WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, now in theaters and on HBO Max.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is the first film in the franchise with a villain who isn't a spirit terrorizing a family. In fact, it's a woman by the name of Isla (Eugenie Bondurant), an occultist with ties to the same satanic cult from the Annabelle franchise. Throughout the film, she curses families and people, using demons to control others to take lives before killing themselves. However, as Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) take the fight to Isla in the film's climax, she goes on the offensive, utilizing a move straight out of one of comic's most terrifying villains, the Scarecrow.
In the Batman comics, the Scarecrow is Dr. Johnathan Crane, a lanky and reserved scientist who spent most of his life being bullied. But rather than stand up to them, he takes his aggression and studies them. Learning every facet of fear, he creates a toxin that evokes a person's deepest terrors and uses it against them. Donning a scarecrow outfit and fear gas, he terrorizes Gotham City, turning loved ones against each other as they face their own demons.
Isla is no different in her appearance and actions. Tall and lanky herself, Isla moves deceptively quick in her efforts to stop the Warrens from destroying the altar she executes her curses from. After Lorraine escapes her grasp, Isla sets her sights on Ed. She uses a trick to make him believe he has found Lorraine before appearing directly in front of him and blowing a powder in his face, a move Scarecrow's done a few times.
Through the powder, Ed becomes increasingly violent and unaware of his surroundings, intending to kill Lorraine. While it's not confirmed whether or not he sees his fears, his actions are similar to when he was possessed earlier in the film and nearly stabs Lorraine, thinking her to be a demonic presence. Thus, this powder may be evoking a similar effect on Ed, causing him to turn against the person he loves most, similar to Crane's fear gas.
Isla is undoubtedly a forward-thinking antagonist in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. The way she turns Ed against his wife is proof of that. The moment he succumbs to the attack, he aims to kill Lorraine and almost buys enough time for Isla to finish her curse against Arne Johnson (Ruairi O'Connor). But her only underestimation was how deep the Warrens' love goes and how it can overcome even her strongest curses.
The Occultist had some unique tricks up her sleeve that hadn't been seen in the Conjuring films until that point. From cursing families to controlling other psychics like Lorraine, Isla shows that she's one of the deadliest adversaries in the entire Conjuring Universe. By emulating the Scarecrow's fear gas, she also proves that she is incredibly resourceful and just as deadly as any Batman villain.
Directed by Michael Chaves, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It stars Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ruairi O'Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook and Julian Hilliard. The film is now in theaters and on HBO Max.
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