There has never been a shortage of horror movies: from the classic Universal monsters in the thirties to the fifties, the haunted house mania in the seventies, the slasher movies in the eighties and on to more recent violence-packed films today, the horror genre is always shifting and has the power to influence subsequent generations. Horror movies are almost as old as the film industry itself. The first horror film ever made was a short released in 1896, called Le Manoir du Diable (The House of The Devil), created by Georges Méliès. This short film has an element that’s still explored 125 years later through famous franchises and standalone movies: religion.
However, not a great deal of them use religion as one of their main factors, but rather lets it set the tone for their stories and characters. Most supernatural horror movies, though, still deal with religion of some kind– ghosts, demons, curses, priests, exorcisms; the list goes on and on. It could be said that horror cinema is the last vestige of a truly religious register in mainstream popular culture. In what other mainstream genre do we find faith, spirits, and God taken so seriously? The word religion has a lot of meanings related to it. Depending on where in the world you are, religion can mean completely divergent things, such as different beliefs, opposite mindsets, traumatic experiences, and so on. Nevertheless, one thing is certain (and these movies are the proof): things can go bad fast. With horror exploring religion in more explicit ways recently, as in the well-reviewed new film The Last Thing Mary Saw, These are the best religious horror movies of all time.
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8 Carrie
United Artists
Carrie wearing a pink dress covered in blood with flames surrounding her is almost a cultural icon. The 1976 adaptation of the first Stephen King novel published is still one of the best horror novel adaptations ever made, and the best of the four Carrie films. The movie is a cautionary tale about abuse and fundamentalism. Carrie will forever be a part of the horror audience’s mind - as well as the deep sympathy she awakens. Carrie White is bullied by her high school classmates while she is also abused by her religious mother at home. As more unexplainable incidents happen around her, Carrie goes on a journey of self-discovery with her new powers. This is a sad tale about a misfit who turns sour on those who try to harm her, and the often tragic results of strict, oppressive religious extremism.
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7 The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Screen Gems / Sony
The Exorcism of Emily Rose is based on a true story that happened in 1952. An interesting movie about belief and faith, it brings the best elements from The Exorcist closer to our day-to-day lives with some level of social realism. After an exorcism goes wrong, the priest (Tom Wilkinson) faces a murder accusation in court; the movie is set during the trial (with several spooky flashbacks), which becomes the scenario for one of the most ancient battles humans have ever faced: science vs faith.
6 The Witch
A24
Robert Eggers’ period horror piece released in 2015 has become a go-to for witch lovers, so much so that his new film, The Northman, is one of the most anticipated horror films of 2022. The sound design mixed with an incredibly eerie scenario and unusual editing (cutting scenes abruptly and staying in a black frame for a few seconds) only enhances the horror in the movie. The Witch tells the tale of a British Puritan family that moves to the colonies in America. The tragedy starts to unravel after one of the children gets lost in the woods. Religion becomes a weapon the family uses against the evil they believe exists - and the one that actually does.
5 Saint Maud
Another A24 production on this list, Saint Maud was director Rose Glass’ debut feature, though you could never tell. The mixture of mental illness and religious extremism this movie was highly anticipated by horror fans, and did not disappoint. This movie is a punch to the gut (or, rather, the soul). Using innovative ways to tell the relation between God and religious fanatic Maud (Morfydd Clark), along with never explicitly stating what is real and what’s in Maud’s head, Saint Maud tells the story of a young nurse who was recently discharged from the psychiatric wing. She then goes to work as a caretaker for Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), a cancer patient. Maud’s fanaticism (the voice of God, or perhaps Satan) tells her that she needs to save Amanda’s soul from damnation - any way she sees fit.
4 The Conjuring
Warner Bros. Pictures
There can’t be a religious horror movie list without the film that generated one of the most successful cinematic universes in horror: The Conjuring. Having received an R rating by the MPAA: The Conjuring became the first movie ever that doesn’t contain sex, violence, and profanity to have an R rating because it was simply too scary. With innovating jump scares and compelling characters, The Conjuring quickly became a horror fan’s favorite. The Conjuring is based on a true supernatural case from the paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga). The couple helps a family suffering from paranormal activity ever since they moved to a new house, and has a spiritual faith to it that’s stronger than most films in the New Christian Cinema (God’s Not Dead, etc.).
3 Midsommar
Ari Aster’s second feature defeated a lot of the tropes in the horror genre, including the one used most: darkness. The cult’s fundamentalist extremism, going to the depths of murder and torture to appease their gods, guarantees Midsommar’s place in the pantheon of religious horror. The pagan rituals in the morning light will be forever embedded in the audience’s mind. Midsommar tells the story of Dani (Florence Pugh), a depressed and traumatized young woman who goes on a trip with her boyfriend and his friends to a secluded village in Sweden. They want to experience Midsommar: a celebration that happens every 90 years to mark the start of summer. Things rapidly begin to look very different from what the group imagined it would be. The film definitely shows the comforting and communal appeal of religion, and its ability to ease the pains of life, but also create them when things go wrong.
2 Rosemary’s Baby
Paramount Pictures
The 1968 Roman Polanski movie Rosemary’s Baby is one of the most iconic horror films ever made. Polanski’s deep directorial knowledge combined with an unbelievably good performance from the cast makes this movie timeless. This is one of the first movies to use the ‘crazy woman’ trope (or variation of the Cassandra Complex) - where characters dismiss what the woman character says even though she is right - that horror films use so often (and annoyingly) today. Rosemary’s Baby tells the story of a couple, Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and Guy (John Cassavetes), who move to a new apartment building where they meet unique but kind neighbors. The older couple nextdoor offers a highway to success after hearing about Guy’s failed acting career but, of course, it comes at a horrendous price. Satan, the antichrist, and Catholicism all come into play here to make one of the great films about the anxieties in the darkest depths of religion and theology.
1 The Exorcist
The 1973 horror classic The Exorcist terrified generations and continue to influence people’s nightmares. The movie is still so alive and well today that it gained a maze in the last edition of Halloween Horror Nights in 2021, at Universal Studios. One of the most iconic films of all time, William Friedkin’s masterpiece has a permanent spot on this list. The Exorcist is based on the book of the same name by the Roman Catholic William Peter Blatty, who helped write the film. It tells the story of a mother (Ellen Burstyn) desperately seeking help after her daughter Regan (Linda Blair) starts having weird behavior. After enduring every medical exam she could find, she asks for help from the Catholic Church: she wants an exorcism. This brings in the doubts of a younger, more scientific priest and the hardened wisdom and fears of an older priest (the great Max Von Sydow) whose ways are dying out, and the two enact an epic battle against the forces of evil itself. The power of Christ compels you to see this.
