Satanic panic peaked in the 1980s when residents in small towns across America believed devil worshipers lingered in the shadows, ready to sacrifice children and animals to their dark lord. While it turned out to be totally bogus, the infernal, condemned vibes have sustained themselves.
Since the dawn of cinema, movie makers have been fascinated with evil, often represented by fiendish cults, devilish underground networks, and Satan himself. While classics like Rosemary’s Baby and contemporary horror films like The House Of The Devil or The Witch have scarred moviegoers for life with their portrayals of devil worshipers, there are other genre gems that deserve recognition. This list highlights 10 of them.
The Devil Rides Out (1968)
One of the best British horror movies ever, spooky author Richard Matheson wrote the screenplay for The Devil Rides Out, which he adapted from a book by Dennis Wheatley. In case that isn’t enough to sway you, it’s directed by Terence Fisher, known for his work with Hammer Films, and it stars Christopher Lee.
Lee plays a French nobleman who is trying to save his best friend Simon from having his soul sucked up by Satan. Seeking guidance from a local Satanic cult, Lee’s character orchestrates Black Masses, various ritualistic gatherings, and everything in between to save Simon from eternal condemnation.
Angel Heart (1987)
Angel Heart is a noir horror set in the muggy streets of New Orleans. Mickey Rourke plays a private investigator named Harry Angel. Angel is hired by a man named Louis Cyphre, played by Robert De Niro, to track down a singer who owes him money.
Angel finds Epiphany Proudfoot, a beautiful performer played by Lisa Bonet, but he soon realizes Cyphre wants more than money from her. As a series of ritualistic murders cause bodies to pile up around him, Angel finds himself in the middle of a Satanic cult, one led by Lucifer himself.
The Day Of The Beast (1995)
A Spanish-language treasure, The Day of the Beast follows a priest named Father Angel whose research leads him to believe the Antichrist will be born in Madrid on Christmas Day. In order to save humanity, Father Angel decides to fall from grace, sinking into a life of sin in order to infiltrate the devil-worshiping underworld.
Father Angel’s goal is to fight Satan in his own realm. Equal parts artistic and horrifying, The Day of the Beast digs into more than Satanism: it’s a compelling social satire about Spain.
The Sentinel (1977)
This frenetic feature was overshadowed by other devilish films like The Exorcist and The Omen. It stars Cristina Raines as a model who moves into an old Brooklyn brownstone. After the move, she begins to experience strange visions and fainting spells. Eventually, things come to a head, and she discovers her home is a gateway to Hell.
It turns out the creepy, blind priest who lives on the top floor is actually protecting the gateway, keeping the demons within from spilling out. As if that isn’t a big enough revelation, she’s soon informed she’s been chosen as his successor. The Sentinel includes supporting performances from the likes of Chris Sarandon, Ava Gardner, Christopher Walken, Jeff Goldblum, and Beverly D’Angelo.
The Seventh Victim (1943)
A brooding, stylized take on the devil-worshiping theme, The Seventh Victim stars Golden Age character actors Tom Conway, Isabell Jewel, and Evelyn Brent. In it, a young, naive woman named Kim travels to New York City’s Greenwich Village to track down her wayward sister.
Once in New York, Kim becomes involved with some questionable characters. They draw her into a vast, scary realm of Satanic devotion and ritual. This proves to be a moody and thrilling early contribution to the genre.
Don’t Deliver Us From Evil (1971)
Based on the same New Zealand case that inspired Peter Jackson’s 1994 film Heavenly Creatures, this French film follows two teenage girls who decide to veer from the path of righteousness and devote themselves to evil. Inspired by the writings of revolutionaries, they engage with Satanic liturgy, forming their own cult of two.
The girls move on to more hideous acts, performing Black Masses and murder. In a horrifying final sequence, knowing the police are after them, the girls sacrifice themselves to Satan via a violent performance at a school recital. Don’t Deliver Us From Evil was banned in France when it was released due to the age of its protagonists and the brutality they execute.
Evilspeak (1981)
This nasty video, which was banned in the UK for many years, is Hackers meets The Craft for the 1980s. Clint Howard of Revenge of the Nerds fame stars as Stanley, a bullied military cadet whose only solace is his personal computer.
Stanley is also fascinated with the occult, and he decides to use his tech knowledge to translate an old Satanic text he finds in an abandoned chapel by using his computer as a deciphering tool. The experiment works, and Stanley is able to cast spells and summon demons via his computer, targeting his bullies and enemies.
The Blood On Satan’s Claw (1971)
A British period movie, Blood on Satan’s Claw begins when a 17th-century field hand unearths the remains of an old demon, catching the attention of a group of teenage devil worshipers led by Angel Blake, played by the beautiful Linda Hayden. The cult storms the small village outside of Cornwall, enacting a series of rituals and ceremonies to bring the demon back to life.
The locals fight back, employing inquisition-style tactics to destroy the cult and keep the demon from returning to Earth. The movie was produced by Tigon British Film Productions, known for other 1960s and 1970s horror flicks like Witchfinder General and Creeping Flesh.
The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015)
The Blackcoat’s Daughter is a frightful and bloody debut from Oz Perkins. It tells two interwoven stories that focus around a Catholic Prep school, connected stylistically by slow, atmospheric pacing and moments of extreme violence.
Young genre icons Kiernan Shipka and Emma Roberts star, giving moving and raw performances as women tortured by the same demonic entity. Their experiences come together in a shocking way at the end of the film, which involves a furnace that may or may not serve as a conduit to Hell.
Prince Of Darkness (1987)
This underappreciated feature from John Carpenter blends occult horror and science fiction in a way only someone like Carpenter can pull off. With his vaporous and gusty directing style, Carpenter tells the story of a priest, played by Donald Pleasance, who finds out the basement of his church is a hiding place for The Brotherhood of Sleep, who have been preparing for the return of Satan.
Eschewing Judeo-Christian beliefs, The Prince of Darkness develops its own, extraterrestrial theories about the origins of Satan. The dark lord’s essence is kept alive in a swirling, gothic canister full of green ooze, and anyone exposed to it becomes possessed. The priest employs local scientists to help him fight the evil entities, but data analysis and computer technology can only do so much.
