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The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Do It and the Evangelical Imagination

2022; Texas State University System; Volume: 3; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.58997/jgm.v3i1.35

2689-7032

Zachary Doiron,

American Constitutional Law and Politics

In The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It, former Catholic priest Father Kastner (John Noble) reveals to Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) that The Occultist (Eugenie Bondurant), the film's main antagonist, is indeed his estranged daughter.Being obsessed with understanding the occult himself, Father Kastner warns Lorraine and in tandem, the film's conservative Christian audience: "We must be careful how our obsessions are passed to our children."If the previous entries had advocated for taking the demonic seriously, this new entry is quick to caution its Christian viewers of the potential danger in occult curiosity.Set in the backdrop of the 1980s satanic panic, The Conjuring 3, like its predecessors, explores the horrors of the occult, the power of the Christian faith, and the lives of the Warrens.These films, along with this third entry, have an explicit agenda designed to reinforce existing conservative Christian beliefs.From secret satanic cabals to demonic forces, The Conjuring 3 serves as a perfect example of how Christian horror, especially Evangelical horror, highlight the fear and anxieties of American conservative Christians.In this recent sequel, The Conjuring 3 continues to follow the cases of the American demonologists.This time Gerard Brittle's biographical book The Devil in Connecticut, exploring the case of Arne Johnson, serves as the film's inspiration.Adopting a new writer, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, and The Curse Of La Llorona director, Michael Chaves, The Conjuring 3, while following much of the same ideas as the first two films, also diverts in key ways.Gone are former director James Wan's crafty and effective long suspenseful sequences that redeemed the infamous jump scare from cheap "gotcha moments" to an artistic feat.Instead, in the film's opening sequence, the sound design is turned up to an irritating degree as if to conceal the uninspired cinematography.On a technical level, The Conjuring 3 is a constant reminder of how crucial James Wan's direction is to this franchise.While the Conjuring universe have spawned many imitators, they almost always pale in comparison.The change of writer is, however, less drastic.Johnson-McGoldrick's script offers a more Lorraine-centric focus and considering she has always been the more compelling character, this is a welcome shift.Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson have always been the most compelling aspects of this universe and in this sequel, they are still delightful as the Warrens while adding a much-needed emotional heft.In addition, The Conjuring 3, with its newfound Catholic director, is more steeped in Catholicism than ever before.For the first time in the mainline series, the Warrens feel like they are a part of the Catholic institution.Surrounded by a broader network, this third entry shows not one but two Catholic priests performing exorcists.This is a stark contrast to the previous entry which make the unqualified Warrens perform the exorcists.While it is still the Warrens (this time Ed) that ultimately saves Arne, the Catholic institution has a more prominent role than in previous entries.While some scholars might want to classify the Conjuring universe as Catholic horror, I suggest they are more appropriately classified as Evangelical horror.For one, these films' Catholicism are often constrained and decorative.Instead, the Christianity that is portrayed in the film is a mixture of various conservative Christian traditions, reminiscent of larger tent groups such as the Christian Right.While the real Warrens were conservative Catholics, in the Conjuring universe, their characters were created by evangelicals Chad and Carey Hayes and as a result, the Warrens espoused more Protestant understanding of Christianity.However, by no means do the Conjuring films have nothing to say about American Catholicism.In fact, this franchise has plenty to say about conservative Catholicism in the tradition of the Christian Right