Demon armies from hell and possessed teens all over the world.
If this bed’s a rocking, don’t come a knocking - on these exorcism movies!
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"The Rite" was released in January 2011, and had all the hallmarks of a January horror
movie dump, and the trailers made it look no better than most post-"The Exorcist" outings.
There were writhing bodies, shrieking young women, and hunky men gripping rosaries, compelling
the evil to leave.
Shockingly, "The Rite" is considerably better than its marketing and month of release would
suggest.
Anthony Hopkins co-stars as Father Lucas, a renowned Jesuit exorcist who works alongside
Michael Kovak, a young man who intends to denounce his faith after seminary for a free
college education.
Kovak agrees to assist Father Lucas with the case of Rosaria, a young girl allegedly possessed.
Though "The Rite" isn't immune to contemporary horror tricks, it's considerably smarter and
more restrained than it looks.
Talky and smart, it's a worthwhile alternative to plenty of other exorcism fare.
While director Aislinn Clarke's "The Devil's Doorway" isn't the best found-footage movie
on this list, it's still a quality entry to what was once a tired subgenre.
In the 1960s, two Roman Catholic priests, Father Thomas Riley and Father John Thornton
are sent to a remote Magdalene asylum, also referred to as a laundry, to investigate an
alleged miracle witnessed by the women and staff there.
Clarke wisely incorporates considerable historical context, never shying away from the astronomical
abuse and neglect that occurred at the Irish Magdalene Laundries nor the juxtaposition
of that abuse with the willful ignorance of the two men there.
"Do you know how many of the church's messes that I personally have had to clean up?"
Naturally, the miracle is but a thinly-veiled disguise for a full-borne possession, but
the pathos and historical roots add terrific verve.
The exorcism itself doesn't occur until the tail end, and while it's technically less
proficient than other entries here, it's certifiably tragic and terrifically scary.
A lot of horror movies today are all about streaming.
"The Cleansing Hour," for instance, repurposes conventional exorcism fodder within the context
of a live web show.
Damien LeVeck's feature adaptation of his own short follows Father Max and his exploits
performing decidedly fake live exorcisms on air.
Naturally, his most recent case just happens to be the real deal, and it's up to scream
king Kyle Gallner to stop the madness before the possession expands beyond the studio and
infects the entire world.
It's a common thread, though "The Cleansing Hour" has style and sympathy to spare.
It isn't the greatest, though it's a fun lark that intermittently makes what's old feel
fresh again.
"Constantine" is something of a cult classic.
Though not an outright flop upon release, the film wasn't a bonafide success, either.
Released at a time where R-rated comic adaptations were a hard sell, "Constantine" sort of came
and went for everyone outside of a dedicated fan base still eager for a sequel.
With Keanu Reeves's resurgence in full swing, it just might happen.
Keanu himself stars as John Constantine, an occultist and demonologist whose conventionally
good looks are balanced only by his expertise in exorcising demons and sending them straight
back to Hell.
"Leave immediately, or I will deport you - all of you."
Rachel Weisz is also here in what amounts to a triple role, and Tilda Swinton even swings
by as the Archangel Gabriel, further solidifying how every movie is made better with a dash
of Swinton.
It's stylish, fun, and narratively self-contained, the kind of movie that works on its own terms
without feeling beholden to franchise expectations.
Certainly less scary than other entries here, it tries something new and largely succeeds.
Scott Derickson is a gift to the horror genre.
"Deliver Us From Evil" is the first of two movies he's helmed that made this list, a
solid legacy alongside both "Sinister" and "The Black Phone."
In "Deliver Us From Evil," Eric Bana stars as Ralph Sarchie, an NYPD Special Operations
Sergeant entwined in a full-blown demonic resurgence.
With the assistance of a Jesuit priest, Sarchie uncovers a bridge between Christianity and
paganism that has allowed demons to open a door to the human world and unleash Hell on
earth.
Part exorcism movie, part haunted house fare, and part police procedural, the mixing of
genres is occasionally unwieldy, but it's a wonderfully ambitious and certifiably frightening
slice of horror cinema.
The acting is solid, the atmosphere rich, and the scares are terrific when they finally
arrive.
Scott Derrickson is back, this time combining psychological court procedural elements with
standard demonic scares in 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose.'
Laura Linney stars as Erin Bruner, a lawyer hired to defend Father Moore, a priest charged
with the death of a young woman after an exorcism.
Said possessed girl is a sensational Jennifer Carpenter, both sympathetic and thoroughly
terrifying.
Her performance is ferocious, writhing and twisting her body without the assistance of
digital effects so effectively the MPAA almost hit the movie with an R-rating.
It's tense and poses several ethical quandaries, and while some of its early scares are too
conventional, it's well-crafted and mostly restrained.
This is what a truly haunting movie looks like.
"The Last Exorcism" is likely responsible for the mid-2000s exorcism resurgence.
A subgenre that was near death before it even took off, "The Last Exorcism" incorporated
enough found footage chills to resurrect it for one last at-bat.
This one is seriously scary.
Much of the credit is due to star Ashley Bell.
Following in the footsteps of Jennifer Carpenter's turn in "Emily Rose," Ashley Bell's performance
is intensely physical, viscerally twisting and contorting her body in ways that extend
beyond shiver-inducing.
The product of an oppressively religious upbringing, her performance is simultaneously terrifying
and gut-wrenchingly sympathetic.
Produced by Eli Roth and directed by Daniel Stamm, the scares come fast and hard and largely
push the boundaries of what PG-13 horror can deliver.
"The Medium" is terrifying.
A dense and almost mythic slow burn, it simultaneously resurrected the exorcism subgenre and further
guaranteed that the found footage format would endure.
Directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun of "Shutter" fame and co-scripted by Na Hong-jin, "The
Medium" is international horror incarnate, a deliriously unsettling possession tale filled
with distinct cultural touchstones and customs -– it's unlike anything you've seen.
At its center is Nim, a local Shaman being followed by a Thai documentary film crew.
Nim alleges to be possessed by the deity Ba Yan, an ancestral goddess who has possessed
women in Nim's family for several generations.
A local honor, Nim uses her gift to heal the sick and guide the weak.
She is summoned to assist her niece, Mink, after she begins to display aggressive and
disturbing behavior.
Several possibilities are posed, though "The Medium '' is more concerned with the daily
subtleties of rural possession than it is easy answers.
Over two hours long, "The Medium '' drips dread like candle wax, though it has plenty
of full-blown horror to deliver in its final act.
Only a filmmaker of Mike Flanagan's caliber could churn out a sequel to one of 2014's
worst-reviewed horror movies that not only improves upon every aspect of the original,
but also genuinely sits as one of modern horror's most chilling possession stories.
"Ouija: Origin of Evil" is a prequel to the original.
With pristine period detail and a number of breathtaking scares, it stars Elizabeth Reaser
as a medium named Alice.
The more she dupes her neighbors into thinking she can genuinely contact the dead, the more
she lines her own casket.
Though, as a single mother in the mid-'60s, she has few other options.
This being a horror movie, Alice's youngest daughter, Doris, is soon possessed by a demonic
entity.
Alice, it turns out, is better at this whole Ouija thing than she initially let on.
With the aid of a priest, the family tries to exorcise the demon from Doris, a process
that involves sewing her mouth shut.
This being a prequel, it's not a spoiler to say it doesn't quite work.
Still, even early in his mainstream career, Flanagan showed that there's no property too
tarnished for him to make magic out of.
A combination of James Wan's torturous sensibilities and classic haunted house beats, "The Conjuring"
was a sensation when released in the summer of 2013.
Well-regarded almost a decade later, few horror efforts since have matched its intensity and
chilling, stripped-down scares.
A movie that largely exists to send audiences flying from their seats, "The Conjuring" is
a classic for a reason.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as real-life ghostbusters Ed and Lorraine Warren, who travel
the country exorcising demons and cleansing homes.
"Well we've been called demonologists, that's one name for us.
Ghost hunters, paranormal researchers -"
"Kooks."
"The Conjuring" has since inspired an entire cinematic universe, including two direct sequels
to this one, though nothing beats the original.
Called to a rural Rhode Island farmhouse after the Perron family reports demonic activity,
the scares come fast and hard, and culminate in one of last decade's most stylish and unpredictable
exorcisms.
"Exorcist II: The Heretic" is not good.
It's a surprise, then, that "The Exorcist III" is not only as good as it is, but also
an entirely different beast than the 1973 original.
It's a bonafide classic in its own right.
Indeed, with the right perspective, "The Exorcist III" is no less scary than the film that started
it all.
Originally conceived as a script for original director William Friedkin to direct, "The
Exorcist" scribe William Peter Blatty later adapted that into his book, "Legion," which
would then serve as the template for "The Exorcist III."
George C. Scott stars as Lieutenant William Kinderman, an investigator entangled in demonic
activity 17 years after the possession of Regan MacNeil and the death of Father Karras.
More procedural than the first, there's a consistently oppressive atmosphere and horror
that lands considerably more existentially than the first.
It's an unsettling experience crafted with style and verve, and were it not affiliated
with the enormous legacy of "The Exorcist" might be just as well-regarded.
"The Exorcist" might as well be a subgenre in its own right.
There are few if any moviegoing audiences who don't know "The Exorcist."
Even those who haven't seen it are aware of its legacy, as it's constantly regarded as
one of, if not THE scariest movies ever.
For some, other attempts aren't even exorcism movies -– they're simply movies that aren't
"The Exorcist."
A simple narrative buoyed by its year of release and genuinely unbridled scares, it stars Ellen
Burstyn and Linda Blair as a mother and daughter, respectively, who are in need of an exorcism.
Blair's Regan MacNeil is possessed by the demon Pazuzu, and Burstyn's character, like
any good mother, is desperate to help her.
Chillingly grounded yet fantastical when it needs to be, every exorcism movie since has
borrowed liberally from this classic's template.
More than an inspiration, it basically wrote the script, going places never experienced
by audiences before.
"I don't know, I’d have to look it up."
"I thought you were supposed to be an expert."
"There are no experts."
It's almost unfair to rank "The Wailing" against "The Exorcist:" Both are terrifically, classically
frightening and deserve to be acknowledged as two of the scariest movies ever made.
"The Wailing" just barely inches "The Exorcist" out, if only on account of unfamiliarity.
Dense and epic, its scale is larger and its subtext more biblical.
In parts, it feels so chillingly real, it makes "The Exorcist" look like mere fiction.
Na Hong-jin directs the tale of a rural Korean cop in Gokseong as he endeavors to make sense
of the arrival of a mysterious Japanese stranger.
The local residents claim there's something wrong with the newcomer, with some recounting
tales of him prowling naked in the woods and startling those he crosses with glowing, crimson
eyes.
To some, this stranger might very well be the Devil himself.
Abounding with twists and turns that play out against the backdrop of the tortuous,
mountainous terrain of Gokseong, "The Wailing" is gigantic in stature.
A tale of morality, fear, and the root of evil, it runs over two-and-a-half hours long,
though it never shows its length, and is damn near impossible to shake.