Here’s an extra-special second guest post this week, enjoy!
Many horror movies have religious themes, plotlines or undertones. Here are a handful of the best religious horror movies to make you pray the bad away, in order of release.
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Rated R
Director: Roman Polanski
Starring: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon
A young couple moves into a NYC apartment with a haunted past. When the wife gets pregnant, she experiences an array of strange feelings, believing her baby may be the spawn of Satan.
Stream Rosemary’s Baby on Hulu, Sling TV, The Roku Channel and Amazon Prime Video.
The Exorcist (1973)
Rated R
Director: William Friedkin
Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow
An increasingly strange-acting 12-year-old girl causes her mother to volley between scientific and supernatural explanations. Ultimately, she seeks the aid of a priest who himself is experiencing a crisis of faith.
Stream The Exorcist on Netflix.
The Exorcist spawned two sequels: Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) available to stream on Apple TV, Vudu and DirecTV and The Exorcist III (1990) available to stream on Apple TV and FuboTV. There was also a 2016 television remake of The Exorcist that lasted two seasons and is now available to stream on Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.
Carrie (1976)
Rated R
Director: Brain De Palma
Starring: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie
Based on a novel by Stephen King, the master of horror himself, this is the story of a shy, introverted and sensitive teen bullied by her schoolmates and abused at home by her highly religious mother. Then, she becomes imbued with the devilish power to take revenge on them for the suffering and humiliation they’ve made her endure. This is such a timeless and beloved horror classic, it’s been remade twice: once made-for-TV in 2003 starring Angela Bettis and Patricia Clarkson in the leading roles and again in 2013 starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore in the leading roles.
Stream all three versions of Carrie on Apple TV, Vudu and AMC On Demand.
The Omen (1976)
Rated R
Director: Richard Donner
Starring: Gregory Peck, Lee Remmick, David Warner
When the wife of an American diplomat gives birth to a stillborn child, he adopts a child named Damien. After the child’s first nanny commits suicide, the family calls in a priest, who delivers a dire warning: the child may be the anitchrist himself.
The original The Omen spawned two sequels and one remake.
Stream the original The Omen on Hulu, Paramount+, Epix on Amazon Prime Video or Epix On Demand, Tubi and DirecTV.
Stream Damien: Omen II (1978) and Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) on Apple TV and Vudu,
Stream the 2006 remake of The Omen on HBO Max.
Summary
Catch up on these, and you can say you’ve survived the most harrowing classic religious horror films of all time.