The Devil on Trial 2023 Movie Review

Netflix on Wednesday released the trailer of its upcoming documentary series The Devil on Trial. Slated to release on the streaming platform on October 17, the documentary directed by Christopher Holt recounts the chilling murder trial that took place in the 80s in the United States in which ‘demonic possession’ was officially used as a defence — the first and last case to do so.

Using real home videos, reenactments, and interviews with the people who were involved in the case, the documentary tells the story of 19-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson who stood on trial for murdering his 40-year-old landlord, Alan Bono, and defended that he did it under the influence of demonic possession.

The story begins months before the murder when Johnson’s girlfriend’s 11-year-old brother David showed all signs of demonic possession, including speaking in Latin and being thrown on air, to the shock of Ed and Lorraine Warren, demonologists and paranormal investigators. Unfortunately, it is believed that the demon ended up possessing Johnson and lead to the murder that sparked one of the most infamous murder trials in history.

Notably, the case was also made into a feature film, the 2021 The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.