In the entire history of the film industry, Satan repeatedly appeared before the viewer in a variety of guises. Unlike the Almighty, who assumes, as a rule, a more responsible attitude towards himself, the devil could allow liberties, his comic tricks, tricks were no less popular than frightening stories. Films about the devil, a list of which is presented in this publication will serve as confirmation of this fact.
At the dawn of the film industry
From the very beginning of the existence of cinema, Mephistopheles and Faust have established themselves as one of the regular heroes of the cinema. The early films about the devil, the list of which will be opened by the work of the founder of the subgenre, Georges Méliès, were released at the beginning of the 20th century: Mephistopheles’s Cabinet, Faust in Hell, Four hundred Tricks of the Devil. In his early incarnations, the evil one appeared before the people who looked in the traditional, habitual guise with horns and hooves. His tricks, like the image of hell, were quite harmless. At the same time, the paintings “Faust and Mephistopheles” and “The Seven Devil Castles”, created as a gloomy melodrama, were released in Europe. At the same time, Italy took up the mystical relay race, in Italian films , the sentimental-melodramatic dominated the comic component.
The rise of the devilish theme
The cinematic rise of the devilish and demonic themes in world cinema was the period from 1913 to 1933, under the influence of the school of expressionism. At this time, films about the devil appeared one after another. The list also contains those paintings in which the devil did not always endow the plot with his appearance, but his shadow was invisible, but perceptibly, extended over the heroes:
- "Prague student."
- "Doctor Caligari's office."
- Golem.
- Homunculus.
- "Alrau-not."
- "The heads of Janus."
- Nosferatu.
- Satanas
- "The Tribulation of Satan."
- "The devil in the bottle."
- "Dante's hell."
The horrors are real
The Second World War, which brought the horrors of concentration camps, the death of millions, surpassed all even the most terrible demonic fantasies. Screen horrors are a hundred times superior to real horrors. During this period, as if in opposition to the bloody reality, new films about the devil appeared, the list of which consists solely of paintings in which the evil one appears in a lightened ironic image:
- "Hell has opened."
- “Everything you can buy for money.”
- "The sky can wait."
- "Evening visitors."
- "Heavenly game."
- "Embankment of the Mists."
- "The beauty of the devil."
The world of demonology
The period of the Cold War was marked by the demise of demonology in the movies. Among the paintings of this period are many diverse film productions: Leo McCary's politicized opus “Satan Does Not Sleep” (1960), the comedy The Devil and the Ten Commandments (1962), directed by Julien Duvivier, and the 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 period preceding the new revival of devilishness on the big screen, literally a year before the release of the film “The Exorcist” (“The Exorcist”), the world became cinematic for the devil in a variety of ways - from politicized and philosophical parables to outright pornography. 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 graphic and plot means capable of inspiring great fear, all the supernatural plays a significant role, is beyond doubt. The priority in horror films belongs to the mystical, mysteriously inexplicable. Movies about the devil become more and more frightening in the second half of the 20th century.
The list of the best deserves to be opened by the picture “Rosemary's Baby” (1968), created by director Roman Polansky based on the eponymous work by Ira Levin. This sublime and gloomy story has a hidden irony: everything on the screen is authentic, extremely casual, but still “the devil among us”, and not in hell.
The next, quite significant film in the satanic cycle is The Exorcist, directed by William Fridkin, based on the novel by the writer William Peter Bletti. Cinema is replete with theological details, all exile ceremonies are reproduced with protocol scrupulousness, and the ugliness committed by the demon gives the film a supernatural, visible character. The Exorcist generated a ton of imitation paintings and the direct sequel Exorcist II: The Heretic, directed by Englishman John Boorman.
One of the best, according to the world cinema community, in this category is considered a film by Richard Donner "Omen" ("Omen"). The plot is a narration of the history of childhood and adolescence of the Antichrist Damian. The movie is full of quotes from the Revelation of John the Theologian, however, they are interpreted in the spirit of modernity, claiming 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 is replenished quite regularly. Relatively recently, the world saw a new version of the exile of the devil from Mark Neveldan under the eloquent name of the Vatican records. The director, like many of his predecessors, could not resist the subject of the exorcism, which was quite popular in the world film industry. In addition to the above-mentioned classic "The Exorcist" (1973), 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 incident that occurred in 1976. The ritual of exile itself and the events preceding it are shown by the creators in the form of flashbacks.
“The Last Exile of the Devil” - a low-budget picture that paid off dozens of times at the box office has a rather original plot. The protagonist of the film for a long time misleads others only by imitating the expulsion of the devil. But one day he comes across a really obsessed girl. The consequences of an exorcism session are unpredictable. In 2013, the creators blinded by unexpected success presented the world the sequel “The Last Exile of the Devil: The Second Coming”, which failed miserably at the box office and earned only condescending or sharply negative reviews. “The Second Coming” is a failed film about the expulsion of the devil.
The list of the best worthy to continue the picture: "Rite" (2011) and "Obsessed" (2012).