Four Exorcism Films Based on True Stories

There’s no denying the power of a good exorcism film. Whether or not you subscribe to the teachings of the Catholic Church, there’s something uniquely terrifying about a horror film starring the devil himself or a villain unbound by the laws of corporeal life. Exorcism films invite us to suspend our disbelief and question the spiritual safety we take for granted. After all, demons could be lurking everywhere and there’s little to stop them from possessing our souls. Even more frightening, many claim to be based on actual events, adding authenticity to genuine terror. 

David Midell’s bases his new film The Ritual on the most extensively documented exorcism in US history: the tragic case of Emma Schmidt (Abigail Cowen). Also known as Anna Ecklund, Schmidt suffered for decades under demonic oppression before her body was purged by the holy rite. Despite the reassurance of Father Theophilus Riesinger (Al Pacino), his skeptical partner, Father Joseph Steiger (Dan Stevens), documents the harrowing expulsion, watching multiple demons wreak havoc on his modest parish.

This harrowing journey to hell and back is not the only religious horror film based on actual events. In fact, there may be more truth to this terrifying ritual than most of us would like to admit. Below, we’ve collected four films that should prompt you to start questioning not only our fears … but perhaps your own faith.

The Exorcist (1973)

Arguably the most famous horror movie ever made, Willian Friedkin’s The Exorcist terrified audiences with its unflinching depiction of a child possessed. Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) is just twelve years old when she meets an entity called Captain Howdy while experimenting with a Ouija board. Soon after, strange noises begin tormenting her late at night and her bed begins to move on its own. Her mother Chris (Ellen Burstyn) takes the frightened child to a series of medical specialists hoping to find a reason for Regan’s increasingly erratic behavior. But when painful tests yield no results, she seeks the help of a local cleric. Fathers Karras (Jason Miller) and Merrin (Max von Sydow) wage war with an ancient demon named Pazuzu to wrest back control of Regan’s body. 

Friedkin based his film on the bestselling novel by William Peter Blatty who was in turn inspired by documentation of a 1949 exorcism performed by Father William S. Bowdern. After the passing of a beloved aunt, Roland Doe (a.k.a. Robbie Mannheim or Ronald Hunkeler) began exhibiting strange behavior at night. Though calm during the day, moonlight seemed to bring an aversion to religious objects, low and unnerving guttural sounds, and surprising acts of cruelty and violence. A red X painfully scratched into the fourteen-year-old’s skiing indicated possession by ten individual demons. When the word “LOUIS” appeared in similar fashion, Roland’s parents took him to a relative’s house in St. Louis, Missouri where the final purification was to take place. After a series of failed attempts to expel these dangerous entities, three Jesuit priests were finally able to drive them out by laying holy relics and crucifixes on Roland’s body.

Despite rumors of a mischievous hoax, Blatty’s adaptation of Roland’s story has gone on to reshape the face of modern religious horror. 

The Devils (1971)

Thanks to the unprecedented success of Friedkin’s record-breaking film, we’ve become accustomed to exorcism stories that follow a familiar pattern. The possessed are sequestered and usually restrained while a small number of clergy perform intimate religious rites. But long before the aforementioned St. Louis nightmare, an entire convent was said to suffer from demonic oppression. Aldous Huxley’s The Devils of Loudun is a non-fiction account of the events leading to a notorious witch trial in 1634 France. Shortly after an outbreak of plague, the nuns of an Ursuline convent were said to have fallen under the affliction of a notorious demon. Despite having never visited the convent, a handsome priest named Urbain Grandier, was accused of causing the nuns’ tribulations by making a pact with Satan himself. Surrounded by political enemies, Urbain was convicted of sorcery and burned at the stake, but not before being compelled to participate in a public purification of the convent’s nuns. 

Ken Russell brings this unusual story to life in his controversial 1971 film The Devils. Based in part on Huxley’s book as well as a 1961 play by John Whiting, the film positions Grandier (Oliver Reed) as the victim of a shifting political landscape and jealousy sparked by sexual repression. When the nuns of her convent begin acting out of character, Sister Jeanne des Anges (Vanessa Redgrave), abbess of the local convent, fixates on the charismatic clergyman and asks him to become their new confessor. But Grandier secretly marries another woman and Sister Jeanne is driven mad with desire. Her lustful rantings spark rumors of demonic position that swiftly spiral out of control, culminating in a massive orgy of sacrilege. Grandier is convicted in an appalling act of political theater then publicly executed as the walls of Loudun crumble to the ground. Banned in multiple countries including the US and UK, this provocative film has achieved cult classic status for its graphic depictions of sexuality and deft condemnation of religious hypocrisy. 

Amityville II: The Possession (1982)

Though most know Jay Anson’s The Amityville Horror as the story of a haunted house, the truth has been marred by rumors of demonic possession. One year before the Lutzes fled their new home in terror, another family suffered under the same sinister roof. In the early hours of November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. shot and killed his parents and four younger siblings while they lay sleeping face down in their beds. Defeo Jr. would later confess to these awful crimes and stand trial for murder in 1974. The 23 year old offered a number of explanations ranging from organized crime and drug addiction to his father’s well-known patterns of physical abuse, but it’s an idea put forth as part of his criminal defense that has stood the test of time. William Weber presented his client as an “insane” man driven to kill by devilish voices inside his head. Though Defeo Jr. was ultimately convicted of six counts of second-degree murder, the Lutzs’ strange experiences after purchasing the house seemed to add credence to these unsettling claims. 

Damiano Damiani’s Amityville II: The Possession brings us inside 112 Ocean Avenue shortly before its original owner’s brutal murder. Sonny Montelli (Jack Magner) tries to distance himself from his volatile father Anthony (Burt Young) as a sinister force invades the home. While his family is away at church, a demonic entity possesses Sonny’s body causing him to lash out at Anthony and begin an incestuous relationship with his sister Patricia (Diane Franklin). Midway through the film, Sonny stalks through the house while a thunderstorm rages, murdering his family one by one. The film’s final act concerns Sonny’s legal and spiritual defense as Father Adamsky (James Olson) tries to draw out the demon in order to save the young man’s immortal soul. Though probably an exaggeration—if not outright lie—to secure an acquittal, DeFeo’s rumored possession planted seeds that continue to spiral through horror to this day. Anson’s original book merely hints at a supernatural presence, but each subsequent film adaptation features some version of a demonically possessed character driven to murder everyone else in the house. 

The Pope’s Exorcist (2023)

Though best known for his seminal 1973 classic, The Exorcist is not Friedkin’s only foray into the Catholic horror genre. The Devil and Father Amorth is a 2017 documentary chronicling the career of seasoned exorcist Gabriele Amorth, including recorded footage of the religious rite. Named the official Exorcist for the Diocese of Rome, Amorth claims to have performed more than 160,000 religious ejections in his 30 year tenure, peaking at an average of 20 a day. Despite these shocking numbers, Father Amorth notes that fewer than 100 of these possessions involved actual demonic activity and he admits to referring many clients to secular treatment by licensed physicians. Over the years, Amorth claims to have witnessed a host of unbelievable phenomena including acts of superhuman strength and regurgitation of impossible objects. Given his unusual success and unprecedented knowledge of demonology, Amorth founded the International Association of Exorcists, an organization designed to train the next generation of warrior clergy. He also published two English language memoirs, An Exorcist Tells His Story and An Exorcist: More Stories, in addition to nearly 30 books explaining his unusual trade. 

These memoirs form the basis of Julius Avery’s 2023 film The Pope’s Exorcist, which follows Amorth (Russell Crowe) through the early days of his legendary work. The story begins with a fictionalized account of Amorth’s first exorcism in 1986 in which he saves a young man from demonic possession by sending the entity into the body of an ill-fated pig. Having failed to secure permission from the Catholic Church to perform the rite, Amorth is rebuked by the Pope himself before travelling to Spain with the pontiff’s blessing. Here he wages war with a demon called Asmodeus who’s inhabited the body of a depressed little boy. Though Avery’s film deals with the beginning of Amorth’s prolific career, his International Association of Exorcists remains strong to this day. Nine years after the legendary clergyman’s, this group now consists of more than 400 members fielding requests for exorcisms all over the world.

Faith will be tested. The Ritual possesses audiences nationwide. Get your tickets and experience it in theaters!

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