Netflix fans 'don't know who to trust' after watching 'freaky' new horror doc

21 October 2023 , 12:51

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Netflix viewers have been left 'freaked out'

Viewers have been left spooked within minutes of tuning into Netflix's new documentary, The Devil on Trial.

The show delves behind the scenes of the story which inspired hit movie 'The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It,' which stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. The one hour and twenty minute programme explores the only time that demonic possession has been used as a defence in a US murder trial.

It centres around 19-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson, who violently killed his landlord in 1981. Alan Bono, 40, was stabbed to death in Brookfield Connecticut in the first murder in the town's 193-year history. Johnson's defence in court was that he was possessed by the devil who made him commit the act.

The true story inspired The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It (Courtesy of Netflix)

And this drew the attention of paranormal investigators, the Warrens. Mr Bono was stabbed more than 20 times with a five-inch pocket knife during the vicious assault which followed an argument between himself and Johnson. Part of Johnson's defence was the demonic possession of his girlfriend Deborah's 11-year-old brother, David Glatzel. In 1980, just months before the killing, Daniel had woken up in tears after having a vision of an old man who told him "beware."

He tells his story first hand in the documentary, after Johnson claimed that he was possessed by the same entity. And within minutes of tuning in to the show, Netflix viewers have been left terrified. His defence in court was that the devil possessed him and made him do it, with the case attracting the attention of the Warrens.

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Johnson claimed he was under the influence of Satanic forces when he stabbed the 40-year-old more than 20 times with a five-inch pocket knife after they got into an argument. At the core of Johnson's defence was the alleged demonic possession of David Glatzel, his girlfriend Deborah's 11-year-old brother.

Months before, in July of 1980, the boy woke up crying after having a vision of a menacing old man who told him, 'Beware.' David appears in the new Netflix doc to tell his story first hand - Arne Johnson alleged that the entity that supposedly possessed David, is the one that possessed him too.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one person said: "The Devil on Trial on Netflix is wiiiiild." Another said: "ngl [not going to lie] this might be too scary for me." Elsewhere on the social media site, one person wrote: "Seven minutes into The Devil On Trial on Netflix and I’m freaked out. This is gonna be a good documentary."

A fourth said: "I'm watching the devil on trial and suddenly my laptop turns black during the part where they play the audiotapes, wtf?" "After watching the devil on trial, I don’t know who to trust anymore," one person said. Another added: "After watching the devil on trial it changed my point of view, what an ending."

Isabelle Bates