True crime fans and The Conjuring franchise addicts alike will want to place a new documentary into their queues. The Devil On Trial revolves around that one time (and there has been only one) that the official defense of a U.S.-based murder defendant was “demonic possession” in an attempt to absolve personal responsibility for a homicide. The documentary is based on a real story and also heavily involves the husband-wife paranormal investigative team of Ed and Lorraine Warren. They are shown in the above photograph with David Glatzel, who plays a key role in one hell of a demonic mess.
As many people were already aware, the Warrens actually existed and also appear as main characters in the now-sprawling The Conjuring universe that also includes Annabelle: Creation and those jump-scare heavy The Nun flicks. This legal case, however, served as the inspiration for The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, which portrays a real Satanic panic.
The Devil On Trial takes the documentary approach and follows David Glatzel’s apparently unsuccessful exorcism by the Warrens, after which the demon allegedly leaped into the body of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, who later murdered his landlord. Johnson went on trial in 1981. Was this defense successful? We won’t spoil, but you can watch The Devil On Trial on Netflix.