Demons have been terrifying us in horror movies for decades now, with demonic possessions
capturing the imaginations of filmmakers ever since Linda Blair vomited up pea soup.
There are countless movies we could list off but let's focus our attention on the 2000’s,
which blessed us with a huge number of demonic movies.
Saying that, I can’t discuss everything so honorable mentions go out to Trick ‘r
Treat, the Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Amityville Horror, and Hellboy.
Before we begin though, I just want to give a huge shoutout to our video sponsor today,
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Now, before we begin, be sure to stick around until the end of the video where I’ll be
responding to some of your comments, and with that, let’s jump in.
5 Paranormal Activity Alright, just hear me out.
I know everyone has differing opinions on Paranormal Activity, but I truly believe it
is an effective demonic horror movie that has a lasting legacy.
Released in 2007 and directed by Oren Peli, the movie centers on a young couple, Katie
and Micah, who are haunted by a supernatural presence in their home.
They then decide to set up a camera to document what is haunting them, and it’s not what
they expect, it’s something demonic that is hellbent on possessing Katie.
Film critics James Berardinelli and Roger Ebert each awarded it 3.5 stars out of a maximum
of 4 stars.
Ebert stated, I quote: “It illustrates one of my favorite points, that silence and waiting
can be more entertaining than frantic fast-cutting and berserk f/x.
For extended periods here, nothing at all is happening, and believe me, you won’t
be bored.”
And ain’t that the truth.
The movie has a way of lingering, you’re waiting throughout the duration for something
to go down.
You watch as the couple sleep, you see shadows, doors move, and gusts of wind.
However, things take a turn when Katie is dragged from the bed in the night and pulled
down the hallway by her ankle by an unknown presence.
And from that point on, the movie descends into an utter nightmare for the couple.
The fact that we witness everything through a static camera is what makes the movie so
effective and so damn terrifying.
There’s not a second of acting, but more so reacting, and we watch on as this supposed
real life couple goes through hell and back.
Not to mention, the movie has one of the most intense and unexpected endings, which smoothly
sets up Paranormal Activity 2.
Bloody Disgusting ranked the film 16th in their list of the Top 20 Horror Films of the
Decade, with the article saying, I quote: “Peli deserves props for milking the maximum
amount of tension out of the spare, modern setting -- an ordinary, cookie-cutter tract
home in San Diego.
It doesn’t sound very scary, but Peli manages to make it terrifying.
If you aren’t white-knuckling your armrest at least once or twice while watching it,
you probably don’t have a pulse.”
4 The Exorcism of Emily Rose Directed by Scott Derrickson and released
back in 2005, The Exorcism of Emily Rose is a supernatural horror movie loosely based
on the story of Anneliese Michel and tells the story of Reverend Moore who performs an
exorcism on a girl believed to be possessed by demons.
The prosecutor argues that the girl suffered from schizophrenia, however, Moore’s lawyer
has a different opinion.
Now, what makes this movie so great is that despite being a PG-13 movie, it is still packed
with horrifying thrills from start to finish, with one particular scene lingering with movie
goers for years to come.
We all know the scene, the one where Jennifer’s Carpenters boyfriend wakes up in the night
only to see his girlfriend horrifically contorted on the floor.
I still think about that to this day.
Anyway, I digress, the movie also manages to be a courtroom drama, with a twinge of
the supernatural that adds some flavor to the mix.
Roger Ebert gave the movie three out of four stars, describing it as, I quote: “Intriguing
and perplexing” writing that “the screenplay is intelligent and open to occasional refreshing
wit.”
In 2006, the Chicago Film Critics Association listed the film in the Top 100 Scariest Films
Ever Made, ranking it at number 86, with Jennifer Carpenter the best frightened performance
at the MTV Movie Awards during that same year.
3 Jeepers Creepers We’ve talked about Jeepers Creepers on this
channel a few times recently, however, it’s back again with a well earned place on our
list.
Directed by Victor Salva and released back in 2001, Jeepers Creepers follows two siblings
played by Justin Long and Gina Phillips who encounter a demon while on a road trip in
rural Florida.
While driving through rural Florida en route home, the siblings pass a dirty van which
later turns out to be the van of a demonic killer who is hellbent on hunting down the
siblings after they catch the creature dumping a body down a secret shoot.
Now, the movie takes its title from the 1930s song Jeepers Creepers by Johnny Mercer and
Harry Warren.
The song plays throughout the movie, taking on a more diabolical tone than I’m sure
it was intended to.
Not to mention it is a prelude to catastrophe that is soon to come.
Now, the movie does falter the more it progresses with the scarier moments occurring in the
early stages of the film before descending into a shoot-by-numbers monster movie.
Despite that though, Jeepers Creepers has a lasting legacy, and is a movie myself and
many horror lovers still return to today.
Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film, I quote: “has the scariest
opening sequence of any horror picture in recent memory but becomes an amusing horror-comedy,
spooky and jolting but too literally preposterous to regain its initial aura of suspense.”
Stephen Holden of the New York Times called it, I quote: “a cannier-than-average teen
horror movie that disintegrates into a shoot-by-numbers monster hunt.”
Despite its mixed reviews, the movie sparked two sequels, Jeepers Creepers 2 in 2003 and
Jeepers Creepers 3 in 2017.
The second was good, the third we don’t discuss.
2 Jennifer’s Body This is a personal favorite of mine, and like
a fine wine has aged well with time.
Directed by Karyn Kusama and written by Diablo Cody, Jennifer’s Body was released back
in 2009 and stars Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, JK Simmons, and Adam Brody.
Megan Fox portrays a demonically possessed high school girl who kills her male classmates,
with her best friend, Seyfried, striving to stop her.
On people, Jennifer’s Body has a familiar horror flare, but it has notable quirks, which
are thanks to writer Diablo Cody, the Academy-Award nominated writer/director, behind movies such
as Juno.
The movie seems very simple at first glance, Jennifer is a popular cheerleader who everyone
loves, while Needy is a shy, virginal follower.
Jennifer becomes possessed by a demon who is hungry for human flesh, and Needy must
step up and try to keep her best friend under control.
The movie successfully managed to go from a box office flop to a cult classic, and a
favorite among horror movie, and specifically demon horror movie lovers.
The movie was essentially dead on arrival, but somehow it had staying power with it garnering
new fans each and every year.
However, I should state that Jennifer’s Body was ALWAYS a good movie, it’s only
now that people are learning to appreciate it.
Roger Ebert was a fan of the movie, dubbing it, I quote: “Twilight for boys” and stating
that “as a movie about a flesh-eating cheerleader, it’s better than it has to be.”
All in all, we owe Jennifer’s Body an apology, because it turned out to be one of the greatest
demon horror movies of all time.
Quote me on that.
1 Drag Me To Hell Now this movie is great, and highly underrated
in my opinion.
Director by one of the King’s of horror, Sam Raimi and written by his older brother
Ivan, Drag Me to Hell was released back in 2009 and follows a loan officer played by
Alison Lohman, who, because she has to prove to her boss that she can make the “hard
decisions”, chooses not to extend an elderly woman’s mortgage.
In retaliation, the woman places a curse on the loan officer that, after three days of
escalating torment, will plunge her into the depths of Hell to burn for eternity.
Now the torment Lohman suffers is reminiscent of Evil Dead, with beatings and gore that
quite literally, spoiler alert, result in her being dragged into Hell by a Demon.
The movie manages to offer the same kind of gory and disturbing fun as the Evil Dead films
from the 80s and successfully manages to be humorous while absolutely terrifying and disgusting.
It is a movie that you will be laughing and cheering through, while also screaming and
shouting.
The movie is a rollercoaster ride from start to finish, kicking off with an old gypsy woman
losing it at Alison Lohman, to her attacking her in a car and losing her denchers, only
to attack Lohman’s chin with her toothless-mouth.
It’s all very bizarre, but exciting and relentless.
The film heavily relies on shock effects, like the mouth scene, instead of blood, and
Raimi pulls this off to perfection.
Bloody Disgusting gave the film four and a half stars out of five, with the review calling
it, I quote: “quite simply the most PERFECT horror film I’ve seen in a long, long while...it’s
a blast and moved quickly from start to finish and is well on its way to becoming an immediate
classic.”
Fans have been desperately hoping for a sequel for 10 years now, however Raimi doesn’t
have a story in mind.
I quote: “If somebody had a goody story.
I don’t have a story, because in my mind the character got killed, and worse.
So I didn’t know how to proceed with the sequel.”
Well there we have it!
Do you guys agree with our list?
Were there any demon movies that we missed?
Which decade would you like us to cover next?
Leave us all your thoughts and feelings in the comments down below.
Before I go though, I just want to respond to a few comments
from one of our last videos, Top 5 Scary Monsters
From North Korea.
Matthew Boyajian said: “Please Top 5 Werewolf Urban Legends” ---
Jackal Reviews said: “That first one about the sun and the moon eating dogs sounds familiar,
was it nicked from Norse Mythology?”
---
Gabriel Smith said:”How about Top 5 Evil World Domination Plans Lucy can come up with?”
---
Lee Kitchen said: “Top 5 Lucy insults” ----
Edmond Williams said: “What about Top 5 Scary Superstitions From Around The World?”
---
Steve Kass said: “I must be dreaming.
Lucy doing a Top 5 twice in one day.
I hope I never wake up” ---
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