A new documentary has dropped on Netflix and this one’s pretty dark.
Rather than being about a serial killer or unsolved cold case, The Devil on Trial covers the terrifying true story behind a major movie.
You can watch the trailer for The Devil on Trial here:
Advert
Released on Netflix today, the new documentary goes over the inspiration for The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It.
And it’s that second part of the movie title that The Devil on Trial is exploring as it looks at a first in the US legal system.
If you’ve watched the 2021 movie, you’ll have a good idea about this story.
But just in case, the Netflix synopsis of the documentary says: “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.”
Let’s rewind to 1981, when Arne Cheyenne Johnson claimed he’d been possessed by some supernatural entity which made him murder his landlord, Alan Bono.
And this was the defence put to court – pretty wild right?
To prove Johnson’s innocence, the defence enlisted an expert ghost hunting team.
Ed and Lorraine Warren, the infamous paranormal investigators, had already visited 11-year-old’s David Glatzel’s family prior to the murder.
Glatzel had reportedly been possessed by a demon, and the pair claim when they’d desperately tried to remove it from the kid, it had flew into Johnson’s body instead.
The documentary director, Chris Holt, said in the podcast You Can’t Make This Up: “When the Warrens came along, they were told to start documenting it. They needed to provide proof and evidence to the diocese [to get approved for] an exorcism.
“[The documentary] is the first time that audio and those Polaroids have ever been shown — these have been laying in a drawer for 20 to 30 odd years.”
It was only a few months after this demonic trade that Johnson ended up killing Bono, and claiming he’d been taken over by something otherworldly.
In the end, the court did not believe Johnson's side of the story, and he was convicted of first-degree manslaughter.
Johnson would go on to serve just five years of his 10 to 20-year sentence.
Viewers who’ve watched the documentary so far write on X: “Mysterious, compelling, and heartbreaking.”
Others called it ‘gripping’ and one wrote: “To say it’s eye opening is an understatement.”
The Devil on Trial is now on Netflix.
Topics: Documentaries, Film and TV, Netflix, US News, Crime, Weird
Jess Battison