Films about the devil. List of pictures about exorcism

For the entire history of the film industry, Satan has repeatedly appeared before the audience in a variety of guises. Unlike Gd, who, as a rule, assumes a more responsible attitude towards himself, the devil could tolerate liberties, his comic antics, tricks were no less popular than frightening stories. Films about the devil, the list of which is presented in this publication will serve as confirmation of this fact.

At the dawn of the film industry

Since the very beginning of the cinema, Mephistopheles and Faust have established themselves as one of the permanent heroes of the cinema. Early films about the devil, whose list will open the works of the ancestor of the subgenre Georges Méliès, were released in the early twentieth century: "Mephistopheles' Cabinet", "Faust in Hell", "Four Devils of the Devil". In his early incarnations, the wicked person appeared in the traditional, familiar form with horns and hoofs. His tricks, like the image of hell, were quite harmless. At the same time in Europe, the paintings "Faust and Mephistopheles" and "The Seven Castles of the Devil" were produced, created as a gloomy melodrama. In the same period, the mystical torch was picked up by Italy, in Italian films over the comic component dominated by soul-melodic-melodramatic.

The rise of the devil's subject

Cinematographic rise of the devil and demonic themes in the world cinema was the period from 1913 to 1933, under the influence of the school of expressionism. At this time, one after another there were films about the devil. The list also contains those pictures in which the devil did not always endow his appearance with the plot, but his shadow is invisible, but palpable, stretched over the heroes:

1. "Prague student".
2. "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari."
3. Golem.
4. "Homunculus".
5. Alrau-no.
6. "Heads of Janus".
7. The Nosferatu.
8. "Satanas".
9. "Satan's Grief".
10. "The Devil in the Bottle."
11. "Dante's hell."

Horror real

The Second World War, which brought the horrors of concentration camps, the death of millions, surpassed even the most terrible demonic fantasies. Screen terrors a hundred times superior to the real horrors. In this period, as if in opposition to the bloody reality, new films about the devil appeared, the list of which consists exclusively of pictures in which the crafty appears in a light ironic manner:

1. "Hell opened up."
2. "Everything you can buy for money."
3. "The sky can wait."
4. "Evening visitors."
5. "Celestial Game".
6. «Embankment of fogs».
7. "Beauty of the devil."

The Demonology of Democracy

The period of the Cold War was marked by the secularization of demonology in the cinema. Among the paintings of this period are a lot of diverse film productions: the politicized opus Leo McCerry "Satan is not slumbering" (1960), the comedy "The Devil and the Ten Commandments" (1962) directed by Julien Duvivier, satirical paraphrase "The Eye of the Devil" (1961) directed by Ingmar Bergman and the pornographic film "The Devil in Miss Jones" (1972).

So, in the interval preceding the new revival of devilry on the big screen, literally a year before the movie "Exorcist" ("Exorcist") was released, world devotion took place in various cinematographs - from politicized and philosophical parables to outright pornography. The films about devils and demons, the list of which is presented above, confirm this fact.

Resuscitation of the image of the devil

The fact that in the arsenal of pictorial and plot means, capable of inspiring the strongest fear, all the supernatural plays an important role, there is no doubt. Priority in horror films belongs to the mystical, mysteriously inexplicable. More and more frightening in the second half of the twentieth century are films about the devil.

The list of the best is worthy to open the picture "The Child of Rosemary" (1968), created by the director Roman Polansky based on the same name by Aira Levin. This sublime and gloomy story has a hidden irony: on the screen everything is reliable, utterly everyday, but still "devils among us", and not in hell.

The next, quite significant film in the satanic cycle is the "Exorcist" directed by William Friedkin, based on the novel by William Pieter Bletti. The cinema is replete with theological details, all the ceremonies of exile are reproduced with protocol scrupulousness, and the demons of disgrace give the film a supernatural visual character. "Exorcist" gave birth to a lot of picture-imitation and direct sequel "Exorcist II: Heretic", the director-Englishman John Boorman.

One of the best, in the opinion of the world cinema community, in this category is the Richard Donner film "The Omen" ("Omen"). The plot is a narrative of the history of childhood and adolescence of the antichrist Damian. The cinema is full of quotes from the Revelation of John the Theologian, however, they are interpreted in the spirit of modernity, arguing that the kingdom of Satan will come from the political sphere.

Movies about the expulsion of the devil

The list of the best paintings, telling about exorcism, replenishes very regularly. Relatively recently, the world saw a new version of the exorcism of the devil from Mark Neveldan under the eloquent title "Vatican Records." The director, like many of his predecessors, did not resist the theme of the exorcism of the devil, which is quite popular in the world film industry. In addition to the above-mentioned "Exorcist" (1973) classic, the list includes the following films:

"The Six Demons of Emily Rose" - horror and judicial drama in one bottle. The movie was shot on the basis of a real event that happened in 1976. The very ritual of exile and events to this preceding are shown by the creators in the form of flashbacks.

"The Last Exile of the Devil" - a low-budget picture that has paid off ten times at the box office, has a rather original story. The protagonist of the film for a long time confuses the people only by imitating the exorcism of the devil. But one day he comes across a really obsessed girl. The consequences of the exorcism session are unpredictable. In 2013, blinded by the unexpected success of the creators presented the world with the sequel "The Last Exorcism of the Devil: The Second Coming," which failed miserably at the box office and earned only indulgent or sharply negative reviews. "Second Coming" - a failed film about the expulsion of the devil.

The list of the best are worthy to continue the paintings: "Rite" (2011) and "Obsessed" (2012).