Many of the most popular horror films are explicitly religious and use the juxtaposition of religious elements with evil to frighten viewers. From 1973's The Exorcist to 2018’s The Nun, religious horror films have been wildly successful. The Exorcist is one of the highest-grossing films in history, with $441 million worldwide, and 45 years later, the trope is still going strong with The Nun raking in $365 million worldwide. Other popular religious horror films include Rosemary’s Baby (1968), The Omen (1976), Alice, Sweet Alice (1976), The Wicker Man (2006), Devil (2010), The Rite (2011) and The Sacrament (2013).
With 20.8% of Americans being Catholic and another 49.8% of Americans belonging to other Christian denominations, it is no surprise that Christian, specifically Catholic, imagery, rituals, beliefs, and practices are used in these films. Catholicism is the predominant religion for religious horror films, with traditional Catholic imagery being used. Even if the audience is not Catholic themselves, they may be familiar with some of Catholicism’s most common imagery. Considering the theological and practical definitions of religion (a focus on the supernatural, beliefs and practices of believer, and focusing on religious practices) we can understand how religion is being used in these films. The films depict Catholic practices, rituals and symbols as the character’s attempts to ward off evil. They rely on the belief in the supernatural (belief in the demons and God) to instill horror. The use of religious imagery in religious horror films, with symbols and rituals familiar to many Americans (and others worldwide), create haunting stories.
The religious horror film trope commonly uses religious elements including holy water, the rosary, the sign of the cross, the church, and prayer. These religious symbols and rituals are used to depict the use of faith to defeat evil. Evil, usually Satan or another demon, is often depicted through monsters or a human vessel that are either killed or otherwise defeated through religious means. Other elements of this trope include suffering, a loss of control, isolation, and a struggle with supernatural forces. The religious horror film subgenre relies on the audience’s understanding of the religious symbols, rituals, and practices used in the film. It is the audience’s understanding and belief in these elements that I think can make the films so terrifying and successful.
Similar to other popular culture tropes, such as the Oriental Monk, the Catholic horror film relies on stereotypes to deliver the message. A common element in these films is a terrifying, dramatic exorcism. According to an exorcist’s assistant, a possession and exorcism are very rare and is not very theatrical, with a heavy focus on prayer.
In The Exorcist, the whole focus is on the ritual exorcism, playing off of the Catholic belief in the demonic. A young girl starts behaving strangely and her secular mother tries to seek medical help. When science fails, her mother convinces a Catholic priest, who is struggling with his faith, that the girl needs an exorcism and the church sends an expert on exorcisms. It heavily relies on the figure of the priest and the ritual of prayer and exorcism. It features the suffering of the girl, her mother, and the priest, a struggle with the supernatural force of the demon possessing the girl, and the mother’s loss of control over the situation.
In The Nun, a priest and a novitate (nun-in-training) are sent by the Vatican to investigate the death of a nun at a Romanian abbey. They discover a demonic nun that is kept at bay using prayer and the blood of Christ. The film is heavy with Catholic symbols, as most of the characters are nuns or priests and it takes place in an abbey and covenant, which are covered many different religious artifacts.
The use of religion in these films shows the audience that faith can conquer evil. The age old struggle of good versus evil is represented as God and faith versus evil and demons. As one Catholic church states,
“Contrary to the belief of some, good horror doesn’t actually glorify evil. Instead, good horror highlights it and, in so doing, shows it for exactly what it is. It shows that evil is not a good thing to be celebrated, emulated, or sought; rather, it is something we should fight against and try our best to conquer and escape. Simply put, the horror we see on screen should remind us of our need to be saved from the horror we experience in the real world.”
The following blog post is by Sister Rose Pacatte, an American Catholic who is the founding director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies in Los Angeles and holds a Master’s of Education in Media Studies from the University of London. In the post, Sr. Rose Pacatte expertly analyzes the relationship between devout Catholics and horror films. She argues that the horror genre serves to explore Christian theology and reinforces faith in God.
Not only is the religion of the audience important for the success of this subgenre, the context and intended meaning of the film’s production are also important. Hector Avalos, a professor of religious studies at Iowa State University, believes that Catholic horror films are explicitly Christian propaganda with a missionary agenda. The director and writer of The Exorcist, William Blatty, was an avid Roman Catholic, which we need to take into account when deriving meaning from these films and considering their success.
Religious horror films depict terrifying situations outside our control and understanding, yet show that when all hope seems lost, a higher power appears as a saviour.
