While Netflix’s The Devil on Trial documentary recounts an interesting true-crime tale, a 2021 box office hit used the same source information but told the story better. This film revisits a 1981 homicide where a man named Arne Cheyenne Johnson killed his property manager Alan Bono, using a legal argument that’s now known as the “devil made me do it” defense. Netflix has released many documentaries that touch on intriguing but less-covered subjects, and The Devil on Trial is very different. The case that inspired The Devil on Trial isn’t by any means new or uncovered.
Arne Johnson’s trial has been covered frequently across multiple media formats. Other documentaries like Shock Docs: The Devil Made Me Do It and The Demon Murder Case covered the case at length. TV show episodes have discussed the supernatural elements of the case. True-crime podcasts like Once Upon a Crime and Let’s Go to Court have also discussed the killing and subsequent trial. However, the most popular iteration of the manslaughter of Alan Bono by Arne Johnson occurs in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, a 2021 box office hit that grossed $200 million (via Box Office Mojo).
Arne Johnson’s Story Was At The Center Of The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
The entire plot of The Conjuring 3 fictionalizes the manslaughter of Alan Bono by Arne Johnson and Johnson’s subsequent trial. In the movie, Ed and Lorraine Warren exorcise a demon from the eight-year-old David Glatzel at which point his sister’s boyfriend, Arne Johnson, tells the demon to take him as a victim instead. Soon after this, Johnson kills his property manager, claiming the demon did it instead of him.
Though the movie doesn’t depict the actual crime, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It‘s true events are touched on through the characters’ narration. Due to their involvement in the exorcism, the Warrens grew to fame during this trial, publishing books about their experiences and creating a museum of haunted artifacts. Ultimately, The Conjuring 3 told the same story as The Devil on Trial, just in a different format.
Why The Conjuring 3’s Fictionalized True Story Is Still Better Than Netflix’s Documentary
The Conjuring 3‘s plot includes most of the same basic elements shown in The Devil on Trial since they are both based on the Arne Johnson case. However, the Conjuring movie’s fictionalized approach to the manslaughter and trial makes it vastly better than Netflix’s documentary. Critics say the haunting in Netflix’s documentary seems clearly fake and silly. The evidence presented isn’t compelling or worth so much time. By fictionalizing the events in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, they could lean into the supernatural elements without it seeming outlandish or cruel.
Additionally, the third Conjuring movie could follow the fictional Warrens without touching on the question of their true motives or trustworthiness. One of the biggest complaints among reviewers and critics is the fact that The Devil on Trial presents the Warrens as legitimate without focusing on the multitude of allegations against them for preying on individuals. As a fictional paranormal horror story, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It isn’t beholden to the same standards of factual scrutiny.
