Did the Devil Made Him Do it?
Mystery Behind Netflix’s The Devil on Trial
SPOILER ALERT!!!
Netflix tried to make a spooky movie for this Halloween season called 'The Devil on Trial.' Is it worth it, though?
Directed and written by Christopher Holt, 'The Devil on Trial' is a documentary revolving around the possession of a 19-year-old, Arne Cheyenne Johnson, a 12-year-old child, David Glatzel, and a murder trial involving Arne.
Creepy Start
The documentary begins with some eerie pictures, videos, and distorted audios of the apparently possessed child, David, back in the 1980s.
David starts telling the story from his perspective and how everything was fine until one day he gets possessed by a demon. His first encounter with the demon occurred when he, along with his family, went to help clean his sister Debbie and her boyfriend Arne's new rental house.
Shortly after that, the demon starts haunting their family, and David’s mother decides to call Ed and Lorraine Warren to confirm what’s happening. Ed, the demonologist, and Lorraine, a psychic, confirm the demon’s presence in Glatzel’s house and suggest performing an exorcism on David.
During the exorcism, Arne unknowingly challenges the demon to leave the child and fight with him instead. Ed and Lorraine warn Arne that what he did was wrong, and the demon will definitely come back.
And so it happens.
After five months of David's exorcism, on February 16, 1981, Arne kills his landlord, Alan Bono, while allegedly being drunk. Alan was Debbie's ex-boyfriend, and the rumor was that Arne killed Alan because he was possessive about Debbie. However, Debbie denies the rumor and says Alan was only her ex, and there was nothing going on between them.
The Trial
In October 1981, the murder trial begins, and Arne pleads not guilty because he was possessed. However, the court denies the claims and rejects any supernatural alibis. Given that, the court convicts Arne of manslaughter with a sentence for 10-20 years, of which he serves five years and continues to live with Debbie.
Watch or Not?
I appreciated the new perspective on the entire Ed and Lorraine's The Conjuring series. I'd recommend giving it a watch if you're a fan of real-life footage and documentaries and are also prepared for some contrasting beliefs and statements.
Carl Glatzel, David's eldest brother, talks about how their mother was giving sleeping pills to the whole family, which, in my opinion, was the scariest part of this documentary. Anyone with enough knowledge about sleeping pills knows how these pills can affect the body and cause severe mental issues.
I don’t have an explanation for the lights flickering and the house shaking that you’ll see in the documentary. But if everything else was fabricated, sleeping pills might be the reason for what happened to the family.
Carl is the only one who denies the demonic possession of his brother and Arne.
So, about Alan's murder, we'll never know if demon possession was the only truth.
Apart from the truth, the audios were certainly creepy enough to send chills down your spine if you're watching it at night, ALONE.
Did you enjoy this review? I’ll be covering more movies and series in all genres soon, so follow for more.
