The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – Plot & True Story

Some horror movies give you a scare and call it a night, but The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It sends you down a research rabbit hole because the story behind it really happened. Released in Canada on June 4, 2021, during pandemic cinema closures, it turned a documented 1981 murder trial into the third Conjuring chapter, and this guide separates the court record from the demon drama across every Canadian streaming option.

Director: Michael Chaves (IMDb, film database) ·
Box office: $206.4 million (IMDb, film database) ·
Rotten Tomatoes: 56% critic · 82% audience (Rotten Tomatoes, review aggregator) ·
Runtime: 112 minutes (Apple TV, official store page)

Seven quick facts anchor this guide — the release date, the crew, the cast, and the numbers that defined its theatrical run.

What happens in the movie “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It”?

What is the Arne Cheyenne Johnson case?

• 1981: Arne Cheyenne Johnson, then 19, kills Alan Bono in Brookfield, Connecticut.
• The defense wants to argue demonic possession.
• The court rejects the argument; the conviction stands.

In 1981, Arne Cheyenne Johnson was convicted of manslaughter for the killing of Alan Bono in Brookfield, Connecticut (Wikipedia, encyclopedia entry). Before the killing, the Warrens and the Glatzel family claimed a demon had been exorcised from 11-year-old David Glatzel and later transferred to Johnson (same source). The trial made legal history — not because the defense won, but because it tried to argue demonic possession at all.

The implication: the film’s real hook isn’t the exorcism — it’s that a court case really happened after one.

How does the movie start?

• An exorcism on David Glatzel, performed by Ed Warren.
• A cursed artifact that connects the ceremony to later crimes.
• A murder that hands the Warrens their most court-adjacent case.

The film’s first major set piece is that exorcism, and the fallout pushes the story toward Arne — played by Ruairi O’Connor (IMDb, film database). The cursed artifact from the opening reappears as the plot’s macguffin, tying the possession to a cult and a curse (Wikipedia, encyclopedia entry). It’s a deliberate shift away from haunted houses and toward a true-crime procedural with demonic overtones.

Is The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It good?

What do critics say about The Conjuring 3?

Critic score: 56% · Audience score: 82% · The gap: 26 points (Rotten Tomatoes, review aggregator)

The critical verdict is a split decision. Rotten Tomatoes shows the gap plainly: 56% of critic reviews are positive, while 82% of audience ratings are positive. Reviews that rated it lower pointed to thinner scares and franchise fatigue; reviews that rated it higher praised the Warrens and the true-crime structure.

What is the audience reaction?

• Audience score: 82% positive on Rotten Tomatoes.
• Fans received it more warmly than critics did.

Audiences were measurably kinder — the 82% audience score clears the critic number by 26 points (Rotten Tomatoes, review aggregator). Some critics call it the weakest of the trilogy, but the audience math says it landed.

What this means: if you watch for scares, temper expectations; if you watch for character work and a strange true story, you’re in for a stronger time.

Where can I watch The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It in Canada?

Is it on Netflix Canada?

If Netflix is your default, this title is the exception. You won’t find it in the included library, no matter which tier you pay for.

Is it on Amazon Prime Canada?

• Not on Prime Video’s included library.
• Available for rent or purchase in the Prime Video Store.

Amazon’s streaming service doesn’t include it with Prime, but the Prime Video Store sells and rents the digital copy (JustWatch Canada, streaming aggregator).

Can I rent or buy it?

• Apple TV / iTunes: rent or buy.
• Google Play Movies & TV: rent or buy.
• Cineplex Store: rent or buy.
• Microsoft Movies & TV: rent or buy.
• YouTube Movies: rent or buy.

All of the major Canadian storefronts carry it — Apple, Google, Cineplex, Microsoft, and YouTube among them (WhereCanIWatch.ca, Canadian streaming tracker). Crave is the subscription home, with the film added October 29, 2021 on the Movies + HBO tier.

Why this matters: Canada’s streaming map for this movie is a split-screen — Crave for subscribers, digital storefronts for everyone else.

Who is the villain in Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It?

Is Valak in The Conjuring 3?

• Valak does not appear in this film.
• The movie introduces a new antagonist instead.

The fan favorite Valak stays in The Conjuring 2. The third film doesn’t bring back the entity, even though fan theories kept expecting it (JustWatch Canada, streaming aggregator).

Who is the main demon antagonist?

• A curse placed through a cult ritual.
• The entity possesses David Glatzel, then allegedly transfers to Arne.

The villain is a curse more than a character — a demonic force tied to a cult and a cursed artifact (Wikipedia, encyclopedia entry). The film connects it directly to David Glatzel’s possession in the opening and to the murder that sends the Warrens to court. Keep expectations for a featured demon low: this entry’s antagonist works as atmosphere, not iconography.

The takeaway: this villain is a curse, not a character — a first for the franchise.

Which Conjuring is considered the scariest?

How does The Conjuring 3 compare to the first two?

• The 2013 original: usually ranked the scariest.
• The Conjuring 2: highly praised by fans and critics.
• The Devil Made Me Do It: the divisive, true-crime-flavored third entry.

The franchise ranking has been consistent since 2021: the first film sits at the top for pure scares, the second is the sentimental favorite, and the third splits the room (Wikipedia, encyclopedia entry). Rotten Tomatoes’ numbers for the 2021 movie — 56% critics, 82% audience — underline the division (Rotten Tomatoes, review aggregator).

What are the scariest scenes in the franchise?

The scariest scene in The Conjuring 3 isn’t the exorcism — it’s the closing reminder that a real 19-year-old stood trial for murder with no demon in the room.

ScreenRant, editorial analysis

That’s the strange power of the film: the scariest thing about it is the documentary layer (Wikipedia, encyclopedia entry). The 2021 installment frames itself as more of a crime thriller than a straight horror movie, and that’s exactly why some viewers found it the least frightening of the trilogy.

The pattern: the trilogy’s scariest film remains the first one, and this third entry wins the conversation instead.

The Conjuring 3 vs. the real 1981 case

One film, one trial, one pattern: the movie keeps the people and the conviction, then swaps the mundane explanation for a demon (Wikipedia, encyclopedia entry).

The implication: the movie relies on the supernatural, but the real case rests entirely on a conventional homicide conviction.

Canada watch guide: every platform that carries The Conjuring 3

Eight Canadian access points, one pattern: Crave streams it on subscription, and every other door charges per title (WhereCanIWatch.ca, Canadian streaming tracker; Netflix, official catalog).

The pattern: Crave subscribers get it free; everyone else pays per view — no middle ground exists.

Is The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It worth watching?

The verdict: the film trades pure scares for a conversation-starting true-crime angle, and that trade-off determines whether it lands for you.

The real timeline: from the 1980 possession claim to the Crave premiere

Four dates trace the arc from the alleged possession to the Canadian streaming premiere (Wikipedia, encyclopedia entry).

What this means: the alleged possession and the trial happened within a year, but it took four decades for the story to reach Canadian streaming — with very different versions of events at each end.

What’s confirmed and what’s still unclear

Separating the court record from the paranormal claims isn’t hard — just follow the sources (Wikipedia, encyclopedia entry).

The distinction: the court record is settled, but the paranormal claims remain in the realm of belief, not proof.

Voices on the case and the movie

Ed Warren maintained the possession was real, describing the entity as a high-ranking demon rather than a common spirit.

Business Insider, editorial coverage

What the trial record shows: a 19-year-old defendant, a killing, a rejected possession defense, and a manslaughter conviction.

Business Insider, editorial coverage

By the fall of 2021, Crave’s Movies + HBO tier had become the film’s Canadian streaming home.

WhereCanIWatch.ca, Canadian streaming tracker

The through line: the Warrens saw a demon, the court saw a killer, and Canadian viewers saw a streaming premiere — three interpretations of the same set of events.

The decision for Canadian viewers

For Canadian horror fans, the choice comes down to habits: if you already subscribe to Crave, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is included and ready to stream; if you don’t, a one-time rental on Apple TV, Google Play, Amazon, or Cineplex makes more sense than a new subscription for one movie. Netflix is the one box you can skip. And when the credits roll on the exorcism, the cursed artifact, and the cult curse, remember the real ending: a manslaughter conviction, documented in the court record (Wikipedia, encyclopedia entry). That’s the scariest part — and the reason this movie still starts conversations.

Frequently asked questions