The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)

  I'm still not quite ready to head back to theaters, plus I really want to take advantage of this whole "watch new releases from home" thing before it gets snatched away like telework and accessibility for the disabled.

Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) are back at it again, performing what seems to be a successful exorcism on eight-year-old David Glatzel (Julian Hilliard) to the tremendous relief of his family.  During the process, Ed suffers a major heart attack and is the only one to hear Arne Johnson (Ruairi O'Connor), boyfriend to David's sister, Debbie (Sarah Catherine Hook), offer himself to the demon in exchange for the boy.  As soon as he is conscious again, Ed tells Lorraine, but it's too late.  Arne has been arrested for murder and the state is seeking the death penalty.  The Warrens must uncover a deadly occult conspiracy before Arne is sentenced to execution.

The words "Based on a True Story" always get a workout, but they are working extra hard here to convince you that the Satanic Panic was real, dragging cults, Satanists, black altars, and blood sacrifice into this otherwise quite tame legal precedent of claiming not guilty by reason of demonic possession.

Comparisons to The Exorcist are unfortunately unavoidable but I would be generous towards this and call it an homage.  There's a beautiful shot early on of the priest getting out of the cab that mirrors Max von Sydow's arrival in The Exorcist, lamppost, hat, and all.  After the exorcism, this becomes much more of a Conjuring film.  There are cute nods to the first installment as well as the spin-offs, but the tie-in to the next movie (previously as much a staple as Lorraine's crucifix) was deliberately cut, which feels fresher.  Honestly, there are eight of them now in this shared universe.  It's okay to leave a little mystery.  

As a horror movie, it is fine.  There are jump scares, gross-outs, and some decent demonic imagery, about what you have come to expect from the franchise.  What surprised me, however, was how wholesome it ended up being.  Ed and Lorraine Warren are fucking adorable as a couple.  You saw some of that in Conjuring 2, but it's really at the forefront here.  Arne and Debbie are pretty devoted, but they got nothing on the Warrens.

It's currently streaming on HBO Max until July 4th.