Religious horror is a subgenre of horror cinema that incorporates religious themes, symbols, and narratives to evoke fear and suspense. Works in this genre typically focus on supernatural beings, such as demons or spirits, that pose a threat to characters, and often depict a struggle between good and evil framed through religious belief or ritual. [1] [2] Religious elements commonly used in these films include crucifixes, holy water, scripture, prayer, and other iconography tied to organized faiths, particularly within Christian contexts. The genre frequently portrays protagonists turning to faith or religious practices to confront or defeat the malevolent forces they encounter. [3] [4] [5]
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The roots of the horror genre descend directly from ancient religious traditions focusing on death, the afterlife, evil, the demonic, and the principle of the thing embodied in the person. [6] It appeared in early cinematic depictions of supernatural threat and moral consequence, but it became firmly established as a distinctive subgenre in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Early influential films such as Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and The Exorcist (1973) brought religious themes—particularly Christian ideas of demonic possession and spiritual warfare—to mainstream horror audiences, helping define the genre’s conventions. These films built on cultural anxieties about faith, sin, and the unseen supernatural, often using religious conflict as a metaphor for broader fears. [7]
Religious horror can range from depictions of possession and exorcism to cult activity, divine punishment, and the corruption of sacred spaces or figures, often using familiar religious rituals as both narrative drivers and sources of tension. Films such as The Exorcist and The Omen are frequently cited as seminal entries that helped define the subgenre in modern cinema. [8]
Many religiously themed horror films depict characters experiencing supernatural disturbances that are interpreted through a religious framework, frequently leading them to rely on faith-based practices or rituals to confront the perceived threat. Examples of early influential films include: Amityville II: The Possession , Stigmata , The Calling, The Omen , The Exorcist , Children of the Corn, Carrie, The Church, and Hellbound: Hellraiser II . The genre also includes more recent films such as The Rite , The Crucifixion , Apostle , The Nun , Prey for the Devil , The Unholy , The Vatican Tapes , The Possession , Ouija: Origin of Evil , and entries in The Conjuring film series. Religious horror video games, such as Faith: The Unholy Trinity , The Binding of Isaac, and Outlast have also seen success in recent years.