The Devil On Trial is a true crime documentary film released on Netflix on October 17, 2023. It was written and directed by Christopher Holt and produced by Hattie Bridges. Executive produced by Julia Nottingham and Sam Starbuck, the film has a runtime of about 1 hour and 21 minutes.
The documentary features David Glatzel, Alan Glatzel, Carl Glatzel, Arne Cheyenne Johnson, Chris McKinnell, Father Maximos, Glenn Cooper, Martin Minnella, Mike Allen and others. It is based on often referred to as the “Devil Made Me Do It” case, where a man stabbed his employer and claimed that it was the devil that did it and not him. It is the first and only case where ‘demonic possession’ has officially been used as a defence in a US murder trial.
-This Article Contains Spoilers-
The Devil On Trial Review
The main subject of the documentary is not exactly Arne Cheyenne Johnson but her wife’s brother – David Glatzel. Everything seems to start from the moment when David seemingly got possessed by a devil while helping her sister Debbie to move into a new house. On 2nd July 1980 in Brookefield, the said encounter is claimed to have happened when 11-year-old David was cleaning the bedroom alone & felt a presence open up the door and push him onto the bed. It even spoke to him with his charcoal black eyes that he wanted David’s soul.
Terrified by what had happened, David insisted on going back home & shared his ordeal with his family. They didn’t really believe much in it until the otherworldly being made his presence felt in their house. From priests cleansing their house to contacting the infamous Ed and Lorraine Warren, the family did it all, before they lost their son to the devil or witnessed someone else losing their life. Like all paranormal possessions, the only way to get out of this horrific misery was exorcism.
Apart from David himself, it’s only his brother Alan Glatzel, who shares the events of the exorcism. It was revealed that while David was fighting off the devil with his life, Arne challenged the entity to take on him instead and leave the kid alone. They believe that’s what happened literally as David returned to his normal self, believing that exorcism worked. But little did they know that it latched onto Arne instead.
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Everything went back to normal after the exorcism & Debbie moved out with Arne to an apartment. They were employed at a Dog shelter by Alan Bono. On the day of the stabbing incident, February 16, 1981, Arne recalls bringing his sisters to his place and they were having drinks with Alan. He decided to take them out when Alan became quite drunk & boisterous. Arne claims to not remember anything but according to the testimony of Debbie & his sisters, a drunk fight broke out & apparently Alan got stabbed four times & died on the scene.
Even David shares how he saw the visions of Arne walking with a knife towards their house. David was sure that he would have been the next victim if an ambulance driver hadn’t recognised the running suspect & got him arrested. Arne and his lawyer put up the same defence in court, however, the judge refused to accept any supernatural evidence and he was convicted of manslaughter.
Now the question remains if we really believe that Arne was possessed or if it was done in a rageful moment. Some alleged rumours like Debbie had a relationship with Alan and Arne was pissed about it or maybe Alan tried something against his sister & he took it all out by stabbing him. The one person who strongly denies everything, including David’s possession is the elder brother – Carl Glatzel.
Actually Paranormal or a Fabricated Lie that went too far?
He calls the whole demonic possession of David and how he behaved as something fabricated by his brother and his whole family heeding towards it. Towards the start, David revealed that he was truly sad to know that his sister would be moving out. Could it be one of the reasons for him to act out in such an irrational manner, to stop Debbie from going away? Carl even alleges that their mother used to put Sominex medicine in their food to control the big family. As it is a nighttime sleep aid designed to help you wake up relaxed and refreshed.
He even comments further that hallucinations can be a side effect of the said medicine that they consumed regularly without even knowing. Could it be a possibility that after witnessing how David’s dangerous behaviour (trying to kill his family members by choking or by knife) was blamed on the evil entity, Arne decided to use the same excuse when he realised what he had done? What really seems suspicious about Arne is that he never showed signs of possession before or after the incident.
One could at least believe David’s account, listening to the tape recordings and seeing the pictures. But Arne seems to be using the same for his own advantage and to find a way of getting out. Also, the involvement of Ed and Lorraine Warren in everything makes you more suspicious, if you have been following the ‘con artist’ allegations on them. By the end, even David accuses them of making money out of his ordeal by publishing a book on his case and not giving them a penny out of the profits.
At first, the documentary seems to be making a case for demonic possession being the sole reason for everything that happened. Then at the last 15 minutes, they bring in Carl who tears down everything we came to believe about the family and says that it could have been a lie that went too far. Leaving the audience questioning what to really believe in. Do evil spirits exist? – one can never completely deny or accept it, so even if we believe they do – why would it kill Alan Bono when it wanted David’s soul?
Personally, I find it hard to believe that any evil entity was actually there and could be a possibility of David’s imaginative mind playing tricks on him. It also sheds some light on how the Warrens took full advantage of such situations by actively capturing everything and then using it in a manner that makes everything seem so much scary & worse. It also helped in creating material for their books and was enough evidence to persuade anyone, because initially, even I fell for it. Overall, it’s an intriguing documentary to watch during the spooky month.
Rating: 3.5/5
The Devil On Trial is available for streaming on Netflix.
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