A new spooky true crime documentary on Netflix sounds like something that should be a horror movie – and that's because it is.
The Devil on Trial explores the first (and only) time when demonic possession was used as a defence in a murder trial in the US, which inspired the 2021 horror movie sequel The Conjuring: The Devil Told Me To Do It.
The documentary takes a look back at the 'Devil Made Me Do It' case, the trial of 19-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson, and plays actual recordings of alleged possessions and exorcisms.
What is Netflix's The Devil on Trial about?
The Netflix documentary will reexamine the 'Devil Made Me Do It' case, which is the story of Arne Cheyenne Johnson who claimed he'd been possessed by a demon when he murdered his landlord Alan Bono in 1981.
The film sheds light on the events that led up to the murder and the following trial that took place, featuring interviews with the people involved, along with reenactments and home videos.
The Netflix documentary aims to start "a new conversation about what happens when assumptions about reality are in direct conflict with strongly held beliefs".
The movie begins with a cassette labeled “possessed child speaking vulgarities, 8/14/80.” The youngest brother-in-law of Arne Johnson, David Glatzer, claims to have been the one initially possessed when he was young boy, and begins the documentary by saying, “When I was 11, I was possessed by the devil.”
Watch The Devil On Trial trailer here. Post continues after video.