The Netflix streaming service has announced (via their Tudum site) that one of their upcoming releases is the documentary The Devil on Trial, which is based on the same true crime case that inspired the 2021 film The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, the third film in the Conjuring series. In fact, the image that Netflix is using to promote the documentary even features the Warrens, the paranormal investigators that are played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga in the Conjuring films! You can take a look at the image at the bottom of this article. The release date for The Devil on Trial is right in the midst of Halloween season, on October 17th.
According to the Tudum listing, The Devil on Trial explores the first — and only — time “demonic possession” has officially been used as a defense in a US murder trial. Including firsthand accounts of alleged devil possession and a shocking murder, this extraordinary story forces reflection on our fear of the unknown.
The documentary has been directed by Peabody Award-winning and BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Chris Holt. Among the people interviewed for the documentary is Arne Cheyenne Johnson, the man who claimed “the devil made me do it” when he was on trial for the killing of his landlord, Alan Bono. You can read up on the trial at THIS LINK, or just wait for the documentary to reach Netflix.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It was a chilling story of terror, murder and unknown evil that shocked even experienced real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. One of the most sensational cases from their files, it starts with a fight for the soul of a young boy, then takes them beyond anything they’d ever seen before, to mark the first time in U.S. history that a murder suspect would claim demonic possession as a defense.
Are you interested in the Arne Cheyenne Johnson case, and will you be watching the documentary The Devil on Trial when it’s released on Netflix? Let us know by leaving a comment below. I’ll be watching this one for sure.