5 Best Occult Horror Movies & TV Series to Honor Constantine's 20 Years Anniversary
Fresh new releases, series based on classics, and folk horror films that laid the foundation for the genre.
In February 2005, Francis Lawrence's Constantine was released. This movie about a doomed antihero, a disillusioned nihilist who defies a cruel world and refuses to play by the rules, became a classic of occult horror.
In honor of Constantine's 20th anniversary, we remember other outstanding representatives of the genre that is not as often seen on the big and small screen as classic horror.
1. The First Omen, 2024
In 1971, young novice Margaret arrives in Rome to serve in a Catholic orphanage before becoming a nun. Among her charges, the woman notices an unsociable girl, Carlita, who suffers from terrible visions and incurs the wrath of the old nuns.
Margaret tries to befriend the troubled teenager, but soon realizes that Carlita is at the center of a cruel conspiracy. Influential church officials have decided to bring the Antichrist into this world.
The First Omen promised to be another boring prequel to the long-running Omen franchise. But instead, the writers rejected tradition and offered their own fresh and modern take.
2. Dead Like Me, 2003-2004
Most shows end when their protagonist dies. Dead Like Me, on the other hand, begins with the death of its main character, a college dropout, when a toilet from a collapsed space station falls on her head.
After waking from her death, Georgia discovers that she is now a Grim Reaper who takes the souls of those destined to die.
Though living among humans, she is forced to stay away from her family, and her new relatives are her fellow Reapers, each of whom is dealing with their own experiences of their untimely deaths and constant proximity to the deaths of others.
3. Dominion, 2014-2015
Dominion takes place after a devastating war between humanity and the rebellious angels led by the Archangel Gabriel.
Fortunately for humanity, the Archangel Michael sided with them and helped the survivors build fortified cities to protect themselves from the angels, who became vulnerable to human weapons when they acquired material bodies.
The protagonist of Dominion is a young man who is destined to determine the fate of humanity – depending on whether he supports humans or angels.
4. The Wicker Man, 1973
Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man became the gold standard of folk genre and a benchmark for directors seeking to explore the horrors of paganism and the secrets of closed societies.
Devout Inspector Neil Howie arrives on the remote island of Summerisle off the coast of Scotland to investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl. The locals say they have never seen or heard of her.
The cop doesn't believe anyone when he sees the islanders, led by Lord Summerisle, practicing ancient Celtic pagan rituals.
5. The Exorcist, 2016-2018
Father Tomas Ortega has been having strange dreams in which a priest named Marcus is trying to exorcise a demon from a boy. When Ortega is asked for help by his parishioner Angela, who suspects that a demon has taken up residence in her home, Tomas agrees to visit her family.
A TV version of William Friedkin's classic seemed like a bad idea when it was first announced. Fortunately, The Exorcist series is so far removed from the feature film that there is no need to draw parallels and look for connections between the two.