Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as paranormal investigators and authors Ed and Lorraine Warren, with Ruairi O'Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Julian Hilliard also starring.

In 1981, demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren document the exorcism of 8-year-old David Glatzel, attended by his family, his older sister Debbie, her boyfriend Arne Johnson, and Father Gordon in Brookfield, Connecticut.

Kastner, a former priest who had studied the Disciples of the Ram cult, tells them that an occultist had intentionally left the totem, resulting in a curse on the Glatzels and David's possession.

When the Warrens receive notice that detectives from Danvers, Massachusetts found a similar totem in the death of Katie Lincoln, who was also stabbed 22 times, they travel there.

[10] In June 2017, it was announced a third installment was in development, with The Conjuring 2 co-writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick hired to write the screenplay.

Chaves' ability to bring emotion to a story, and his understanding of mood and scares, make him a perfect fit to direct the next Conjuring film.

[20] In August 2019, actress Megan Ashley Brown announced that she and Mitchell Hoog would portray young Lorraine and Ed Warren respectively.

[21] In December 2019, Sterling Jerins, Julian Hilliard, Sarah Catherine Hook and Ruairi O'Connor were all confirmed as part of the film's cast by Chaves.

The character was supposed to be working with the Occultist, but Chaves believed it "just wasn't quite connecting", and instead gave Osbourne a role as an infirmary patient.

[3][4] In the United States, the film was released alongside Spirit Untamed and was projected to gross $15 to 20 million from 3,100 theaters in its opening weekend.

[37] It ended up debuting to $24 million, the second-lowest of The Conjuring Universe franchise but still marking the third-best opening of the pandemic and topping the box office in its release weekend.

The website's critics consensus reads: "The Devil Made Me Do It represents a comedown for the core Conjuring films, although Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson keep the audience invested.

[38] Carlos Aguilar of the TheWrap wrote: "The Devil Made Me Do It opens with a disturbing sequence, set in 1981, that stands as the scariest part of the supernatural saga to date.

That's not to say that the nearly two hours that ensue are devoid of tension and well-paced jump scares, but the sheer chaos and malevolence on display right out of the gate are unmatched elsewhere.

"[43] In his review for Variety, Owen Gleiberman praised the performances of Wilson and Farmiga but wrote: "The new film lacks that kinetic haunted-house element.

But the grounding in dark spirituality that made the previous entries focused on the Warrens so compelling gets diluted, despite the reliably dignifying double-act of Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson.

"[45] Lena Wilson of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, stating that "'The Devil Made Me Do It' is an excellently spooky work of fiction.

"[46] Hanna Flint of Empire wrote "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It hits some major horror notes, with Wilson and Farmiga providing much needed heart and soul, but the new Satanic worship elements causes the franchise to take a farcical turn.

"[48] Tom Jorgensen of IGN rated the film a 6 out of 10, concluding that "Though The Devil Made Me Do It is a smart recalibration for The Conjuring series, its successes have little to do with its strengths as a standalone horror movie" and that "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is greater than the sum of its parts and functions best in how it opens the series up to new kinds of stories to tell in the future.