Religious horror, as a sub-genre within horror, is pretty straightforward to understand from the name alone. It pairs religious themes and concepts with grotesque imagery, frightening concepts, or demonic entities. As such, they often include possession or souls being corrupted, with an unseen force (often the Devil itself) usually being the main villain, pulling strings behind the scenes.
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The clash of religious imagery and ideas - which some people take comfort in and hold in high regard - with horror tropes is one of the things that make religious horror movies so effective. They may have more of an impact on people who are religious or otherwise can relate to religious ideas, but if not, the following eight films should still make for solid horror films, religious themes aside. They are some of the best examples of religious horror out there and get a ton of mileage from - in a way - pairing the sacred with the profane.
The Exorcist (1973)
It's commonly accepted that The Exorcist is one of the best and scariest horror films of all time. At the same time, it might be the gold standard when it comes to how to do religious horror, as no matter how many scenes have become embedded in pop culture, this tense and unnerving story about two priests battling to exorcise a demon from a 12-year-old girl remains genuinely terrifying.
From the music to the simple yet grotesque special effects, to the great acting and memorable characters, and the fantastic and haunting visuals, The Exorcist is a horror classic through and through. Given that two of its main characters are priests, and the fact the demonic entity desecrates religious symbols in some very confronting ways, it stands as one of the best examples of a religious horror film.
The VVitch (2015)
The VVitch made for an impressive feature film debut from director Robert Eggers, with confident visuals, a tense atmosphere, and great performances on display, all on a relatively low budget, too. It's also notable for being Anya Taylor-Joy's breakout role, whose profile has only grown more and more in the years since The VVitch's release.
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The religion practiced by the main characters (Puritanism) might not be recognizable by today's standards, with the film being set hundreds of years, and also featuring a ton of archaic dialogue to boot. But the horror inherent in a religious family being influenced and corrupted by mysterious, demonic forces remains frightening, and it ensures that The VVitch succeeds at being a very unnerving and quite memorable religious horror film.
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
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Rosemary's Baby predates The Exorcist by five years, so even if it's not quite as great a film (though it's close), it does deserve to be similarly revered among religious horror movies. It's a slow-paced yet engrossing film about a woman dealing with an unexpected pregnancy that soon reveals itself to be a particularly twisted version of demonic possession.
The film more or less inverts one of the most well-known parts of the Bible. Whereas Mary is said to have conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit or God, here, protagonist Rosemary Woodhouse is made pregnant by a far more twisted force. The narrative twists and perverts one of the fundamental Christian beliefs/stories, in the process working a great amount of horror out of its religious-based premise.
The Omen (1976)
What's scarier than one of the Devil's followers - the Antichrist - causing havoc and death on Earth? The Antichrist being a small child and doing those things, for one. That is essentially the premise of The Omen - a couple effectively adopts a child after their own biological child dies after birth, only to find themselves cursed, with the child seemingly behind all the misfortunes that befall them.
The Omen does feel like it was influenced a little by The Exorcist - and came out just three years later - but it doesn't feel derivative. It stands on its own thanks to its wider scope, memorable music, and elaborate (and very violent by 1976 standards) death scenes. The sequels might not be much to write home about, but the original The Omen is definitely a religious horror classic.
Angel Heart (1987)
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Angel Heart is a mystery-thriller on top of being a horror film and takes place in the USA's deep south, which is a pretty uncommon location for horror movies. The less said about the plot the better, but there's a great deal of intrigue, especially thanks to Robert De Niro's mysterious, devilish character.
It's an unnerving watch, and while the religious horror elements aren't super strong, they're definitely a big part of the film, especially towards the end. It's a worthwhile watch for fans of a good horror-mystery film, and it stands as one of the more underrated films in the filmographies of both Robert De Niro and Mickey Rourke.
The Wailing (2016)
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The Wailing is an interesting and exceptionally unique South Korean film that's not for everyone, but for those who do watch it, it'll be a hard experience to shake. It starts as a crime-thriller that focuses on a series of gruesome murders, but gradually introduces more and more horror elements as it goes along, with demons and exorcisms eventually playing a part in the plot, too.
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Over about two-and-a-half hours, The Wailing gleefully yanks viewers around, constantly subverting expectations about where the story will go, or what genre the film will dip its toes into next. The pace is slow at times, and the gory violence could be too much for some to handle, but it's one of those films that thankfully reminds you that the movie industry hasn't run out of original ideas.
The Devil's Advocate (1997)
In The Devil's Advocate, Al Pacino - at his most wonderfully extreme and over-the-top - plays the Devil. That should be all a person needs to know to want to see it, but if not, it's worth noting it has a plot involving a young and ambitious lawyer (played by Keanu Reeves, in one of his most interesting performances) becoming corrupted by a sinister and twisted law firm run by Pacino's character.
The Devil's Advocate might be a little too extravagant to be genuinely scary, but it's a fun horror movie with plenty of religious horror themes, violence, and scenes where Al Pacino gets to yell a lot. Not every horror movie has to keep you up at night or traumatize you. Some get by on being fun, entertaining, and just kind of goofy, and The Devil's Advocate fits quite snugly into that category.
Saint Maud (2019)
Even if religious horror movies peaked as a sub-genre back in the 1970s-1980s, a more contemporary release like Saint Maud shows that this brand of horror still has potential.Saint Maud is a low-budget and intense mix of demonic horror, psychological thriller, and quiet, sad character study, and follows a lonely young woman battling her inner demons while working as a carer for the terminally ill.
It's a short and deliberately paced movie that doesn't deliver much by way of horror until its final act, but contains some genuinely horrific stuff towards the end, much of it stemming from the main character's unusual relationship with her Catholic faith. It's an effectively creepy and impressive feature film debut for director Rose Glass, who's established herself as a name to look out for in the future.
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