13 Best Exorcism Movies, Ranked
A popular subgenre of horror, demonic possession and exorcism movies are a curious blend of psychological and supernatural. Unless you are a die-hard horror fan, exorcism movies generally turn away viewing audiences because they are exactly what you'd expect: the plot — usually recycled and rarely revamped — features a main character falling victim to supernatural possession. And, unfortunately, their titles are rarely creative enough to engage the viewer teetering on deciding whether the genre is for them. However, there remains a class of filmmakers and stars producing exorcism features that can make a fan out of any viewer with an open mind about horror.
From found footage to franchises and the one-offs in between, the best exorcism movies blend the standard, required elements with firm cinematic choices that elevate a baseline plot to a fulfilling movie-going experience. Earning praise from critics and horror audiences alike, these exorcism feats range from box-office successes to Oscar-winning icons.
13 'Annabelle Comes Home' (2019)
Directed by Gary Dauberman
An interesting spin-off from The Conjuring movies, Annabelle Comes Home offloaded the burden of nullifying the evil spirits to the Warrens’ (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) 10-year-old daughter, Judy (McKenna Grace). Annabelle is safely locked away in the Warrens’ artifacts room, but a bumbling friend of Judy's accidentally sets the doll free, unleashing a wave of terror on Judy, her friends, and her babysitter for the course of one hellish night.
Annabelle Comes Homes hits all the right notes to be a taut, effective horror that offers horror fun more so than it does nightmarish scares. One of the ghosts known as the Bride possesses Daniela (Katie Sarife), leading to a brief though effective exorcism scene where Judy uses a recording of her father conducting an exorcism on the Bride to expel the ghost from Daniela’s body.
Annabelle Comes Home
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Release Date May 26, 2019 Director Gary Dauberman Cast Mckenna Grace , Madison Iseman , Katie Sarife , Vera Farmiga , Patrick Wilson Runtime 10612 'The Pope's Exorcist' (2023)
Directed by Julius Avery
The Pope's Exorcist is on track to be a genre favorite, and is based on the memoirs of the real-life former chief Vatican exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth, who claimed to have performed over 50,000 exorcisms and founded the International Association of Exorcists. In the film, Father Amorth (Russell Crowe) investigates the possession of a young boy and begins to uncover conspiracies the Vatican attempted to keep secret for centuries.
The drawing factor here is the star power of its Academy Award-winning lead. Drawing a divided crowd from Rotten Tomatoes as this genre usually does, The Pope's Exorcist surpassed the expectations of its seasoned viewing audiences, with Russell Crowe's effortless transition to horror sealing the deal.
The Pope's Exorcist
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Release Date April 14, 2023 Director Julius Avery Cast Russell Crowe , Daniel Zovatto , Alex Essoe , Franco Nero Runtime 103 minutes Main Genre Horror11 'The Old Ways' (2020)
Directed by Christopher Alender
While it didn’t re-invent the genre, 2020’s The Old Ways did manage to use possession horror tropes to tell a creepy story of witchcraft and demons. With hopes of researching a story of witchcraft, American-Mexican reporter Cristina (Brigitte Kali Canales) travels to her ancestral home near Veracruz, where she is abducted by a group loyal to a local witch who believes she is possessed by the devil.
The Old Ways hits the ground running, starting with the exorcism of Cristina’s mother and featuring another attempted exorcism on Cristina by the bruja early. Interestingly, while the film was a hit with critics and has a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes, fans weren’t so impressed with it.
The Old Ways (2021)
RHorrorFantasyDramaRelease Date August 25, 2021 Director Christopher Alender Cast Brigitte Kali Canales , Andrea Cortés , Julia Vera , Sal Lopez , A.J. Bowen , Weston Meredith , Julian Lerma , Elizabeth Phoenix Caro Runtime 90 minutes Main Genre Horror Writers Marcos Gabriel Expand10 'The Rite' (2011)
Directed by Mikael Håfström
No stranger to the horror genre, Anthony Hopkins presented viewers with another excellent performance in The Rite. The movie features Hopkins as Father Lucas Trevant, an experienced exorcist who takes on a skeptical seminary school apprentice, Michael Kovak (Colin O'Donoghue). Michael's beliefs in psychiatry over exorcisms are soon turned upside down when he's confronted with a terrifying force.
The Rite draws from source material surrounding the experiences of real-life Father Gary Thomas, a California priest who studied exorcism at the Vatican. While Rotten Tomatoes Critics and audiences gave it a middle-of-the-road rating, the beloved Roger Ebert gave The Rite a solid 3/4 stars for delivering on its promise of horror with enriching cinematography and solid performances.
The Rite
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Release Date January 28, 2011 Director Mikael Håfström Cast Anthony Hopkins , Colin O'Donoghue , Alice Braga , Ciarán Hinds , Toby Jones , Rutger Hauer Runtime 112 Main Genre Drama Writers Michael Petroni , Matt Baglio Expand9 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' (2005)
Directed by Scott Derrickson
CloseHeadlined with Hollywood star power, The Exorcism of Emily Rose is an excellent blend of courtroom drama and demonic possession story. Laura Linney stars as defense attorney Erin Bruner, who is tasked with convincing a jury that Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson) is not guilty of homicide after the woman he performed a church-sanctioned exorcism on died. The prosecution claims that Emily (Jennifer Carpenter) was a person with schizophrenia and not demonically possessed.
Co-writer and director Scott Derrickson opted to pull back on the gore factor with this exorcism installment, a typical standard within the genre's formula. Based on a disturbing true story, The Exorcism of Emily Rose isn't over-the-top but calculated in presenting logic versus religion with its high-profile leads.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
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Release Date September 9, 2005 Director Scott Derrickson Cast Laura Linney , Tom Wilkinson , Campbell Scott , Jennifer Carpenter , Colm Feore , Joshua Close Runtime 114 Main Genre Crime Writers Paul Harris Boardman , Scott Derrickson Expand8 'The Medium' (2021)
Directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun
An Asian horror movie, The Medium pays homage to the likes of several iconic found footage features that came before it. In a co-production between South Korean and Thai filmmakers, the possession feature centers around a family in a village in Thailand where, within each generation, one person inherits the powers of a spirit they perceive to be a Goddess. When a young girl seems to inherit something more sinister, the family attempts to rid her body of the negative entity.
Teetering between mockumentary and found footage, The Medium holds its fair share of shock factor throughout its over two-hour runtime. Underrated within the horror and exorcism genre, this feature is a creative take on an otherwise predictable genre.
The Medium (2021)
Not RatedHorrorThrillerRelease Date July 14, 2021 Director Banjong Pisanthanakun Cast Narilya Gulmongkolpech , Sawanee Utoomma , Sirani Yankittikan , Yasaka Chaisorn , Boonsong Nakphoo , Arunee Wattana , Thanutphon Boonsang Runtime 131 minutes Main Genre Horror Writers Banjong Pisanthanakun , Chantavit Dhanasevi , Siwawut Sewatanon Expand7 'The Blackcoat’s Daughter' (2017)
Directed by Oz Perkins
The Blackcoat’s Daughter became something of a critical darling upon release, with the film sporting a 75% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The eerie psychological horror movie follows a disturbed young woman with a worrying past as she ventures to an isolated prep school where two girls must battle a mysterious evil as they are left behind for the long weekend break.
The film was lauded for its atmospheric tension and the performances of its cast, which includes Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, and Lucy Boynton. The Blackcoat's Daughter also provides a spin when it comes to its exorcism scene, with the victim begging the demon not to leave her after it is exorcised.
The Blackcoat's Daughter
RHorrorMysteryThrillerRelease Date February 16, 2017 Director Oz Perkins Cast Emma Roberts , Kiernan Shipka , Lucy Boynton , James Remar , Lauren Holly Runtime 93 minutes Main Genre Horror Writers Oz Perkins Expand6 'The Last Exorcism' (2010)
Directed by Daniel Stamm
The found footage style feature, The Last Exorcism, is definitely a must when it comes to the exorcism genre. After years of deception, a troubled evangelic minister, Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) invites a film crew to document what he contends will be his last exorcism. Upon meeting Nell (Ashley Bell), a farmer's daughter he believes to be possessed, Cotton performs his usual stunts to no avail before quickly realizing the dark spirit possessing Nell requires him to summon real faith to save her.
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For audiences that can ignore the breakdown in editing (switching from single-camera documentary to multi-camera) toward the film's conclusion, The Last Exorcism exceeds expectations with multiple well-timed thrills and scares. Its plot inspired a slew of sequel "parts" that many audiences of the time recognized from the dollar section of their local video rental store.
The Last Exorcism
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Release Date August 27, 2010 Director Daniel Stamm Cast Patrick Fabian , Ashley Bell , Iris Bahr , Louis Herthum , Caleb Landry Jones , Tony Bentley Runtime 100 Main Genre Drama Writers Huck Botko , Andrew Gurland Expand5 'The Exorcist III' (1990)
Regarded by horror fans as a welcome installment after the rather unmentionable sequel, The Exorcist III concludes the original franchise created by the novelist and screenwriter William Peter Blatty. The iconic George C. Scott stars as Police Lieutenant Kinderman, who begins to connect the dots between a current murder investigation and the patterns of a serial killer executed over a decade prior.
His investigation leads him to a hospitalized psychiatric patient convinced he's the executed killer while displaying similarities to a priest Kinderman knows died in an exorcism. It's nowhere near as excellent as the first film, but it's a pivot from the second film. The Exorcist III appeals to the genre audience that sees the good in the bad and appreciates the legacy the movie stems from.
The Exorcist III
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Release Date August 17, 1990 Director William Peter Blatty Cast George C. Scott , Ed Flanders , Jason Miller , Scott Wilson , Nicol Williamson Runtime 110 minutes Main Genre Horror4 'The Conjuring 2' (2016)
Directed by James Wan
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Certified fresh by Rotten Tomatoes critics, this sequel overcame the sophomore slump that plagues many horror franchises. Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) return to the big screen, this time in London, to aid a single mother and four children tormented by a supernatural spirit that begins to possess one of the daughters.
The Conjuring 2 uses the dreary London weather to emphasize the chilling nature of the family's haunting and Lorraine's internal struggle against the malicious demon threatening her family. There's a classic horror feel to this exorcism film, proving once again that horror can be cinematic. This is just another epic installment in horror master James Wan's filmography.
The Conjuring 2
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Release Date June 10, 2016 Director James Wan Cast Vera Farmiga , Patrick Wilson , Madison Wolfe , Frances O'Connor Runtime 134 minutes Main Genre Horror3 'The Wailing' (2016)
Directed by Na Hong-jin
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From South Korea, this feature is not only one of the best exorcism movies out there, but it's also one of the best (and underrated) Asian horror movies. The Wailing features a wave of hysteria and sickness striking a small village after a mysterious stranger (Kunimura Jun) arrives. After a string of brutal murders by possessed villagers, a policeman (Kwak Do-won) enlists the help of a shaman (Hwang Jung-min) to protect the village and save his daughter.
The Wailing was a welcome departure from the standard exorcism formula including a priest and a possessed person locked in a claustrophobic room. While its two-and-a-half-hour runtime appears daunting, writer and director Na Hong-jin expertly utilizes thematic horror elements to engage viewers through an exorcism movie like they've never experienced.
The Wailing
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Release Date May 12, 2016 Director Na Hong-jin Cast Kwak Do-won , Hwang Jung-min , Jun Kunimura Runtime 1562 'The Conjuring' (2013)
Directed by James Wan
Based on the case files of real-life paranormal investigatorsEd and Lorraine Warren, The Conjuring introduced horror audiences to the pair, leading to a budding franchise and cinematic universe. After moving to a secluded farmhouse, the Perron family, and specifically their matriarch, Carolyn (Lili Taylor), begins experiencing supernatural manifestations. When these events quickly turn from inconvenient to malicious, reaching a point of possession, the Warrens are called upon to help.
The scares in The Conjuring are well-executed after careful tension-building and thematic elements under the keen horror eye of James Wan. Certified fresh, it's one of the best modern horror features, in addition to ranking among the best exorcism movies. The success of this introductory film led to three subsequent films under The Conjuring name and multiple origin story movies revolving around elements featured in the original movie.
The Conjuring
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Release Date March 20, 2013 Director James Wan Cast Vera Farmiga , Patrick Wilson , Lili Taylor , Ron Livingston , Shanley Caswell , Hayley McFarland Runtime 112 Main Genre Horror Writers Chad Hayes , Carey Hayes Expand1 'The Exorcist' (1973)
Directed by William Friedkin
This is the movie that started it all, forever inspiring rehashes that have yet to live up to the iconic nature of this 70s ground-breaker. Adapted for screen based on the William Peter Blatty novel (based on a true story), The Exorcist is the story of a worried mother, Chris (Ellen Burstyn), who enlists the help of two priests after her daughter, Regan (Linda Blair), begins acting out, speaking in tongues, and levitating.
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Nominated for 10 Oscars, and securing wins for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound, The Exorcist broke all the rules and became quite controversial for its time, unsettling and shocking audiences still to this day. It set the stage for a whole new approach to horror, making this icon the best of the best.
The Exorcist
R HorrorSupernatural Where to Watch*Availability in US
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Release Date December 26, 1973 Director William Friedkin Cast Ellen Burstyn , Max Von Sydow , Linda Blair , Lee J. Cobb Runtime 122 minutes Main Genre HorrorncG1vNJzZmibn6G5qrDEq2Wcp51kr6a%2F02acsaeimLa0uYympq%2Bhlah6s63NpJydZw%3D%3D