I think everybody and their grandmother knows about the Devil from Christian lore. You know, the first angel created by God and was cast out of Heaven for rebelling against his father. Over the centuries, Satan has been portrayed as this red entity that has horns, a tail, and goat legs complete with hooves. He’s always been portrayed that way in religious texts and art, and that image is what most people think of when they talk about the Devil. So…why do I bring up the Prince of Darkness? I’m not a believer, but I just find Christian/Catholic dogma to be inherently fascinating. I’m particularly fond of religious-themed horror movies, even if some of them don’t actually deal with the supernatural aspects of the religion. So, what I’m going to talk about in this post are movies that are themed around religion and/or the Devil.
The First Omen
This was the most recent movie I watched in theaters. The First Omen is the prequel to the original 1976 film The Omen starring Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, and David Warner. This movie is pretty fucked up in a lot of ways, but it expands on the original movie by exploring the genesis of the Antichrist, which leads to some pretty gnarly sequences of female body horror. Essentially, the film is calling out the Catholic Church for mistreating women and manipulating the public. But beyond that, you have extraordinary performances from Nell Tiger Free and Ralph Ineson. It’s really one of the best horror movies I’ve seen in the last 5 years. For fans of horror, you need to get out and see this movie.
The Omen(1976)
This may be hard to believe, but Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie wouldn’t have happened without The Omen. This movie was released in the height of the Exorcist craze. While THAT film dealt with possession, this one dealt with son of the Devil, the Antichrist. Yet, one of the most interesting things about the movie is that it never gave a definitive answer to whether or not Damien really was the Antichrist. There’s a lot of goings-on in the film that one could rightfully interpret as mere coincidence. It’s a highly atmospheric thriller with really strong performances from Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, and David Warner. It also features one of the most shocking and controversial death scenes in any horror during the 70s.
End of Days
I wouldn’t consider End of Days to be one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s best movies. It IS one of his more interesting efforts because not only does he play a different kind of character than we’re used to seeing, at least for the first hour and a half, he’s going up against an indestructible enemy: Satan himself. In fact, Old Scratch himself is making a personal effort in this film to find a woman that’ll have his kid. It all has to happen in that last hour on New Year’s Eve. It’s ridiculous, but it is a lot of fun. Gabriel Byrne is clearly having fun chewing the scenery as the fallen angel. Kevin Pollack is the comic relief as Arnie’s partner. This is the most human that we’ve seen Schwarzenegger up until this point, and it kind of works. Now, to be honest, I’m not a big fan of the MTV-style editing during the action sequences. For the first hour and a half, it’s more Exorcist, but the last half-hour is basically Commando with big guns. Nobody’s perfect.
Megiddo: Omega Code 2
I’ve often been accused of watching some schlocky movies…and…yeah, I do. But the schlock that I watch is a very different kind of schlock when you compare it to faith-based films. That shit is mostly irredeemable hogwash that tends to PREACH at its audience about having faith in God. It makes my skin crawl. While I haven’t seen the first Omega Code, this one clearly doesn’t require you to. Satan takes the form of a child named Stone Alexander, who grows up to be Michael York. Stone also has a brother that grows up to be Michael Biehn. This movie is essentially a very LOOSE interpretation of the Book of Revelations. Satan/Stone gains control over most of the world and plans on attacking Jerusalem, kickstarting Armageddon. It’s as ridiculous as it sounds, and I guess that’s why I’m partial to it. It’s not a good movie, but it’s got a stacked cast: Michael York chews the scenery like its nobody’s business, and he’s having fun. The late R. Lee Ermey plays the president, while Michael Biehn is David, Stone’s brother. This is not a horror movie. It’s supposed to be an action epic of apocalyptic proportions, but it’s clearly a low-budget movie, so it can’t really properly convey the scale of the final battle between good and evil. Some of the special effects are decent enough, and there’s a lot of practical action sequences, so it’s not a total loss.
The Exorcist
On a list of movies that shocked and disturbed people, I’m sure that The Exorcist is somewhere near the top. 50 years later, this movie still commands a lot of power. Why? It approached the idea of exorcism realistically with a distraught mother going to every psychologist and mental institute to figure out what’s wrong with her daughter. One of the doctors ultimately suggested an exorcism. She’s not a believer, but she finds a priest who essentially tells her to do what she’s already done. Jason Miller’s Damian Karras eventually calls on Max von Sydow’s Father Merrin, who is an expert exorcist. This movie, even today has some pretty disturbing material, especially involving a crucifix. This movie was the basis for all future movies that dealt with the subject matter. Is the Devil actually involved here? We’re not given an answer in this movie, even though we find out in sequels that it’s not. Linda Blair’s performance here was extraordinary. In fact, everybody was great. It’s haunting, disturbing, and absolutely one of the best horror movies ever made. For most horror fans, this is a pillar of the genre.
The Last Days in the Desert
Earlier I mentioned that most faith-based movies are a bunch of pretentious nonsense. The Last Days in the Desert is a faith-based film, but it approaches Yeshua/Jesus as a human being that seems to be suffering a crisis of faith. Ewan McGregor is excellent here. Not only does he play Jesus, but he also plays the Devil, who taunts him throughout the film. The dichotomy between the two is brilliant, because the Devil absolutely brings up a lot of really good points to be used against God, yet Yeshua remains faithful, despite the world around him falling apart. The moments between Jesus and Satan are the most compelling parts of the movie. The ones with the family that he encounters are paper-thin. This isn’t a great movie, if I’m being honest, but as a faith-based movie, it’s the least offensive to me.
The Devil has been a fixture in horror movies and television shows for decades, and has been portrayed in various ways. If you believe the dogma, Lucifer’s had a sizable grudge against mankind for thousands of years. But nobody’s ever thought to look at the world through Lucifer’s eyes. You never know what you might gleam from that perspective. Of course, for the “faithful,” that would be extremely blasphemous, since good and evil are so cut-and-dried. Anyhoo, those are some of the movies where Satan has major influence in the story. I think some of these movies are a HELL of a good time.