Another look at great portrayals of Satan in horror and cult cinema
The Devil. Shaitain. Beelzebub. Lucifer. Asmodeus. Belial. Satan!
A few weeks ago, we dug deep into the movie underworld and summoned 8 portrayals of Old Scratch in horror cinema that we deemed to be essential, movies that see actors both A-list and no-list essay the Beast of Many Names in memorable, often operatic fashion. You can read that first list here.
Today, we’ve cast our net a bit wider, finding portrayals of Satan in movies that sometimes stray into the realms of satire and broad comedy. To play the Devil, one has to balance reverence to the biblical source material, be seductive, charming, manipulative, physically alarming and ultimately… more than a bit spooky.
So bask in the brimstone and paint a pentagram on your pancakes (we have no idea what that means, but it sounds both evil and delicious) and sift through the gallery below.
And, as always, scream at the Heavens if we’ve missed your favorite filmic Lord of Hell in the comments below the gallery…
8 More Devils
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The Final Conflict (1981)
Also known as Omen III: The Final Conflict, this third entry in the original Omen series is the dark horse. Radically different than the others, the film never got its dues upon release but viewed from the distance of time, it's easier to see just how majestic a horror film it is. Damien, the son of the Devil, is played as an adult by a young Sam Neil who made this the same year he made the blistering Zulawski masterpiece Possession and as the Lord of Hell posing as a U.S, ambassador, he gives an equally astonishing performance.
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The Devil and Max Devlin (1981)
There's a sick joke in here. In this klutzy Disney comedy, now disgraced comedy legend Bill Cosby plays The Devil's incarnation on earth Barney Satin, who tries to use a doomed slumlord (Elliot Gould) to help harvest more souls for Hell. At the film's climax, Cosby appears in full-blown Satan mode and he's somewhat terrifying. Cosby apparently was ashamed of this movie and rarely spoke of it. Little did he know, there were far worse karmic curses than this middling movie ahead of him
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Legend (1985)
In either its U.S. or original British cut, Ridley Scott's lush fantasy horror film doesn't make much sense (though we prefer the former version due to the sexy Tangerine Dream score). But in either cut, there's no denying the power of Tim Curry as "Darkness", a melancholy horned beast who is by any other name., The Devil himself. Curry is unrecognizable buried under the impressive prosthetics but his performance is almost Shakespearean.
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The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
Mad Max legend George Miller's excellent adaptation of John Updike's quasi-feminist horror satire is famous for its casting: Cher, Michelle Pfieffer and Susan Sarandon playing three "repressed" women who revel in their sexual freedom after starting a poly-amorous relationship with Jack Nicholson's Devil. Nicholson is all slimy charm until the fiery climax when, spurned by his lovers, he regresses into the monster that he is. A fine, funny and feral performance.
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Needful Things (1993)
Director Fraser (son of Charlton) Heston never quite nails the tone of Stephen King's 1991 book. The story mines an aspect of King's Salem's Lot (Bonnie Bedelia, who starred in Tobe Hooper's miniseries, is also in this) in that an antique dealer sets up shop in a town and slowly wrecks it. But here, said proprietor is the Devil himself, a mysterious monster who goes under the name Leland Gaunt. After fighting the Devil in The Exorcist, Swedish actor Max von Sydow plays Gaunt and his Satanic rogue is the best thing about the picture.
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The Prophecy (1995)
Before he found mass fame in Lord of the Rings, Viggo Mortensen astonished as a truly mesmerizing Lucifer in this, the first of the ongoing theological horror franchise. Mortensen's Devil is a sophisticated, reasonable Aristocrat who aligns himself with the "good guys" to battle rogue angel Gabriel (Christopher Walken) whom he sees as "competition". An okay movie with a great supporting cast.
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Bedazzled (2000)
The late Harold Ramis' hilarious remake of the 1967 Dudley Moore vehicle sees Brendan Fraser as a socially awkward IT guy who is tempted by the Devil. Like, really tempted. Because here, Satan is played by the lovely Elizabeth Hurley, who is paraded around here in various garish, sexy outfits and whose performance is lively and engaged. Another great crackerjack comedy from the man who gave us Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day.
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The Passion of the Christ (2004)
It was easy for non-Catholics to view Mel Gibson's wildly violent retelling of the last hours of Jesus Christ's life as a horror movie. Not just because of the razor-barbed whips that endlessly rip chunks of flesh of of the Son of God, but because of its chilling portrayal of Satan. As played androgynously by actress Rosalinda Celantano, this Devil is a seductive menace and she/it carries around a monstrous dwarf baby that chills the blood. Such a strange film. But such a terrifying Satan.
