The Best Catholic Themed Horror Movies

Without being blasphemes there is just something about the Catholic faith that works wonders for the horror genre. It's probably second only to Satanic and Wicca themed horror movies due to the strong beliefs between good and evil; the unique statues, worship rituals, and iconography of Saints and Sinners; as well as the ancient practice of performing exorcisms being a reality.

This association of Catholicism and the uncanny evil is an age old tradition, reaching far back into period time pieces that showcases the macabre and creepy side of religion. There are honored saints in golden caskets and statues displayed predominately in dark, desolate churches that serve well for jump scares; There is hidden human darkness behind the saintly requirements of nuns and priests in all era's; and many evil doings exercised in the name of God, including hangings, burnings and tortures. People are quick to believe, follow, and condemn, and the overarching realities of the Catholic style creates disturbing horror films today.

With the recent release of Jeffrey Dean Morgan's recent horror movie The Unholy, I wanted to bring to you my list of horror movies with Catholic overturns that will keep you up at night.

The Exorcist

No Catholic horror film has ever been more iconic and important than the 1973 movie The Exorcist. A work of cinematic masterpiece and horror triumph, this film aged like a fine wine. Focused on a possession of a young girl named Regan (played by Linda Blair) a young priest named Father Karras (Jason Miller), who is battling his own demons with the death of his mother, decides to perform an exorcism on Regan after hearing reports of her floating in her bed, having her head rotate around, masturbating with a crucifix, communicating with devils, and developing a misshapen appearance. The film follows the activities and events of the exorcism seemingly from start to finish, and the disturbing nature of the film has been revered as one of the scariest. Within the darkness of the film itself, you can even find sinister statues of the demon Pazuzu in the background to add to the spook factor, which was a masterful addition to the film.

The Nun

The 2018 spin off of the popular Conjuring franchise, The Nun told the tale of the haunting images that famous supernatural hunter Lorraine Warren saw frequently throughout the original films. In this film, a troubled priest named Father Burke (played by Demian Bichir) teams up with a newbie nun (American Horror Story's Taissa Farmiga) and a friendly Frenchman (Jonas Bloquet) and is sent from the Vatican to investigate a series of suicides at a convent in Romania. As the priest and the nun investigate they discover the presence of evil taking the form of a white faced nun in the convent. The Nun has to be one of the more scariest Catholic themed horror movie out there, and the cinematography was absolutely amazing as a modern horror - the crosses turning around in the hallway, the stalking of the demonic nun - I legit think this is one of my favourite horror movies.

The Unholy

This recent horror movie starring The Walking Dead's Jeffrey Dean Morgan may not be up there in comparison to The Exorcist or The Nun, but it serves up its own set of frights with a religious focus. The Unholy follows a has-been journalist (Morgan) Gerry Fenn who is stuck looking into conspiracy theories after his career downfall but discovers what seems to be a real miracle in the small town of Banfield when a hearing-impaired girl named Alice can suddenly hear, speak, and heal the sick. Hearing and seeing the voice of the Virgin Mary, Alice does her best in the name of her beliefs to spread the holy word, and Gerry Fenn finds himself with the miraculous exclusive - only to be forced to choose between selling his own soul for a story, or selling the souls of others.

What The Unholy lacked in the special effects budget, it made up for in haunting sounds, serving more of a focus on the fact that Alice was born visually impaired. The starting segment features a rather horrifying and bloody thump of nails into someone's head from their point of view, and it started the whole movie on an unsettling note that I couldn't shake. It was worth watching the movie for this horrifying start alone.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

The 2005 film The Exorcism of Emily Rose was dubbed the modern day Exorcist as it follows a lawyer who takes on a negligent homicide case involving a priest who performed an exorcism on a nineteen year old student named Emily Rose. Starring Jennifer Carpenter, Tom Wikinson, and Campbell Scott, The Exorcism of Emily Rose is based on a true story where the Catholic Church officially recognised a demonic possession of the titular character. Told as flashbacks, the court tries to investigate the blurred lines between science and superstition to find the priest who performed the exorcism on Emily Rose, which eventually led to her death. Spooky and surreal, with a good narrative, The Exorcism of Emily Rose is a horrifying look into what happens after a haunting where the possessed does not survive.

The Conjuring

The Conjuring may not be completely Catholic-horror themed, but the overtones of the Catholic belief system in paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) are rife throughout The Conjuring universe. Seen as professors and investigators sanctioned by the Catholic church, Ed and Lorraine are real life horror icons who examine places of hauntings, and the 2013 film features them investigating a haunting and performing exorcisms in a dilapidated Rhode Island home that is left haunted by satanic demons. More ghost and haunted house themed than specifically religious, The Conjuring was well known to light the fire under a new wave of horror movies in the early 2010's, and thus definitely reserves a spot on this list.