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OTwo Editor Alice Keegan explores the continuing appeal of religious horror in an increasingly secular society.
The Conjuring first came onto cinema screens in 2013, and three films have followed it, with the most recent addition being The Conjuring: Last Rites, released on September 5th this year. Breathing life (and a lot of death) into the genre, a number of spin-offs were subsequently released, including 2014’s Annabelle and 2018’s The Nun. The Conjuring franchise is responsible for a resurgence in religious horror films in the past decade.
Each subgenre of horror is packed with their own fantastical, supernatural and terrifying elements which shape the viewer experience. Some subgenres even possess the capability to shape perceptions of their themes off-screen. Religious horror is just one of those. These films dissect the role of faith, spiritual beliefs and what happens when all of that turns dark, yet its messaging has traditionally been fundamentally conservative.
A period of ‘satanic panic’ was omnipresent throughout the 1960s and 1970s, as legendary films such as Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and The Exorcist (1973) hit the big screen. Throughout the later twentieth century and into the early 2000s, films such as Carrie, Jennifer’s Body and Hereditary also explored the darker sides of faith. The protagonists are Christian, typically Roman Catholic or Evangelist. These films are rife with religious iconography- the crucifix, nuns in habits and rosary beads. Containing themes of the occult, demonic possession and ritual, against a Christian backdrop, their characters turn to faith for comfort, yet in the case of Carrie, it was exactly her mother’s spirituality that was the root cause of her suffering.
The origins of religious horror can be traced back to ancient myths and religious texts. The Bible, both Old and New Testament is laden with evocative, often graphic tales of sin, murder and the inexplicable. Invoking primal anxieties relating to sin and salvation, contrasting the virtuous and virginal with the incendiary and shocking, these films have attracted condemnation from churches across the world, and denunciations of their mentions of masturbation, pre-marital sex, and worst of all, blasphemy.
Rather than just gore-filled, visceral violence, the existential and intellectual questions religious horror asks is even more disturbing (though the scene with the pigs in Carrie will remain in the back of your mind for a long time after watching the 1976 classic). Uncovering suffering, abuse, isolation and moral ambiguity in a religious context, from cults to Christianity, the atmosphere of this subgenre is startling. They emphasise the power and control of the Church, yet off-screen, as it has become abundantly clear, this is dwindling day by day.
The Church’s and religion in general’s influence have diminished significantly in the last century, particularly among young people. According to a study conducted by Barna, 70% of Irish young people consider themselves as Christians, but only 47% actually feel that their faith is important. Furthermore, 81% at least partially agree with the statement; “I think the Church’s teachings on sexuality and homosexuality are wrong”. Nonetheless, it is that demographic which appears most attracted to these movies.
As the influence of Christianity across the world appears to only be continuing to decline, why are so many people attracted to the genre of religious horror? Is this merely a morbid fascination, an opportunity for an insight into the darkest corners of humanity, where faith turns to fright?
Ireland in particular has had a long, dark history defined by the intertwined relationship of the Catholic Church and state. Originally these films were an exploration of the darker sides of organised religion, but today in Ireland especially, this is something we already know all too well. Rural villages and urban areas alike are haunted by foreboding buildings which were once Magdalene laundries, industrial schools and mother and baby homes. There have been numerous inquiries and investigations into the abuse committed against the most vulnerable in society by “servants of God”.
Religious horror and its continuing popularity occupies an interesting space in the cultural zeitgeist, particularly in countries where the reverberations of the Church are still felt. For younger people growing up in a country less fanatically religious, these films allow them to consider for the first time the implications of religious shame and the darker sides of the Church’s teachings. But when the question in many of these films is asked, is the evil already around us? The victims of decades of state-sanctioned institutional abuse in Ireland, and many, many other nations already know the answer. They don’t need conservative stories of evil men in masks, martyred priests and images of Ouija boards to prove it.