The Possession Presents Jewish Perspective on Possession and Exorcism
The Possession is Sam Raimi’s most recent horror film, and it also represents Hollywood horror’s latest installment in our ongoing fascination with the idea of possession by a dark spiritual force and the related process of exorcism. What makes Raimi’s film different from so many of the films that explore this theme is it’s Jewish [...]
Psychology Today: What is it That Fascinates Us About Exorcism and Demonic Possession?
A series of bad reviews by film critics, echoed by many rank and file moviegoers, didn’t stop The Devil Inside from doing extremely well at the box office. The film is but the latest in a string of films with the theme of demonic possession, forming a horror subgenre in their own right. This includes [...]
The Devil Inside: CFQ Spotlight Podcast 3:1
The horror preferences of a younger generation, coupled with the continued popularity of “found footage” and demonic possession themes in horror, led to a great weekend at the box office for The Devil Inside. Although I haven’t seen the film, I provided some input for the discussion at the Cinefantastique Spotlight Podcast 3:1 on the [...]
Relegere Reviews The Lure of the Dark Side: Satan and Western Demonology in Popular Culture
The publication Relegere: Studies in Religion and Reception, includes a book review by Steve A. Wiggins of The Lure of the Dark Side: Satan and Western Demonology in Popular Culture, edited by Christopher Partridge and Eric Christianson (London: Equinox, 2009). The review touches on a number of areas covered by contributors, including a chapter describing [...]
Satanism, Exorcism and Social Horror Trends
An article that ran in The Telegraph on 7 April titled “Rise in demand for exorcism recalls horror trend,” caught my attention, not only for its connection of concerns over the demonic and contemporary horror films, but also for some of the provocative claims it made. Looking back at The Exorcist (1973) and an increase [...]
TheoFantastique Podcast 2.1 on The Rite
TheoFantastique Podcast, Vol. 2, no. 1 is now available. It involves a discussion on The Rite with past guests and contributors, including Douglas Cowan, author of a number of books including Sacred Terror: Religion and Horror on the Silver Screen; Paul Meehan, also the author of a number of books including Horror Noir: Where Cinema’s [...]
THE RITE: Modern Exorcism in Theaters January 2011
Our fascination with the devil in popular culture as informed by the Christian tradition continues, or at least Hollywood’s assumption that this figure is of interest to us, with the release of The Rite in January 2011. The film is “inspired by” the book of the same title by Matt Baglio. See the film’s website [...]
Satan is Busy at the Box Office
A consideration of recent items in popular culture reveals that Satan is a popular figure. Eli Roth’s The Last Exorcism is at the top of the box office at the time of the writing of this post, and seems to be well received by many horror film websites and blogs. In turn, the release of [...]
DEVIL Trailer: The Night Chronicles
The trailer for the horror film Devil from Universal Pictures is now available. This supernatural thriller is based upon a story by M. Night Shyamalan as part of a Night Chronicles series. It tells the story of a small group of people trapped in a stalled elevator in a high rise who come to learn [...]
Scott Poole: Satan in America
I first heard of W. Scott Poole through the Religion Dispatches website that involves scholars interacting with pop culture and religion. Scott wrote an article on Jennifer’s Body that I commented on here, and which attracted a lot of interest at the now defunct HorrorBlips. Scott is associate professor of history at the College of [...]
