‘The Devil on Trial’: A True Story & Its Connection to ‘The Conjuring’ Franchise

Halloween season is in full swing, and it’s clearly evident through the plethora of awesome horror-ish content that’s being released almost every day. However, hardly any of those paranormal stories are, in fact, true stories. Today, we’ll talk about Netflix’s new documentary – ‘The Devil on Trial’ – and its apparent connection to the famous ‘Conjuring’ horror franchise.

What is ‘The Devil on Trial’ about?

When you hear the title, ‘The Devil on Trial,’ it sounds a lot like a fictional horror movie, right? Well, this is far from a fictional movie. ‘The Devil on Trial’ is actually a new, dark documentary about the case of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, a 19-year-old boy from Connecticut who brutally stabbed and murdered his 40-year-old landlord, Alan Bono.

Although Arne immediately admitted to having been the one to commit the crime, he still pleaded non-guilty by reason of ‘demonic possession.’ It was an unprecedented, never-before-heard defense in US history – and still remains the only case ever to have used the said defense in trial.

Countless movies and TV shows have been inspired by this unfathomably terrifying case – including the one we’ll talk about more later in this article – but this is probably the first time that the case was talked about in a documentary form, with multiple people heavily involved in the case giving their first-hand stories and testimonies – including Arne Johnson himself.

So, what did actually happen that made this case so huge, not just in Connecticut, but the entire US and beyond? Let’s start from the beginning.

In February 1981, Johnson took out his 5-inch-blade pocket knife, violently stabbed his 40-year-old landlord, Alan Bono, and then quietly walked away down the road. He was found bloody and arrested a few hours after the stabbing occurred. However, the horror that was eventually used in Arne’s defense began months earlier.

Arne’s girlfriend’s brother – 11-year-old David Glatzel – saw a figure at the foot of his bed one night. Nobody thought much of it until David allegedly started speaking Latin, levitating over his bed, and getting massive bruises all over his body, seemingly due to a demonic presence. 

At some point, Arne allegedly invited the malevolent presence to take his body instead and leave David alone, after which everything quieted down. Not for long, though, as the stabbing of Alan Bono happened soon after, and Arne was allegedly growling like an animal, possessing borderline inhuman strength over the episode.

In the end, when all the evidence was presented and all the eyewitness accounts were considered, Johnson was charged with first-degree manslaughter and received a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison in November 1981. He was, however, released on parole after five years due to good behavior.

It was a very divisive case and one that probably caught the most attention in the 1980s in the US. But what does any of it have to do with ‘The Conjuring’ franchise?

How is ‘The Devil on Trial’ connected to ‘The Conjuring’ movie franchise?

Known as ‘The Devil Made Me Do It’ case, Arne Johnson’s trial was the inspiration behind the third ‘Conjuring’ movie, also titled ‘The Devil Made Me Do It.’

Peter Safran and James Wan – the movie’s producers – based the plot on Arne’s case and trial. Ed and Lorraine Warren – the famous real-life demonologists and paranormal investigators – are the focal point of all the ‘Conjuring’ movies, and they were heavily involved in the real-life case of Arne Cheyenne Johnson as well.

Naturally, the film didn’t follow the true story to a tee – rather, it was stylized and changed for dramatic purposes. Also, the movie’s resolution is quite different from what happened in real life, but the gist of the case remains the same.

In the film, a teenage boy stabs his landlord to death after his girlfriend’s younger brother is seemingly possessed by a demon, and the teenage boy invites the evil spirit to possess him instead, saving the little boy. During his trial, he claimed that the devil possessed him and was backed by eyewitnesses alongside Ed and Lorraine Warren.

However, in the film, Ed and Lorraine discover that a witch cult was responsible not only for this killing, but they also managed to connect the dots to several other deaths before this one that garnered so much attention.

I can’t wait to watch ‘The Devil on Trial’ to compare the real-life testimonies and facts presented in the documentary to those we’ve seen in ‘The Conjuring 3.’

When is ‘The Devil on Trial’ coming out?

‘The Devil on Trial’ is coming out on October 17, 2023. Unlike many crime documentaries, this one won’t be a docuseries. Instead, it’s a full-feature documentary film with an 81-minute runtime and will include testimonies, reenactments, and home videos from the people involved in the case first-hand – including the defendant, Arne Cheyenne Johnson.

Where to watch ‘The Devil on Trial’?

‘The Devil on Trial’ is a Netflix Original, meaning it’ll be available exclusively on Netflix when it premieres. Afterward, it’ll likely become available to buy/rent from the usual channels (Google Play, Prime Video, etc.), but if you want to watch it right away, you’ll only be able to do so on Netflix.

Where to watch ‘The Conjuring’ franchise?

For those who want to check out ‘The Conjuring’ version of events – or simply want to refresh their memory – you’ll be happy to know that almost every entry of ‘The Conjuring’ franchise is available for streaming on Max. The only movie within the franchise that you won’t find on the platform is ‘The Conjuring 2.’

That being said, if you don’t have Max or just want to check out ‘The Conjuring 3’ alone, you can buy or rent it on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Redbox, DIRECTV, or Spectrum.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!