The Best Horror Movies About The Devil
- 1Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow
Regarded as one of the scariest films ever made, the best horror films of all time, and a genuine work of art, The Exorcist personified pure evil for multiple generations and continues to be one of the most graphic, vile, masochistic depictions of Satan ever created. Diving deep into demonic possession and satanism, the film offers audiences a nightmarish journey into an exorcism to save the soul of a young girl and the utterly revolting acts the Devil will make one commit unto themselves. From the eye-watering crucifix scene to the nightmare-inducing spider crawl scene to the jaw-dropping rotating head scene and virtually everything in between, The Exorcist is undoubtedly the scariest movie about the Devil and will continue to haunt audiences for the rest of time.
- 2Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner
In horror, children are often terrifying enough, seemingly always portrayed with a sense of unpredictability and mischief, but The Omen decided to turn that dial of terror up to eleven and have a child turn out to be the Antichrist himself. One of the most shocking and disturbing films of its time, The Omen perfectly personified Satanic panic in the 70s and gave parents all the more reason to hate anything and everything horror. A genuinely terrifying and gloriously scary film about the devil and his rise to power, The Omen delivers one of the most chilling experiences ever seen in cinema and had young would-be parents utterly terrified for their due dates.
- 3Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon
A masterclass on how to deliver a pagan and satanic story in a way that is so unnerving and unsettling that it physically hurts to watch, Rosemary's Baby is a once-in-a-lifetime work of art that defined the Devil in the 60s. Giving audiences some of the most shocking and vile imagery ever seen in a film about the devil, Roman Polanski managed to subvert audience expectations and deliver a grounded, heartbreaking and spine-chilling story about the birth of the Anti-Christ while delivering an award-winning product. While horror was thought of as a lesser genre at the time, Rosemary's Baby showcased to the world that horror has some of the greatest stories in the history of cinema, and 50 years later, it still is.
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- 4Kwak Do-won, Jun Kunimura, Hwang Jung-minSuspicion leads to hysteria when rural villagers link a series of brutal murders to the arrival of a mysterious stranger (Kunimura Jun).More The Wailing
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- 5Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor
The pinnacle of mainstream movies about the satanism and Devil, The Conjuring is widely regarded as a film that shaped horror for the 2010s because it perfected the exorcism genre for the modern age. Using religion and faith as a base but showcasing love and compassion in the face of pure evil, the film felt far more human than any films that came before it, while still keeping its utterly terrifying edge. The unnerving feeling of the Devil watching over this poor family ready to destroy them at a moment's notice is utterly heartbreaking, and the macabre and devastating journey of terror is one that all horror fans need to see.
- 6Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron
Only the 90s could conjure a film about a rising defense lawyer in New York and metamorphize it into a story about the Devil and his plan to rule the world, and in the case of The Devil's Advocate, it manages to do this in perfect campy fashion. Al Pachino delivers one of the most memorable and incredible performances of his career as a high-powered New York law film loan shark who also just so happens to be the Devil. Pure camp fun that wonderfully toes the line of utter terror and absurd wackiness, The Devil's Advocate may not be the scariest movie about the Devil, but it is undoubtedly one of the most memorable.
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- 7Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf
A comic book film about a man who has been to Hell and back investigating a world saturated with angels and demons may sound like a fun time on paper, but when translated to film, it is better than audiences' wildest dreams. A film that masterfully blends absurdity, cynicism, and verisimilitude all while remaining in the guides of a campy action horror film about the devil and satanism as a whole, Constantine is a wild ride of an experience that gained a massive cult following for a reason. With a wild and unhinged performance by Peter Stormarer as Satan himself, Constantine offers one of the most spine-chilling depictions of the Devil ever seen on the big screen.
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- 8Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, Campbell Scott
While most “The Exorcism of…” films make horror fans roll their eyes in disgust, there is one that rises far above the rest and nearly revolutionized the genre as a whole, and that is The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Depicting the aftermath of an exorcism seemingly gone wrong, the film plays with audiences' emotions and forces them to ask questions about all the stereotypical elements they have gotten used to in these types of films. A wonderful mix of courtroom drama and exorcism movie that forces the audience to battle science and religion, the film feels as though the devil is playing tricks on you and what you should believe, and executes this feeling to perfection.
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- 9Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie
Painfully slow, heart-wrenchingly sorrowful, and utterly melancholic, The Witch is a film that feels too real for its own good, and that is exactly what makes it stand out as one of the greatest stories of the Devil ever told in film. A beautifully paced and deeply rich slow burn of a film, the Devil truly is in the details. While Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Ineson give stellar performances, it is Black Philip, a simple Goat who steals the show. The Devil has taken many shapes and sizes in film, but none have been more spine-chillingly terrifying than Black Philip. A sinister being who wants nothing more than to destroy a family and convert a child into becoming a witch, the film will rip your heart out and make you enjoy it while it does it.
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- 10Johnny Depp, Frank Langella, Lena Olin
Roman Polanski delivers a devilishly creepy and atmospheric slow burn into the world of satanic worship and paranoia in the spine-chilling The Ninth Gate. Johnny Depp stars as a collector of rare and exotic books who mysteriously gets an all-expense paid trip to hunt down the titular novel “The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows.” Twists, turns, and allegories of those in higher classes making deals with the devil permeate the film as this almost satirical analogy for eating the rich and making deals with the devil provides a fresh and dangerous look at power and those who wield it.
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- 11Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet
An incredibly atmospheric, dark, dangerous, and enthralling thriller, Angel Heart opts to forgo any sort of demonic possession or depiction of the devil as a monstrous figure and instead offers a relatively quiet and terrifying story of a detective and his journey to save his soul. With Satan being portrayed by a man named Louis Cypher, an eye-rollingly clever way of saying Lucifer, by the one and only Robert De Niro, the film surprisingly offers one of the best noir experiences of the 80s. Utterly violent, shocking, and vile, Louis Cypher remains one of the most cunning and devilishly delicious depictions of the Devil film has ever seen.
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- 12Chris Messina, Logan Marshall-Green, Geoffrey Arend
On paper, Devil should not be nearly as entertaining a film as it is. A film with an absurdly simple premise, a group of people trapped in an elevator, and one of them is the Devil, the film shines as a remarkable and excellent paranoid thriller that will have audiences guessing who old Lucifer is until the credits roll. Each and every character is sinister in their own right and any one of them could be Beelzebub, which thoroughly engages audiences and delivers one hellaciously scary and tense thrill ride.
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- 13Anthony Hopkins, Colin O'Donoghue, Alice Braga
Priests, exorcisms, the Vatican, possession, and Sir Anthony Hopkins, blend all these elements together and audiences have one of the most thrilling psychological thrillers and scariest movies about the devil cinema have ever seen. Telling the tale of a veteran exorcist who introduces a young priest to the darker side of faith, The Rite manages to deliver a fresh and chilling take on the possession genre, by having the typical heroes of the subgenre become the villains. Playing beautifully on conceptions of faith and trust, the film is a manipulative and psychological experience that fully evokes the feeling of being tricked by the sly tongue of the devil.
More The Rite - 14Christopher Walken, Elias Koteas, Virginia Madsen
If a film buff asked a machine to spit out a campy 90s horror film about the Devil, it wouldn't be able to provide a better experience than that of The Prophecy. Pure 90s camp and a truly bizarre film about the Devil, Christopher Walken shines as he gives one of his most over-the-top performances as an evil angel looking to steal the soul of a human to end a war in Heaven. The film may have been relatively poorly received when it was released, but it quickly became a massive cult classic thanks to the absurdity that it leans into with charm and elegant gusto.
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- 15Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver
After over two decades away from the horror genre, acclaimed and revolutionary director Sam Rami came with a vengeance to prove exactly why he is the best of the best in Drag Me to Hell. A fast-paced and highly entertaining film about a woman overcoming a curse by a gypsy, satanic elements permeate every moment of the film in glorious fashion. While Satan himself may not show his face in the film, his mischievous and devilish ways are portrayed wonderfully through the witchcraft and neverending threat of eternal damnation. With a standout performance from Alison Lohman and some of the best jump scares of the 2000s, Drag Me to Hell is an underrated gem that deserves to be seen by any and all horror fans.
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- 16Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia
A story that feels ripped straight out of The Twilight Zone, Needful Things plays coy with its devil in disguise and presents audiences with an entertaining and mysterious thrill ride that will have them scratching their heads until the bitter end. Playing Satan as a mischievous con man as opposed to an all-powerful demon when done well is arguably scarier than any demonic presence, and he is represented beautifully in this film. While Needful Things may not be the scariest satanic film, it offers audiences a far more intriguing and revolutionary story of unrest and intrigue, and any film with Satan written by Stephen King is almost guaranteed to be a massive hit.
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- 17George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Brad Dourif
There is a great case to be made that The Exorcist III is not only one of the best horror films of all time, but one of the most underrated as well. A film following the plight of the Devil and his quest to rapture the entire world in pure evil, the film showcases some of the finest instances of satanism in any satanic horror movie. Utterly nerve-racking from start to finish, the film feels more like a fever dream than any sort of realistic experience, and with a film about the Devil warping the minds of the innocent, this feeling is only amplified in terror as audiences begin to feel that he has ahold of them the entire runtime. Undoubtedly one of the finest devil films the world has ever seen, The Exorcist III is a tour de force of terror.
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- 18Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Madison Wolfe
The Conjuring franchise has risen satanic horror films to the mainstream more than arguably any other film in history, and The Conjuring 2 helped solidify the franchise as one of the best horror has ever seen. While Satan himself doesn't show his ugly face in this particular film, the world is arguably given a creature far more foul, vile, and terrifying with Valak, better known as The Nun. A demon working with the Devil, this horrifying creature alone made the film one of the scariest movies about the devil ever made, but the grounded and masterful storytelling from director James Wan helped ensure that scares weren't the only thing this spine-chilling film had to offer.
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- 19Donald Pleasence, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong
The penultimate chapter in beloved horror director John Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy, Prince of Darkness beautifully illustrates the theoretical battle between science and the spiritual world in a horror film that depicts the devil and satanism in the most shocking and brutally realistic ways. While the big bad man himself may not actually show up in the film, his presence can be felt with every passing agonizing second as this rich slow burn is one of the finest Satanic possession films the world has ever seen. With the slow and methodical collapse of the human psyche mixed with real-world science, a threat unlike any other comes to life in Prince of Darkness.
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- 20Russell Crowe, Daniel Zovatto, Alex EssoeFather Gabriele Amorth, chief exorcist of the Vatican, uncovers a centuries-old conspiracy while investigating a young boy's terrifying possession.More The Pope's Exorcist
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- 21Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Pollak
An incredibly bizarre and wildly original concept, End of Days is a relic lost in time, focusing around Y2K and the Devil crashing the end of the world party in search of his next bride, while an atheist attempts to stop him. Pure 90s lunacy, the film manages to be a completely entertaining and enthralling work of art for all the wrong reasons. Wacky, silly, and self-serious, End of Days has garnered a rather large cult following as many relish in the absurdity of its premise and the commitment they have to it. While the Devil in the film looks like a man for the vast majority of its runtime, in the last act, a true being of nightmarish proportions arises and gives way to one of the most unique and scariest Devils ever seen in film.
- 22Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry
Legend provides audiences with a rather unique twist on the depiction of the Devil in films, as the fantastical world he dwells in isn't one soaked in lore of Christianity, but instead is a whimsical and timely mystical one of fairies, goblins, unicorns, and mortals. While he is referred to as the Demonic Lord of Darkness in this world, he is arguably the most recognizable depiction of Satan cinema has ever seen. Gigantic, lumbering, bright red with horns, the image of this Satanic monstrosity will surely leech itself into the minds of all who witness him for all time.
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- 23Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Nike ArrighiWhen the Duc de Richleau (Christopher Lee) and Rex Van Ryn (Leon Greene) arrive at a fashionable party thrown by de Richleau's protégé, Simon Aron (Patrick Mower), they soon realize that the party is in fact a gathering of a Satanic cult, led by the high priest Mocata (Charles Gray), that plans to initiate the beautiful Tanith (Nike Arrighi) that night. It's up to de Richleau and Van Ryn to defeat the devil-worshiping Mocata and save innocent young Tanith and the others from a terrible fate.
- 24
The House of the Devil
Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary WoronovDesperate to make some money so she can move into a new apartment, college student Samantha Hughes (Jocelin Donahue) takes a mysterious babysitting job. When she arrives at the house, Mr. Ulman (Tom Noonan) mentions a full lunar eclipse and explains there is no child, but that Samantha will be watching his mother instead. After exploring the sinister-seeming house, Samantha soon comes to realize that her employers are hiding a horrifying secret and have plans to use her, dead or alive.- #314 of 397 onThe Best Horror Movies Of All Time
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- 25William S. Burroughs, Benjamin Christensen, Elith PioThis silent docu-horror masterpiece is a study of how superstition and the misunderstanding of diseases and mental illness led to the hysteria of witch-hunts.
- 26Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson HarperA young American couple, their relationship foundering, travel to a fabled Swedish midsummer festival where a seemingly pastoral paradise transforms into a sinister, dread-soaked nightmare as the locals reveal their terrifying agenda.More Midsommar
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- 27Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Arturo DominiciBlack Sunday is a 1960 Italian gothic horror film directed by Mario Bava, from a screenplay by Ennio de Concini, Mario Serandrei and Marcello Coscia. The film stars Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Arturo Dominici and Ivo Garrani. It was Bava's directorial debut, although he had completed several previous feature films without credit. Based very loosely on Nikolai Gogol's short story "Viy", the narrative concerns a vampire-witch who is put to an end by her own brother, only to return 200 years later to seek revenge on her descendants.
- 28Stellan Skarsgård, James D'Arcy, Izabella ScorupcoFather Merrin (Stellan Skarsgard) is haunted by his experiences in World War II, when occupying Nazi troops forced him to be complicit in their atrocities. In the aftermath, he has renounced his faith and begun working as an archaeologist. He travels to Kenya, where a fifth-century Byzantine church holds ancient relics. There he encounters Sarah (Izabella Scorupco), a doctor and concentration camp survivor. The strange occurrences that soon begin reunite him with the evil he sought to escape.
- 29Christopher Walken, Russell Wong, Jennifer BealsEvil angel Gabriel (Christopher Walken) rises from hell to declare war on God and humanity. To win the spiritual war, Gabriel has to kill Los Angeles nurse Valerie Rosales (Jennifer Beals) -- and, more importantly, her unborn half-angel baby. Helping Gabriel track Rosales down is a suicidal teenager (Brittany Murphy). Meanwhile, good angel Danyael (Russell Wong) marshals all his heavenly powers to protect Rosales and her child from Gabriel's clutches.
- 30Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee, Honor BlackmanA man asks an occult novelist (Richard Widmark) to save his daughter from a priest (Christopher Lee) who has teamed up with Satan.
