2. THE EXORCIST (1973)
Written by William Peter Blatty and directed by William
Friedkin, the exorcist is the standard by which all other demonic
possession films are judged, the exorcist has terrified millions of
viewers over the years with it’s then (and still now) shocking
portrayal of the possession of a young girl, introducing
levitation, vomit, profanity and body contortions.
3. BURNT OFFERINGS (1976)
Directed by Dan Curtis based on a novel by Robert Marasco, this
haunted house chiller, with a demonic possession of the mother
killing each character. In a twist of events as each character is
killed the house rejuvenates itself. This was once a fresh take on
the paranormal genre including, death, gore, blood.
4. THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (1979)
This was the first film to be closest to the true story of a haunted
house. A new family move into a haunted house and seek the
advice of the local priest to remove the demonic presence in the
house that was once the sight of a grisly mass murder.
In this film we are shown unexplainable goo, swarms of flies and
scenes of an unnatural nature, focusing on the more paranormal
than blood and gore.
5. THE SHINING (1980)
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil
and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while
his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the
future.
This is one of the first films where the possessed attack other
people. This is a very violent film making it a timeless scary film.
6. DEMONS (1985)
A group of people are trapped in a large movie theatre in West
Berlin that is infected by ravenous demons who proceed to kill
and posses the humans one-by-one, thereby multiplying their
numbers.
A group of people trapped in a small place is a main factors of a
horror film, and this is the main part of this film, the fact they are
trapped. Although this is more zombie than possession, it does
still have the paranormal qualities.
7. PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1987)
A sinister secret in an abandoned church turns out to be a pit of
green slime substance, which turns out to be the essence of Satan
himself, this is more of a zombie/paranormal film than
possession.
Scenes of gore, horror, paranormal, demons.
8. NIGHT OF THE DEMONS (1988)
A group of kids go to a Halloween party, only to have to face
down a group of demons.
A stereotypical horror film showing teenagers, drugs, sexual
nature, confined to a small place, blood, gore, demonic nature.
9. THE CONVENT (2000)
A group of college students break into an abandoned convent
and become possessed by demonic spirits.
Showing scenes of strong horror, violence, gore, strong
language, some sexuality and drug content.
Another stereotypical film about drugged up teenagers, confined
in a small space.
10. EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING
(2004)
Years before Father Lancaster Merrin helped save Regan
MacNeil's soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East
Africa. This is the tale of Father Merrin's initial battle with
Pazuzu and the rediscovery of his faith.
Showing scenes of violence and gore, disturbing images and
rituals, including sexual dialogue.
11. THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE
(2005)
When a younger girl called Emily Rose dies, everyone puts blame
on the exorcism which was performed on her by Father Moore
prior to her death. The priest is arrested on suspicion of murder.
The trail begins with lawyer Erin Bruner representing Moore, but
it is not going to be easy, as no one wants to believe what Father
Moore says is true
Showing thematic material including, intense/frightening
sequences and disturbing images.
12. CONSTANTINE (2005)
Constantine tells the story of irreverent supernatural detective
John Constantine, who has literally been to hell and back. A
different take on the repeatedly used possession and paranormal
genre.
Violence and demonic images.
13. THE 8TH PLAGUE (2006)
A sister goes looking for her missing sister with the help of a
mysterious man from the town with a dark past, she finds more
than her sister and learns about a dark realm and demons that
intend to possess the town.
Extreme violence, missing people, demonic scenes.
14. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (2009)
After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes
increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence. As the
sequels/prequels come out, it seems the paranormal behaviour is
not unfamiliar to this family. This is more than just a possession
film.
Film includes, strong language, violence and paranormal scenes.
Shown in a home video style.
15. THE LAST EXORCISM (2010)
A troubled evangelical minister agrees to let his last exorcism be
filmed by a documentary crew. He claims that exorcisms are
untrue and hoaxed, and they are believed by the ill. He makes the
video to try and prove this, but later changes his mind due to the
serious background story in the family and town.
This film shows violent content and terror, sexual references and
thematic material.
16. THE RITE (2011)
An American seminary student who has lost his faith in god
travels to Italy to take on an exorcism course to try and
strengthen his beliefs, unconvinced of the paranormal he then
becomes partners with a local exorcist and comes closer to
possession than he thought he would.
Showing all the tell tale signs of a exorcism film, sexual
references, violence, frightening images and disturbing thematic
material.
17. THE DEVIL INSIDE (2012)
In Italy, a woman becomes involved in a series of unauthorized
exorcisms during her mission to discover what happened to her
mother, who allegedly murdered three people during her own
exorcism.
This film has advanced so much compared to The excorcism due to
editing, storyline, and effects, it is completely realistic making it a
surreal and unnerving experience to watch.
