Religious and Spiritual References Throughout the History of Film

Regardless of the original intent, religious themes are often portrayed visually in film, and have been the source of profitable movies and shorts throughout the history of the big screen. Religious horror, for example, has become quite a trend in modern film, and Heaven is often used as a platform for comedy.


The Exorcist (1973)
Starring: Linda Blair as Regan
Directed by William Friedkin
Writing Credits: William Peter Blatty

Originally a novel by William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist eventually became a classic horror movie of its time. Using stunning effects, director William Friedkin portrayed a frightening story in which a young girl is possessed by a demon and proceeds to commit heinous acts against her parents and the priests who work hard to excorcise the demon.

Three actual Catholic priests served as consultants on the set, helping the cast to realistically portray the Catholic rituals for exorcisms. Linda Blair, the young female actress who played the possessed girl, did a phenomenal job as she cursed, blasphemed, and ridiculed God, mutilating herself with a wooden cross and crab-walking backwards down the stairs of her home.

The movie held the pubic riveted in its first release, and again when it was digitally remastered in 2002. It stunned the uneducated public that Catholics truly believe in demon possessions and exorcisms, and that the Assyrian demon Pazuzu is actually a fabled pagan God.

TheOmen: A Trilogy (1976)
Starring: Harvey Stephens as Damien
Directed by: Richard Donner
Reissued as: The Antichrist, The Birthmark

The Omen, released in 1976, began the sordid tale of a young boy whose destiny slowly became known: he was to be the Antichrist, the opponent to Jesus who would lead the world into hell.

This particular movie inspired a fair amount of controversy among the believing public, who in the late seventies were not obliged to see a movie about something so horrible as the Antichrist. The makers of the film were accused of everything from demonic possession to blasphemy, but the story continued.