The Conjuring 3 will "blow the doors off the haunted house"

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Exclusive: The Devil Made Me Do It marks a shake-up for the Warrens

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
(Image credit: Warner Bros)

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is technically the third film in The Conjuring series, although its protagonists, Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) also appeared in spin-off Annabelle Comes Home.

This latest instalment is set to take the series in a slightly different direction, though. Where the first two Conjurings were haunted house movies – with one foot in reality on account of the fact that the Warrens were real paranormal investigators – TDMMDI is offering something of a genre shake-up.

Based on the real court case of Arne Cheyenne Johnson – the first defendant in the US to have claimed innocence due to demonic possession – The Conjuring 3 is breaking new ground for the series. Where the previous two films were directed by James Wan (who still produces), this one is directed by Michael Chaves (The Curse of La Llorona).

In the latest issue of our sister publication, Total Film magazine, Chaves explains, “We wanted to blow the doors of the haunted house…” Chaves can be seen with stars Wilson and Farmiga in the exclusive behind-the-scenes image below…

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

(Image credit: Warner Bros)

“Up until now, these movies have existed inside a certain type of framework,” Chaves tells Total Film. “We were desperate to take them beyond that.” He has one surprising touchstone for the new instalment. “[David Fincher’s] Se7en is one of our favourites and we were excited by the challenge of doing something along those lines – something surrounding an investigation – within the series, while still using all that supernatural terminology and language.”

The fact that this story is based on a real murder also instructed the approach. “There’s a real victim in this story,” Chaves explains. “It weighed heavily on us because we knew we needed to make a movie that was thrilling and scary, and lived up to expectations, but we were also really mindful about being truthful.”

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It opens in the UK on May 28, with previews from May 26, before opening in the US and streaming on HBO Max from June 4. For much more on the film, grab a copy of the new issue of Total Film magazine when it hits shelves (and digital newsstands) on Friday, April 30.

Check out the new (super-size fold-out) covers, as revealed by The Suicide Squad director James Gunn…

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(Image credit: Total Film)
Matt Maytum
Matt Maytum

Matt Maytum is the former Editor of Total Film magazine. Over the past decade, Matt has worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.