Five Horror Movies To Watch After ‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It’
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do Itis now in theaters and streaming on HBO Max. The latest entry in the franchise changes up the formula a bit, turning into a kind of procedural as Ed and Lorraine Warren investigate a scary mystery,X-Files-style. If you’ve watchedThe Devil Made Me Do Itand are looking for some similar horror movies thataren’tpart of theConjuringfranchise, I’m here to help. Here are five horror movies to watch afterThe Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do Itand where you’re able to stream them.
The Exorcist III
TheExorcistsequels are considered inferior, and for the most part, that’s true. But there’sonebig exception:The Exorcist III. WhileThe Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do Itstarts off with an exorcism, it turns into a kind of procedural mystery with horror elements. And that’s true ofThe Exorcist III. The film serves as a direct sequel to the first movie, featuringGeorge C. Scottas Lt. William F. Kinderman, the cop who had a brief but pivotal supporting role inThe Exorcist. It’s been fifteen years since the events ofThe Exorcist, and Kinderman is haunted by the memories. Kinderman is in the midst of a murder investigation, with the killer seemingly recreating the actions of an executed serial killer known as the Gemini. To further complicate things, Kinderman finds a patient locked away in a mental ward who looksexactlylike Damien Karras (Jason Miller), the priest from the first movie. Of course, Damien Karras is supposed to dead, having flung himself down those infamous steps. Weird, creepy, and way better than it has any right to be,The Exorcist IIImay not be as good as the original film, but it’s damn near close.
Where you’re able to watch it right now:Peacock, Tubi
Angel Heart
Another horror murder mystery,Angel Heartis a sweaty, disturbing horror-noir that has a whopper of a twist.Mickey Rourkeis rumpled 1950s private detective Harry Angel, who gets hired to track down a missing singer. The client hiring Harry is the mysterious Louis Cyphre, played memorably byRobert De Niro, sporting long fingernails and an icy demeanor. Angel’s investigation leads him down to New Orleans, and it seems like everyone he interviews has a bad habit of meeting a bloody, untimely end. Even if you know where this is going,Angel Heartis a great, atmospheric flick full of disturbing imagery.
Where you can watch it right now:Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, Kanopy
Released in 2000,The Giftfeels like theSam Raimimovie that time forgot. Which is weird, because it’s pretty damn great, and has a dynamite cast, along with a script co-written byBilly Bob Thornton.Cate Blanchett,Keanu Reeves,Giovanni Ribisi,Hilary Swank,Katie Holmes, andGreg Kinnearall star in this Southern gothic, with Blanchett playing a local fortune teller. When the fiancée (Holmes) of the local school’s principal (Kinnear) disappears, psychic Blanchett has a vision of her murder. This kicks off a mystery where everyone in town is seemingly a suspect. This is one of Raimi’s most reserved films – don’t expect anyEvil Dead-like shenanigans here – but that doesn’t make it any less effective. Bonus: Keanu Reeves plays against type as a racist, abusive redneck, and he’s actuallyreallygood in the role, which is somewhat alarming.
Where you can watch it right now:Amazon Prime Video
The Mothman Prophecies
LikeThe Devil Made Me Do It,The Mothman Propheciesis “based on a true story.“Richard Gereplays a widowedWashington Postcolumnist who somehow ends up in a small West Virginia town that’s being plagued with sightings of a mysterious creature known as the Mothman. The Mothman’s appearance foretells a tragedy to come, and Gere’s reporter is trying to figure out what it is before someone gets hurt. Or is he just going out of his mind because he’s still grieving the sudden death of his wife (Debra Messing)? The answer may surprise you! Or not!
Where you can watch it right now:Starz
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
When I heard thatThe Devil Made Me Do Itwas usingthe trial of Arne Johnson– in which a man murdered his landlord and then claimed he was possessed by demons at the time of the crime –as its storyline, I assumed the film would be something like a courtroom drama with horror elements. But the trial actually plays a very small part in the movie – it’s merely there to get the Warrens in action. If you, too, thought we would get more courtroom horror, there’s a film that can give you just that:Scott Derrickson’sThe Exorcism of Emily Rose. This, too, is based on a true story, and follows a priest on trial for murder. The priest (Tom Wilkinson) performed an exorcism on college student Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter, who is fantastic here), and things went so horribly wrong that Emily died in the process. The priest’s skeptical lawyer, played by Laura Linney, has to defend her client while not believing in demonic possession – but those beliefs are soon challenged by the creepy details of the case.
