warrens from the number 10 and you still end up with an enjoyable 8

To see the trailer for this film click on the following link:

THE CONJURING 3 Official Trailer (2021) - YouTube 

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The Conjuring 2

One of the things I get blasted for more than anything in regards to movie reviews is my willingness to review Horror. There is  no doubt, horror of all genres, is often the most misunderstood, and most unliked, especially among the Christian crowd. This is largely not true among the regular person attending movies though as is evidenced by the large box office numbers put up by Horror Films. One of the baffling concepts of this to me over the years has been the reality that most Horror Films address spiritual themes like no other genera. This is especially true in the realm of possession movies which include the influence of the Demonic within haunting types of movies whether it be possessions or poltergeist forms of a movie. The difference being a haunting can and usually does involve possessions of people or others that last over  a period of over a year, and normally poltergeist types of movies lasting for no more than a few months.

The Conjuring 2 is a continuation of sorts from the initial Conjuring which involves a haunting of a home, and family and its investigation by popular researchers, Ed and Loraine Warren. The Warren's are among the only people who were not Catholic, ever recognized by the Catholic Church for paranormal investigations. This story takes place after their investigation of the popular Amityville case in the United States. After what some has said is the most researched case in history, the Warrens are called to research a family and haunting in London England, known historically as, The Enfield Haunting which involved a mother, her two daughters, and a son in a flat in London. The family begins to experience paranormal activity and the uniqueness of this story, as in real life, the family immediately goes to neighbors once the events start happening and the neighbors see and experience the same things. The family calls in the police that night who also report in their documentation of the case that they as well experienced paranormal events that were unexplainable.

One of the things that make the Conjuring 2 in some ways better than the original Conjuring is that there is better story telling. Don't get me wrong here, the Hayes Brothers, responsible for the script in both the Conjuring and Conjuring 2 did an exceptional job in the first movie, but there is much more plot development and especially character development in this story which at times is as much of a love story between the Warrens as it is a haunting experience. It is clear though the Hayes Brothers who are both unapologetically Christian, have a lot of material to work with regarding the real life Warren's and their work due to their own Christian-oriented beliefs, whether they be traditional beliefs or not. Another aspect they have to work within this film is a film that depends on more on its characters than it does its scary moments, of which it also has ample moments.

The cast in the Conjuring 2 is terrific!  Patrick Wilson, (Ed Warren) and Vera Farmiga, (Loraine Warren) are both back and as terrific as ever, especially Vera Farmiga in this film, but the scene stealer for the film is Madison Wolfe who plays the part of young Janet Hodgson.  It is unfortunate that this movie falls into the Summer Movie category and is a Horror Film, otherwise, this young actress, in my opinion, does such a terrific job that it would be horrific if she is not at the very least considered for numerous awards in the supporting actress category.  She plays the part in such a believable way that it does nothing but adds to the intelligence behind this movie.  There is also a haunting and at times, a funny sound score for the film along with terrific editing and direction by James Wan. The film has received such critical praise prior to release that there is already talk of a sequel to the film, of which there would be no problem as there are numerous stories involving Warren's research. Word is that the Hayes Brothers have already signed on for the sequel and that Wan is considering it.

One of the aspects of the film that challenged me was my thought process specific to how many Christians ignore or even go so far as to hate this type of movie, when reality is, especially in this film and with this script, faith, specific to the person of Jesus Christ is so strongly presented. We see for example the usage of the cross in some way in virtually every image in the film, yet we also see the difference between the reminder of the cross, to the use of the cross from a nonbeliever's perspective and the perspective of a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. It reminds me of the old Stephen King Movie, Silver Bullet when a vampire is presented with a cross and the vampire tells the person showing it that the cross only does good if the person believes in it.

The film also strongly addresses the areas of faith, calling and visions. We see the Warrens as two
people who are passionately in love with each other, have a deep faith in God, but also a deep love and appreciation for each other who happen to believe that God speaks to them via various means including at times for Loraine, visions. They see those visions as not only something that could happen but possibly as things that they are called to change and beware of. Of course, the film depends largely on people believing in the possibility of the demonic and paranormal as it is presented as a true story. That said while many choose to believe in Angels there seems to be a reluctance to believe in the Demonic, this seems to be at times especially hypocritical of those people of faith who present all a one sided good story without ever considering the reality of evil.  I can't help but bring up a discussion I had years ago with the popular Christian author Ted Dekker, he stated that "Evil painted with anything but the darkest of brushes is not a true representation of evil." The Hayes Brothers paints a dark brush, but thankfully, also understands the power of light and the ultimate power of God to overcome evil.

For me, this movie was not as scary as The Conjuring, but it was, because of its powerful storytelling and direction, better than its predecessor. I recommend that people who go see it don't just go for the scare tactics but look at the underlying themes in the movie, the love between a husband and a wife, their willingness to sacrifice for their fellow human, their desire to do what they believe God has called them to do, no matter how difficult it is to do it. Then, of course, there are the other themes, as to the power of the cross in the hands of one who believes in it, the influence of how the Demonic will often attack others to gain its own purpose and much more.  I don't think the film will be too upsetting to those attending the movie, I also expect this movie will have the potential to point people to the power of God. The Hayes Brothers have done such a terrific job of weaving a story under the direction of James Wan that one can't help but get something spiritual out of it.

One a scale of 1 - 10, for the number of letters in the hauntings' investigated by Ed and Loraine Warren, I give a very deserving 9.

 To see a behind the scenes feature from the movie featuring the real family click the following video, if the video doesn't work click on the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIGP5aMI4Wo

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The Rite

In 1973 the movie The Exorcist turned heads, both on screen and literally. It was with some expectation that I was excited about the release of 2011’s The Rite starring Anthony Hopkins as Father Lucas Trevant and Colin O’Donoghue as Michael Kovak. Kovak has just graduated from Seminary to become a priest and as quickly as he receives his credentials, he realizes he has questions of faith which will prevent him from accepting the collar. A professor recognizes his talents and believes he would be a suitable student to go to an Exorcism school in Rome. While there, his crisis of faith remains and he is soon sent to spend time with Father Lucas Trevant, played by Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins it seems is a sort of exorcist in residence and it is here that Kovak is forced to look at the reality of good and evil in a new way. It is as Father Trevant points out in one scene to Kovak, “Be careful Michael, choosing not to believe in the devil doesn't protect you from him.” As the two spend time together, despite Kovak’s skepticism, his faith begins to grow in God as he realizes the reality of evil.

The Rite is made in a thought provoking way with more emphasis on story and the crisis of faith Kovak is going through than it does on the paranormal as many may have become accustomed to in exorcism movies. The film directed by, Mikael Håfström, does a good job of keeping the concept believable, while at the same time, entertaining and thought provoking. As is the norm with these types of films, the haunting musical score plays into the story line as does the dark scenes used throughout the film. While there are certain components that transfer over well into the Blu-ray format, there was a lacking of character development. I was originally supposed to have an interview with the author of the book which the stories are based on, Matt Baglio, but for some reason that interview fell through as I anxiously awaited the opportunity to ask questions regarding the real story and the story on screen. A credit to the plot is it does perk interest in the paranormal and the process of exorcism which has existed primarily within the Catholic and Christian belief system for some years. While many are skeptical of the concept, the evidence seems to indicate an abundance of proof as to these episodes.

The story starts out with a young Kovak working in his family’s mortuary. His father, Istvan Kovak, played by Rutger Hauer, has dealt with the loss of his wife and raised his son on his own. It is the family’s history that one either enters the priesthood or remains in the family business. Kovak has had enough of preparing dead bodies while growing up and decides to give the priesthood a chance. We see the family background played back primarily in flashback sequences. Unfortunately they are muddied and make it difficult to follow the story. There are moments where the viewers have their questions answered, but all too often, there are not enough answers and the questions we see asked seem forced in their answers.

In The Rite we see a crisis of faith not just in the character of Kovak, but also the life of Father Trevant. Father Trevant is based on a real life character that has performed over 2,000 exorcisms. His challenges, if true, would give reason for any student of this Rite, (if it is to be called a skill, calling or Rite) to be skeptical of following ‘the call.’

The Rite is filled with religious symbolism specific to Christianity. There are many interesting questions presented regarding the existence of evil, specific to Satan and his demons, and Christianity, specific to Jesus Christ. There are certain concepts of exorcism that is unique and consistent enough to cause one to wonder about the reality of evil. As portrayed in The Rite, the demonic and evil forces that inhabit the souls of people can cause them to do harm to themselves and/or others, and there is a hatred that exists between the demonic forces and the forces of God. There is no doubt in these portrayals, including The Rite, that ultimately the force of God has more power, and exhibits the abilities to overcome the forces of evil. That isn’t to say it doesn’t come at a cost though. The Rite does a good job of showing there is potential danger to the person being possessed and to the persons performing the exorcisms. It is the unknown aspects of exorcism and possession that provide the scary moments in the movie. The thought that the danger of possession could happen to the individual watching the film has certainly entered more than one mind while watching films like this. It should be recognized that ultimately the power of God prevails over the power of Satan. It is through the power of God that one has the ability to overcome.

Despite the flaws in The Rite, I found myself enjoying the story, especially the last 30 minutes of the film. While it took some time to get to the horror of the film, it does ultimately arrive. We don’t see the horrific scenes we may have come to expect, but we believe in the possibility of what we see on screen. In this regard The Rite stands a notch above many exorcism films. There are definite challenges to the concepts of possession the movie ponders and I like that. I do wish the movie would have had better character development and taken the time to explore especially the role of Kovak’s family.

The DVD also has some respectable special features and the Blu-ray transfer is quite nice both visual and its sound. The edition I have has a digital version, the Blu-ray and standard DVD. There are ample features that will have fans of this type of movie desiring to own it. I personally found the video worth more of a rental than a purchase. This one will get mixed reviews in that area. The questions one could ask, debate, and discuss would certainly be worth discussion, for example, does demon possession exist? What are the rights to perform exorcism? Can individuals outside of the Catholic faith perform appropriate exorcisms? How doe the Devil and his demons present themselves? How does the world of exorcism and mental illnesses coexist? How are they similar? How are they different? These questions and many more are worthy discussions, and The Rite certainly asks and addresses each of these to some extent. Does that make the film worth owning? I don’t know, I will say the questions it raises certainly makes it worth watching.

To see the video posted below click on the video. If the video isn’t at full scale or doesn’t show up, click on the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhHnP-9iekg


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