Lotfy Nathan’s The Carpenter’s Son has been marred in controversy for its depiction of a flawed Jesus. Starring Nicolas Cage as The Carpenter, the biblical horror film brings up questions about faith, truth, and humanity’s deeply weak state. The cast, which includes FKA twigs (as The Mother) and Noah Jupe (as The Boy), brings the period piece to life with the understanding that it’ll confront the Christian establishment in shocking ways.
This is far from the first time horror has excavated themes of faith and religion. Throughout history, the genre has played with the torment, torture, and trickery that established institutions have delighted in. From The Omen and Carrie to The Conjuring, there’s no shortage of religious-tinged stories that confront believers and non-believers alike with horrifying imagery and, perhaps, sacrilegious storytelling.
Here are 10 religious horror movies to watch next!
Stigmata
Patricia Arquette stars in his late ’90s supernatural horror film that brings into question atheism and the role of institutionalised religion in society. Director Rupert Wainwright sheds light on the real-life phenomenon of stigmata – the appearance of wounds that mimic those of Jesus when he was crucified. Arquette plays Frankie Paige, a young woman with no religious beliefs. She begins experiencing stigmata, and Rev. Andrew Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne) is beckoned by a high-ranking official to investigate. Stigmata has aged better than it probably should have and is due for a proper reassessment.
Saint Maud
In her feature directorial debut, Rose Glass goes for the jugular with Saint Maud. Following a devout young caregiver, the film explores her psychological break, strict religious beliefs, and how fanaticism can lead to delusion. A tragic past event leads Maud (Morfydd Clark) to misinterpret reality and succumb to her own distorted devices. It’s an impressive film, not only for being a filmmaker’s debut, but also for its approach to religion and faith.
The Devil’s Doorway
Found footage is too often discredited without being given a chance. But filmmakers frequently experiment with style, tone, and approach that other subgenres don’t allow. With The Devil’s Doorway, director Aislinn Clarke tinkers with subtle scares and jump scares in intensely effective ways. When a Virgin Mary statue weeps blood, a priest and a film crew are tasked with documenting the so-called “miracle.“ What transpires over 90 minutes is horrifying and the perfect example of how found footage should be done.
The Sacrament
Ti West’s The Sacrament loosely bases its story on cult leader Jim Jones and the mass Jonestown murder-suicide he orchestrated in 1978. Shot in found footage style, the 2013 film peels back the curtain on social brainwashing and how it impacts particularly vulnerable people desperate for family. With A.J. Bowen and Joe Swanberg among the cast, essential figures in the mumblecore wave of the late 2000s and early ’10s, the film offers an insider look into how cults operate and function.
The Vigil
Keith Thomas’s The Vigil is a real mind melter. When a young man agrees to be a shomer over a dead body, he arrives at a dilapidated home already on edge. There’s something buried behind the walls and in the house’s darkest crevices. As the night wears on, that something crawls from the blackness and savagely attacks his mind. The Vigil is one of the biggest surprises of the last few years, deserving of another look.
Candy Land
While tackling a hot-button topic as sex work, director John Swab also explores how extreme fanaticism and the impact of strict religious beliefs can break a person. Candy Land busts down every expectation, offering up a sympathetic look at sex workers and their livelihoods. When the film takes a hard left turn in the middle, it earns its place as one of the best religion-focused horror films of recent years.
The Devils
Ken Russell’s The Devils came back into popularity recently with streaming additions to Shudder and later Criterion Collection. There’s a reason why it has been marred in controversy and censorship over the years. It’s a provocative viewpoint of religion, sex, and control – all wrapped in some of the most unhinged imagery you’ll ever see. The Church would likely call it “blasphemous,“ but it’s a refreshing and tantalising story around the slimy underbelly of religion that so often has been ignored over the years.
Agnes
Mickey Reece’s Agnes is perhaps the most deceiving film on this list. What begins as your typical nunspoiltation flick quickly evolves into something else entirely. The film stars Hayley McFarland as the titular character, and the audience follows her journey through questioning her faith, reconciling what she’s been taught and what is real, and finding her way out of it all. Adjust your expectations going in, and you just might have a good time.
Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism
Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism, directed by Nick Kozakis and loosely based on real events, is the most authentic on this list that honestly feels like it’s ripped from real life. When a young woman exhibits odd behaviour (the film posits it could be attributed to an undiagnosed mental health condition), her husband believes she’s actually possessed by a demon and enlists the help of his church. An egomaniac and extreme preacher agrees to handle the case, and he’s brought in to “heal“ her. Godless unravels with a brutality that’ll make your skin crawl and your blood boil. It remains one of the most infuriating horror films ever made; it just feels too real.
Leave
Leave rarely gets talked about. Alex Herron’s 2022 feature dissects a young woman’s mysterious past (she was left as an infant in a cemetery wrapped in cloth branded with satanic symbols) and her reckoning with what she doesn’t know. When she travels back to a town in Norway, she follows a series of clues and coincidences to uncover the truth about her mother. In his first, non-TV movie, Herron properly excavates issues of upbringing, inherited beliefs, and the often tragic ending of religious fanaticism.
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