1. The Exorcist (1973)
There are many people who say this is the scariest movie of all time. But I also know some people who laugh when they see this movie; it doesn’t scare them at all. What I will say, is that The Exorcist is the best possession or Devil-themed horror film ever made. I just watched this movie again recently, and man… it was awesome. I’m normally not a fan of movies where the first hour is spent laying the groundwork for 30 minutes of scare (i.e., Wolf Creek), but this movie does that and it’s not boring.
The tension is palpable from the first frame, and it just keeps growing. Poor Reagan goes from bad to worse—so much happens in the first 2/3 of the movie. Some of the most memorable moments happen before Reagan’s exorcism begins. This is one of those films where you sit there thinking, “How can it get any worse?” And then think ten minutes later, “How can it get any worse than that?” And then it does. Max von Sydow’s turn as Father Merrin may be the most memorable performance ever, considering how remarkably little screen time he gets.
Ellen Burstyn is amazing, of course, as is the ever-frightening Linda Blair (in a make-up by Dick Smith and voiced by Mercedes McCambridge). However, the real star of this film is Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jason Miller as Father Damien Karrass. He doesn’t go through any major traumas, like Burstyn or Blair, but his pain is evident as is his frustration and despair over losing his faith. This movie is about overcoming demons—both literally and figuratively—and Karrass’ pain is pitch-perfect.
2. The Omen (1976)
Let’s not talk about the remake (you’ll have to wait for another list I’m working on for that). Instead, let’s just focus on how brilliantly terrifying this film is. Gregory Peck is the most straight-laced and rational a leading man you could ask for, even by today’s standards. That’s one of the film’s great attributes. Plus, Damien is so creepy.
And let’s not forget David Warner (I recommend his film Time After Time with Malcolm McDowell if you’ve got a free spot on your Netflix): Did they just cut that guy’s head off? Yes. One of the most frightening moments is when the nanny hangs herself outside Damien’s party. The film deals with the Antichrist, who comes in the form of a child, switched at birth with Robert Thorn’s (Peck) stillborn (actually murdered) baby. This film succeeds with its pessimistic—although realistic—plot. In this movie about Satan, evil wins.
3. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
The Exorcist is a movie that somewhat glorifies that Catholic Church; Rosemary’s Baby is about Catholic guilt and the sexual awakening that came along with the women’s lib movement. The beauty of Roman Polanski’s early films is that they all focus on one female character.
The first film, Repulsion, was about sexual desire and its effect on the mind—in this case, psychosis. Rosemary’s Baby is the next logical step: the sexual awakening’s affect on traditional gender roles. It seems that the children born of mothers who have control and pursue their desires will, of course, be the spawn of Satan. Rosemary’s isn’t faced with the horror of realizing her child is demonic, as in The Omen, but instead is faced with the consequences of her sinful ways. However, the film is also about the vulnerability of women, even the liberated ones:
Rosemary is raped by the Devil (or was it really just her husband being overly zealous?), and, like many rape victims, Rosemary knows it really happened but cannot accept it. The film is also about vulnerability of motherhood. All the people around Rosemary want to take her baby away, and all she wants is to protect it. What makes this film so scary is that there are all these levels of subtext, which gets to you, even if you don’t realize it. This film gets into your subconscious and makes you paranoid. The best horror films make you experience them along with the main character, and Rosemary’s Baby does that like no other.
4. The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
The two movies on this list that deal directly with the Devil and possession are both about exorcism. And even though they were made nearly 30 years apart, they both deal with the same fundamental issues and each one deals with the subject matter in a way befitting their time.
The Exorcist is a movie with heavy special effects; in the 70s, what a demon looked like was scary enough. Today, we’ve all seen The Exorcist—we know what a demon looks like. We don’t, however, all believe in the existence of such things. They’re just the stuff of horror films. The Exorcism of Emily Rose is a movie for our time; with its dual court-and-exorcism scenes, the film isn’t about demons or faith in general, but about proving whether demons and exorcism exist. That is what makes this movie so effective: we are given facts and theories about what happened to Emily or what may have happened to her. To reflect our modern mindset, what we believe is left up to us. “People say God is dead, but how can they say that if I show them the Devil?” is one of the most crucial lines from Emily Rose. The movie shows us both sides of the story, the factual and the faith-based, and lets audiences make up their own mind.
5. House of the Devil (2009)
Tom Noonan. Oh, how I love Tom Noonan. I heard a lot about this movie but didn’t actually want to watch it until I learned Noonan was a main actor. He makes any horror movie ten times creepier than it would be otherwise. Plus, this movie is a throw-back to how horror movies used to be, with a simple story but high on the scares, and not skimpy with the blood. The tense atmosphere in this movie is scarier than the actual satanic rituals that permeate through the final half-hour. This movie capitalizes on the mystery surrounding Satanists and satanic rituals: What’s really going on? We’re never sure. Does “Mother” even exist? If that’s what you want to call her. What’s at the top of those stairs? The movie gives more questions than answers, including an only semi-resolved conclusion.
6. Prince of Darkness (1987)
The second part of horror master John Carpenter’s self-proclaimed “apocalypse trilogy,” Prince of Darkness comes after The Thing and before In the Mouth of Madness. (Interesting fact: Carpenter wrote, directed, and scored the film.) A strange cylinder is found in the basement of an abandoned church is LA; inside it is green liquid that constant swirls around.
A priest, a professor, and a group of students all come together to examine the cylinder; after reading the text found with the cylinder, they discover that the liquid is actually Satan himself. Little by little, small jets of liquid escape the cylinder and infect the students one by one, making them become possessed. Eventually, the cylinder opens fully and the remaining liquid is absorbed into the body of one of the students, who then becomes the bodily vessel for Satan: a gruesome, telekinetic, disfigured being who has the powers of regeneration. He then attempts to bring the Anti-God (who is more powerful than Satan) through a dimensional portal using a mirror. The girlfriend of one of the possessed students overpowers the vessel and the mirror is shattered, trapping Satan in another realm. Is he going to stay there? We never know: Carpenter cuts the film to black right before the moment of truth.
7. Demons (1985)
A “Dario Argento Presents” feature (like “Quentin Tarantino Presents Hostel”), Demons is one no-holds-barred, punk rock horror movie. It also takes place in a movie theatre, so it’s got the movie-within-a-movie concept going for it. But aside from that, this movie also has so much gore I can hardly describe it. In this film a group of people go to a screening of a violent horror movie. One of the patrons gets a cut on her face from a mask—one of the same masks in the film. Before long she turns into a crazed, bloodthirsty demon. One by one the other cinema-going folk are transformed. This film isn’t very satanic, but the demons surely are. On another level, this film is a horror film about the evils of horror films, which is brilliant.
8. The Beyond (1981)
Lucio Fulci knows how to make a great movie. Not only that, he knows how to make one badass, gore-filled zombie movie. The twist on this flick is that the zombies come through a gateway that opens into hell. There are also references to the Book of Eibon, an infamous occultist book, and a little girl who gets possessed. Not a typical zombie or Satan movie, but the combining of the two is genuinely riveting.
9. The Sentinel (1977)
I’m a big fan of the two series Bravo made years ago, 100 Scariest Movie Moments and 30 Even Scarier Movie Moments. I don’t agree with every movie they feature, and they certainly left some out, but if you love to talk about horror movies then the specials are good for a little discussion. One of the movies features on 100 Scariest Movie Moments was The Sentinel. I had never seen this movie before—I’d never even heard of it—and it seemed interesting. It was only featured for maybe a minute and a half, but that was enough to make me want to see the film.
Like The Beyond, this movie is also about a house (or hotel) being a gateway to hell. What The Sentinel does is take that concept to another level by asking, “Who guards that gateway anyway?” Apparently, the Catholic Church does. The blind priest they’ve had keeping the demons out needs to be replaced and Alison, our main character, needs to atone for her sins. She is told that by becoming the new gatekeeper she will be forgiven for trying to commit suicide and will be allowed into heaven. At the end of the film Alison has to face all the minions of hell, and they drive her to attempt suicide again. The priest and another man, Monsignor Franchino, stop her, and Alison takes the Father’s cross, becoming a blind nun who will guard the gateway.
10. The Ninth Gate (1999)
This isn’t the best horror movie—and it certainly isn’t Johnny Depp’s finest 90 minutes—but The Ninth Gate is notable because it’s a film where what you don’t see is scarier than what you do see. Depp plays Dean Corso, a rare books dealer, who is hired by Boris Balkan (Frank Langella, who, as always, is cree-py) to find the three remaining copies of The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows, a book which, when the illustrations are put together correctly, is said to summon Satan himself. Like The House of the Devil and Rosemary’s Baby (also directed by Roman Polanski), this film is far too intricate to be understood or really liked the first go-round. This movie needs repeated viewings to get the full effect.
Top 10 Devil themed Movies
i’m looking for a horror movie. i can’t think of the name. it’s kinda old. one of the big scenes i remember is a guy getting torn to shreds/eaten by things underneath wallpaper. the way it ends is this girl pouring purple liquid out of a vial in the doorway of a bus and getting, then a man later on refuses to get the bus due to the barrier made by the purple stuff. what is the name of this movie? please e-mail it to mt if you find out. mwmartinez89@yahoo.com
That would be Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight.
im looking for the title of a movie its about the devil in the movie the devil is in a body as soon as the person of the body that they are in dies they go into the closest living thing and theres a man in the movie he figures out how to kill this devil so in the end of the movie he takes the man that he knows the devil is in to some deserted house in the forest and he kills himself and the man the devils in so there in the middle of nowhere so the devil will die he cant go into anyone cause theres no one there so the guy thinks he killed the devil and at the end a cat comes from around the house and the devil goes in the cat and lives and the movie is narrated by the main guy trying to kill the devil he says about “the time i almost destroyed the devil” something like that if any one knows the name of this movie PLEASE let me know ive been driving myself crazy for a while now lol…the movie is between 1995 to 2010 somewhere around that time
It’s called, ‘Fallen’ made in 1998 with Denzel Washington and John Goodman. Someone was telling me about this movie as well and I had to search a little to find the title also.
looking for a movie from the 70′s it was similar to the omen. in one of the scene a man gets the top of his head cut off as he is walking away from a helicopter.
im looking for a movie about the devil who was born in a normal family and had a normal brother. as they grow up together he gains power/antichrist type thing and makes an army to take over the world idk the title help me out plz!! im probably not gonna check the site ever so plz e mail me at kpatel921@yahoo.com
i need the title of a movie about the devil he turns into a woman and starts trying to touch another woman and she runs away from her and then they start fighting and both end up dead in a swimming pool where they are found by i think one of their husbands. the movie box has a devil standing near a woman laying down with a snake on her. i think it came out in the early 90′s. please help
Diabolique with Sharon Stone
i am looking for the name of a movie where she picked up red car and possed by the devil she was pregnant at the start of the movie they said you never know who sitting next to you
im looking for a movie when a lady is possed and she gets crucified like jesus when she wsa on the train the cross flew on the ground upside down then her wrist were punshered open like jesus then she starts writing stuff in her apartment. can somone tell me the name. jamarcusdupont43@yahoo.com
Its called Stigmata
I saw a movie that’s kind of older that has the devil in the whole minotaur goat looking body and he kidnapps a woman and tries to get her to fall in love with him and come back to hell with him. Anyone know what it’s called? Please e-mail back! It’s driving me crazy!
mycreativecatering@yahoo.com
Legend
I’d seen a movie which was like “Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors”. In one story, a man is walking in an empty street in the night. He meets the devil. The devil tells the man that it would not kill him if he promises it that he won’t tell anyone about it. A little while later he meets a lady who is also alone in the street, afraid. This man and the lady then marries and has children. Many years later, he tells the lady the secret, and the lady reveals herself as the devil, and kills him for breaking the promise.
I can’t remember the name of the movie. Could someone help please?
It’s called “Tales From the Darkside” which has like three or four stories in it. The one you’re talking about involves a gargoyle, not a devil, but same difference I guess, lol :)
Looking for a move. Near start of movie, two City cops go to arrest a suspect in a hotel room. A demonic figure gets there first a splatters said suspect all over the walls, before escaping out the window. Started to watch this film, but was interrupted and never got back to it, been looking in the listings for months to no avail. I know it’s not much to go on but any ideas?
ik zoek een film met een paarse auto de film is van ongeveer 1970 het is een film waar die paarse auto bezeten is door de duivel en alle mensen gaan naar het kerk hof omdat die auto daar niet op durf wie kan mij helpen met de naam van die horror film uit ongeveer 1970
Does anyone remember a movie from the 90′s or early 00′s that involved the devil raping a woman? I know that’s super vague but I was really young and it seemed so real. The devil was more like a creature than a man. He had the horns and almost looked like a Minotaur. I think she ends up getting pregnant by him and MAYBE she ends up falling for him? Not sure…any help would be great…I’d really like to see it again as an adult, lol :)
is it the stand?
anyone remember a film people traped in a lift, each one getting bumped off and its the old woman whos doing it shes the devil
Yes, I remeber. saw it on the cinemas :) great movie, it’s just called Devil or The Devil.
I am looking for the name of a movie. Possibly made in the 70′s or early 80′s, not quite sure. But the movie tells the story of a father (Ephrem Zimbalist Jr I think) looking for his missing son and is piecing together his whereabouts by reading his notes or listening to his taped diary entries. This particular one tells of a man who dies, but has gone through some measures to come back from the dead. He then summons a demon. The movie is about the son’s investigation and trying to stop him. The movie ends with the summoning ending badly for the summoner and the demon devours him, or maybe they perish in fire together.
It might even be a movie of the week or something. It has been bugging me for decades….
This sounds like “The Norliss Tapes” to me but I’m not too sure of it. It was a made for TV movie released in 1971 I believe.
I am after a movie where a dying man carries the blood of jesus and the devil is behind him to kill him. He takes refuge in a house where he intent to pass this blood legacy to somebody who will then contintue with the blookd of jesus, but hte devil surrander the house and demons attack. CAn’t remeber the name of the film, watcher somewhre on the 90′s.
Thank you
manuel@nazaudy.com
The film you’re looking for is called “Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight” maestromasada.
I am looking for two anthology series
no 1 : shows a story of a guy who walks into a shop and buys a ‘devil toy’ the cashier says under no circumstances must he put the pentagram on it as it becomes possessed. he ignores her. then ends up being forced into killing passers by. in the end on of the ladies he tries to kill ends up killing him and then both the devil and her start laughing.
no 2: shows a story of a woman who lives with her husband only to cheat with a guy. the husband finds out and then confronts her. she kills him and then cooks him as a pie and gets the lover to eat him. this is a real story.
Please help. THIS ONE SHOULD BE EASY FOR YOU. It’s a movie about a young British guy, he is rushing over to his friends house, scared for his life. His friends are a young couple and the woman has a bad feeling about the poor guy. When the couple is sleeping, he is walking around the house freaking out, seeing demons in mirrors/windows. Suddenly the movie takes a sharp dive and people who have been killed by this demonic figure start terrorizing the group of 3. I’m pretty sure this movie came out in 2011 and is British, but I cannot find it on anything and I have no clue what the name is, I just want to refer it to my friends. You’re y only hope.
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hey there was a movie on the tv ages ago when a man conjures up a spell and turns a cat into the devils mistress i think it is devils den but it keeps coming up with some other movie with devon sayer in it i can not find it so can you plz help
Hope some one can help on a horror movie, all i remember is there was a party at a club and an orgy. So everyone is having sex with each other, then like 3 demons or devil and teo demons crash through the wall and begin killing the people.
Anyone remember a movie about the devil controls cars, trucks, people are stuck inside a gas station they cant get out or else the big trucks will kill them. anyone know the name of the movie? i was little when i saw this movie, but cant remember the name of the movie. plz someone help me
could be “Legion” or “Maximum Overdrive”…though just a guess
It definitely sounds like “Maximum Overdrive”.