The Exorcist has long held the title as the scariest possession horror film ever made, and all the subsequent films to follow haven’t been able to measure up in the eyes of some viewers. According to Den of Geek, there will never be one scarier than The Exorcist. However, movies are of their time, and over the last decade, the horror subgenre that showcases demonic possession has gotten pretty creative in terms of the storytelling that goes into these films. The Evil Dead franchise is a great example of a series of films that takes on its own demon to deliver both flat out horror and hidden comedy.
A common misconception about possession films is that there needs to be a demon inhabiting one’s body, and an exorcism always seems to be the go-to answer. Contrary to popular belief, there are many other ways for one to become possessed by something that doesn’t come straight from hell and not everybody’s soul has the capacity to be saved. From raining hell blood to possessed items, here are some of the best possession movies to watch next.
10 Christine
Christine is a 1980s horror film that was an adaptation of a Stephen King novel of the same name. The film was released in December, a mere eight months after the novel hit the shelves. Christine focuses on an unpopular teenager named Arnie (played by Keith Gordon), who purchases a 1958 Plymouth Fury. As Arnie spends more time with and in the car, he becomes obsessive and his overall demeanor changes drastically.
One night after his car has been vandilized by one of Arnie’s bullies, the Plymouth Fury restores itself to perfection right in front of Arnie’s eyes. Although Christine isone of the least terrifying examples of a possession film, it is worth a watch for both Stephen King fans and a casual viewer.
9 Demons
Like many B-horror movies made in the 80s, 1985’s Demons has acquired a cult following. In short, the plot follows a group of college students who attend a screening at a newly renovated cinema. The film they are screening is a horror movie, and the theater has an identical mask prop in the lobby that one of the patrons was scratched by.
Soon after the being scratched, the infected Rosemary (played by Geretta Geretta) transforms into a demon. She then begins to attack the other patrons of the theater, turning them all into demons. By no means is Demons overtly scary, but for fans of films like TheEvil Dead, the 80s cult classic will strike a chord. The mystery behind the possessed and the theater setting, allow for just the right amount of camp and body horror effects.
8 Jennifer’s Body
At the time of the film’s release in 2009, Jennifer’s Body was considered a flop. The budget was $16 million and overall the box office only grossed $31.6 million, with Megan Fox as one of the leads. The film was criticized for a variety of reasons, one of which being the out of touch dialogue that comes with any Diablo Cody film. However today, Jennifer’s Body has experienced somewhat of a renaissance. According to Vox, Jennifer’s Body has been newly regarded as a feminist horror film and claims that if it were to come out today it would be a sleeper hit. The story is about a modern day succubus who eats boys at her high school to feed and stay beautiful.
However, there is something much deeper in the film, especially hidden in the relationship between the two female friends Jennifer (played by Fox) and Needy (played by Amanda Seyfried). The two have a bond that teeters the line between platonic and romantic, which is something also missed by critics upon the film’s initial release. Once you peel back the layers of heavy dialogue, Jennifer’s Body offers so much more than blood and guts, easily making it one of the most entertaining possession films that doubles as a comedy.
7 Night of the Creeps
Night of the Creeps is probably one of the 80s’ best kept gems, and ranks number two on Collider‘s most bizzarre horror films of the decade. When a corpse harboring a dangerous space slug is unleashed by two klutzy friends, havoc wreaks on a college campus. The slugs make their way inside you and burrow into your brain, making you a member of their undead army all while taking control of your nervous system. They possess you until they become you, but unlike Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Faculty, they zombify you rather than keep your human form.
Night of the Creeps encompasses every aspect of 80s horror that there is to love. The campy dialogue and overall comedy mix imperatively well with all the space slinging gore.
6 The Faculty
The Faculty is your average run-of-the-mill 90s horror movie, and reads similarly to films like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. The big difference between this group of teens as opposed to the other films is they are being picked off one-by-one by an alien force seeking to inhabit a human’s body. As the group tries to find the “queen bee” behind the infection, they find themselves questioning their very beings among one another. The Faculty pays homage to both The Thing and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and is a valiant attempt in revitalizing a story previously told.
5 The Conjuring
The Conjuring franchise is based on the cases of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. The success of the first film spawned two sequels, and launched what is known as The Conjuring Universe, which are a series of films based on paranormal entities from the series. To date, The Conjuring ranks number one in the highest-grossing horror franchises of all time. Overall, the original trilogy boasts fairly high scores from both critics and audiences alike.
The Conjuring, much like the film’s predecessors, focuses on a family who tied all their money up in a house that ends up being haunted. The entity in the Perron family home seeks to possess the mother figure and then murder her children. The film hits all the marks of possession, exorcism, and even tends to use a majority of practical effects throughout.
4 Insidious
James Wan’s Insidious shares a familiar tie to his Conjuring Series, with Patrick Wilson in a leading role. However, Insidious and the subsequent films that followed are more tied to the belief in “the further” rather than the Warren’s alleged real cases. Known mostly for it’s jarring use of sound and music, the film is regarded as one of the scariest demonic possession movies in horror.
Like The Conjuring, Insidious has its own universe that branches off into stories that follow paranormal guru Elise Rainier (played by Lin Shaye). These films serve as prequels being that she is killed off in the first film. For fans of the series, there is much anticipation surrounding the fifth installment to the franchise which will catch up with the Lambert family ten yeas after the events of the second film. Insidious: The Red Door is set to hit theaters in July 2023.
3 Invasion of the Body Snatchers
In total, without counting films loosely based on the story, Invasion of the Body Snatchers has been reimagined four times. The 1956 film was adapted from Jack Finney’s science fiction novel titled The Body Snatchers. However, the 1978 remake is one of few films that has been considered better than the original.
This prominent retelling, although slow at first, pays off immensely due to the ending scene alone. Hysteria, paranoia, and fear of the unknown are no strangers to horror films alike. Yet, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a possession premise unlike any other in its realm and the film’s pod people strike silently making them all the more horrifying.
2 Sinister
Sinister is a film that truly cashes in on its title. Each year a UK based entertainment provider, Broadband Choices, ranks the scariest films according to science. In 2020, the provider determined that Scott Derrickson’s 2012 film Sinister was the stand-out winner. Their metrics are based on a variety of aspects used to make a film, and their data is gathered by monitoring the heart rates of their volunteers.
Yet, most viewers go into Sinister not realizing that it is in fact a possession film. The evil entity Bughuul, more commonly known as the eater of children, possesses a child through Super 8 films all to have that child kill their families. Despite the overtly terrifying nature of the demon, the film scatters in fragments of the Super 8’s that crime writer Ellison (played by Ethan Hawke) endures.
1 The Evil Dead
When discussing possession films, it is hard to discredit the work of Sam Raimi’s 1981 cult classic The Evil Dead. The film features a slew of brilliant practical effects and an overtly terrifying premise. When Ash (played by Bruce Campbell) and his four friends venture into the woods for a fun night in a remote cabin, their luck quickly changes once they find an old book referred to as the Necronomicon. Once they read the book aloud, the group unknowingly awakens an evil force that picks them off one by one.
The sequels to follow the original were more centered as horror comedies, while the 1981 film is considered one of the most frightening movies from the 80s. Despite the 2013 remake of the same name and the new 2023 installment Evil Dead Rise, The Evil Dead is often a forgotten gem among casual viewers. When comparing films about demonic possession it is almost impossible not to bring The Evil Dead and the deaditesinto the conversation which is why it is our number one pick for possession films you should watch next.
