Possession
and a loss of personal control, as I said earlier elsewhere in this series, are
one of the things that most scares me in horror movies. It’s no surprise, then, that I approach the
subject of demon possession movies with some trepidation. I think with these
movies, the phrase “Your Mileage May Vary” is terribly appropriate, because if
you aren’t scared by these movies, or the ideas they contain, your list will be
very different from mine.
Demons
and devils in movies seem to be of two different varieties: The havoc-wreaking
kind, and the possessing and controlling kind. There is frequent cross-over,
too, as some uglies will possess a victim and then use that person to wreak
havoc.
Curiously,
there are very few “deal with the devil” movies, although that motif is still
widespread in literature and short stories. I wonder why that is. I love those
stories, myself. But these movies below kept me up at night, thinking and
wondering, and concocting elaborate contingency plans for what to do if I ever
come across a moldering old tome in a deserted cabin.
