Demonic Horror Films, Ranked
by solmaquina | created - 05 May 2013 | updated - 4 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Evil Dead II (1987)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Horror
Ash Williams, the lone survivor of an earlier onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits, holes up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley DePaiva
Votes: 182,012 | Gross: $5.92M
10/10
2. The Evil Dead (1981)
NC-17 | 85 min | Horror
Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker
Votes: 232,503 | Gross: $2.40M
8.5/10
3. Curse of the Demon (1957)
Approved | 96 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
American professor John Holden arrives in London for a parapsychology conference, only to find himself investigating the mysterious actions of Devil-worshipper Julian Karswell.
Director: Jacques Tourneur | Stars: Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis, Maurice Denham
Votes: 15,517
8/10
4. Hereditary (2018)
R | 127 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.
Director: Ari Aster | Stars: Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff
Votes: 378,556 | Gross: $44.07M
8/10
5. Smile (V) (2022)
R | 115 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, a psychiatrist becomes increasingly convinced she is being threatened by an uncanny entity.
Director: Parker Finn | Stars: Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Robin Weigert
Votes: 161,614
8/10
6. Evil Dead (2013)
R | 91 min | Horror
Five friends head to a remote cabin, where the discovery of a Book of the Dead leads them to unwittingly summon up demons living in the nearby woods.
Director: Fede Alvarez | Stars: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas, Lou Taylor Pucci
Votes: 197,357 | Gross: $54.24M
8/10
7. Hellraiser (1987)
R | 94 min | Horror, Thriller
A woman discovers the newly resurrected, partially formed, body of her brother-in-law and lover. She starts killing for him to revitalize his body and escape the demonic beings that are pursuing him after he escaped their underworld.
Director: Clive Barker | Stars: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Sean Chapman
Votes: 140,612 | Gross: $14.56M
7.5/10
8. [Rec]² (2009)
R | 85 min | Horror, Thriller
In order to ascertain the current situation inside, a supposed medical officer and a GEO team step into the quarantined and ill-fated apartment building.
Directors: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza | Stars: Jonathan D. Mellor, Manuela Velasco, Óscar Zafra, Ariel Casas
Votes: 78,582 | Gross: $0.03M
7.5/10
9. Evil Dead Rise (2023)
R | 96 min | Horror
A twisted tale of two estranged sisters whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.
Director: Lee Cronin | Stars: Mirabai Pease, Richard Crouchley, Anna-Maree Thomas, Lily Sullivan
Votes: 136,972
7.5/10
10. Drag Me to Hell (2009)
PG-13 | 99 min | Horror
A loan officer who evicts an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Ruth Livier, Lorna Raver
Votes: 217,574 | Gross: $42.10M
7.5/10
11. Sinister (I) (2012)
R | 110 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A controversial true-crime writer finds a box of Super 8 home movies in his new home, revealing that the murder case he is currently researching could be the work of an unknown serial killer whose legacy dates back to the 1960s.
Director: Scott Derrickson | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, James Ransone, Fred Thompson
Votes: 280,421 | Gross: $48.09M
7/10
12. This Is the End (2013)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Fantasy
Six Los Angeles celebrities are stuck in James Franco's house after a series of devastating events just destroyed the city. Inside, the group not only have to face the apocalypse, but themselves.
Directors: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen | Stars: James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel
Votes: 435,080 | Gross: $101.47M
7/10
13. Häxan (1922)
Not Rated | 91 min | Documentary, Fantasy, Horror
Fictionalized documentary showing the evolution of witchcraft, from its pagan roots to its confusion with hysteria in Eastern Europe.
Director: Benjamin Christensen | Stars: Benjamin Christensen, Elisabeth Christensen, Maren Pedersen, Clara Pontoppidan
Votes: 16,737
7/10
14. The Conjuring 2 (2016)
R | 134 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to North London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by a supernatural spirit.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Madison Wolfe, Frances O'Connor
Votes: 300,673 | Gross: $102.47M
7/10
15. Noroi (2005)
Not Rated | 115 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A documentary filmmaker explores seemingly unrelated paranormal incidents connected by the legend of an ancient demon called the "kagutaba."
Director: Kôji Shiraishi | Stars: Jin Muraki, Rio Kanno, Tomono Kuga, Marika Matsumoto
Votes: 15,343
7/10
16. The Exorcist (1973)
R | 122 min | Horror
When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb
Votes: 455,247 | Gross: $232.91M
6.5/10
17. Sinister 2 (2015)
R | 97 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young mother and her twin sons move into a rural house that's marked for death.
Director: Ciarán Foy | Stars: James Ransone, Shannyn Sossamon, Robert Daniel Sloan, Dartanian Sloan
Votes: 60,614 | Gross: $27.74M
6.5/10
18. The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971)
R | 97 min | Horror
In early 18th century England, the children of a village slowly convert into a coven of devil worshipers.
Director: Piers Haggard | Stars: Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden, Barry Andrews, Michele Dotrice
Votes: 7,531
6/10
19. Insidious (I) (2010)
PG-13 | 103 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye
Votes: 339,180 | Gross: $54.01M
6/10
20. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
R | 112 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Arne Cheyenne Johnson stabs and murders his landlord, claiming to be under demonic possession while Ed and Lorraine Warren investigate the case and try to prove his innocence.
Director: Michael Chaves | Stars: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ruairi O'Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook
Votes: 139,126 | Gross: $65.63M
6/10
21. The Babadook (2014)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.
Director: Jennifer Kent | Stars: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney
Votes: 247,421 | Gross: $0.92M
6/10
22. Clown (2014)
R | 100 min | Horror, Thriller
A loving father finds a clown suit for his son's birthday party, only to realize that it's cursed.
Director: Jon Watts | Stars: Andy Powers, Laura Allen, Peter Stormare, Christian Distefano
Votes: 26,320 | Gross: $0.06M
6/10
23. [REC] 3: Genesis (2012)
R | 80 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
A couple's wedding day turns horrific as some of the guests start showing signs of a strange illness.
Director: Paco Plaza | Stars: Leticia Dolera, Diego Martín, Ismael Martínez, Àlex Monner
Votes: 38,153 | Gross: $0.01M
5.5/10
24. [REC] 4: Apocalypse (2014)
R | 95 min | Horror, Thriller
An ill-fated television reporter is rescued and sent on a voyage across the ocean, but she is followed by the deadly virus that has plagued her and numerous others.
Director: Jaume Balagueró | Stars: Manuela Velasco, Paco Manzanedo, Héctor Colomé, Ismael Fritschi
Votes: 20,138 | Gross: $0.00M
5.5/10
25. Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
R | 106 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
While babysitting the daughter of Ed and Lorraine Warren, a teenager and her friend unknowingly awaken an evil spirit trapped in a doll.
Director: Gary Dauberman | Stars: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Mckenna Grace, Madison Iseman
Votes: 87,168 | Gross: $74.15M
5.5/10
26. V/H/S (2012)
R | 116 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
When a group of misfits are hired by an unknown third party to burglarize a desolate house and acquire a rare VHS tape, they discover more found footage than they bargained for.
Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, David Bruckner, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez, Glenn McQuaid, Radio Silence, Joe Swanberg, Chad Villella, Ti West, Adam Wingard | Stars: Calvin Lee Reeder, Lane Hughes, Adam Wingard, Hannah Fierman
Votes: 68,393 | Gross: $0.10M
5/10
27. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)
R | 84 min | Horror, Mystery
When a young man becomes the target of a malevolent entity, he must uncover its true intentions before it takes complete control of him.
Director: Christopher Landon | Stars: Andrew Jacobs, Jorge Diaz, Gabrielle Walsh, Gloria Sandoval
Votes: 45,481 | Gross: $32.46M
5/10
28. Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
R | 91 min | Horror, Mystery
After experiencing what they think are a series of "break-ins", a family sets up security cameras around their home, only to realize that the events unfolding before them are more sinister than they seem.
Director: Tod Williams | Stars: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Molly Ephraim, David Bierend
Votes: 109,905 | Gross: $84.75M
5/10
29. Deliver Us from Evil (I) (2014)
R | 118 min | Crime, Fantasy, Horror
New York police officer Ralph Sarchie investigates a series of crimes. He joins forces with an unconventional priest, schooled in the rites of exorcism, to combat the possessions that are terrorizing their city.
Director: Scott Derrickson | Stars: Eric Bana, Edgar Ramírez, Olivia Munn, Chris Coy
Votes: 85,753 | Gross: $30.58M
5/10
30. Under the Shadow (2016)
PG-13 | 84 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
As a mother and daughter struggle to cope with the terrors of the post-revolution, war-torn Tehran of the 1980s, a mysterious evil begins to haunt their home.
Director: Babak Anvari | Stars: Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, Bobby Naderi, Arash Marandi
Votes: 30,133 | Gross: $0.03M
5/10
(A djinn isn't a demon, but to my undiscerning western eyes, they're indistinguishable).
31. Paranormal Activity (2007)
R | 86 min | Horror, Mystery
After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.
Director: Oren Peli | Stars: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Amber Armstrong
Votes: 256,305 | Gross: $107.92M
5/10
32. The Exorcist: Believer (2023)
R | 111 min | Horror
When two girls disappear into the woods and return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, the father of one girl seeks out Chris MacNeil, who's been forever altered by what happened to her daughter fifty years ago.
Director: David Gordon Green | Stars: Lafortune Joseph, Leslie Odom Jr., Gastner Legerme, Tracey Graves
Votes: 39,126
5/10
33. Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
R | 83 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
In 1988, young sisters Katie and Kristi befriend an invisible entity called Toby, who resides in their home.
Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman | Stars: Chloe Csengery, Jessica Tyler Brown, Christopher Nicholas Smith, Lauren Bittner
Votes: 99,776 | Gross: $104.01M
4.5/10
34. Demons 2 (1986)
R | 92 min | Horror
A group of tenants and visitors are trapped in a 10-story high-rise apartment building infested with demons who proceed to hunt the dwindling humans down.
Director: Lamberto Bava | Stars: David Edwin Knight, Nancy Brilli, Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni, Bobby Rhodes
Votes: 12,050
4/10
35. Demons (1985)
Not Rated | 88 min | Horror
A group of random people are invited to a screening of a mysterious movie, only to find themselves trapped in the theater with ravenous demons.
Director: Lamberto Bava | Stars: Urbano Barberini, Natasha Hovey, Karl Zinny, Fiore Argento
Votes: 26,581
4/10
36. The Church (1989)
R | 102 min | Horror
An old Gothic cathedral built over a mass grave develops strange powers that trap a number of people inside with ghosts from a 12th Century massacre seeking to resurrect an ancient demon from the bowels of the Earth.
Director: Michele Soavi | Stars: Hugh Quarshie, Tomas Arana, Feodor Chaliapin Jr., Barbara Cupisti
Votes: 8,898
4/10
37. Equinox (1970)
GP | 82 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Four friends are attacked by a demon while on a picnic, due to possession of a tome of mystic information. Told in flashbacks by the sole survivor.
Directors: Jack Woods, Dennis Muren, Mark Thomas McGee | Stars: Edward Connell, Barbara Hewitt, Frank Bonner, Robin Christopher
Votes: 3,472 | Gross: $0.25M
4/10
38. Demonic (I) (2021)
R | 104 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A young woman unleashes terrifying demons when supernatural forces at the root of a decades-old rift between mother and daughter are ruthlessly revealed.
Director: Neill Blomkamp | Stars: Carly Pope, Chris William Martin, Michael J Rogers, Nathalie Boltt
Votes: 6,107
4/10
39. Constantine (2005)
R | 121 min | Action, Fantasy, Horror
Supernatural exorcist and demonologist John Constantine helps a policewoman prove her sister's death was not a suicide, but something more.
Director: Francis Lawrence | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Djimon Hounsou, Shia LaBeouf
Votes: 374,428 | Gross: $75.98M
4/10
40. Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
R | 114 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Years before Father Lankester Merrin helped save Regan MacNeil's soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East Africa. This is the tale of Father Merrin's initial battle with Pazuzu and the rediscovery of his faith.
Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Izabella Scorupco, James D'Arcy, Remy Sweeney
Votes: 39,811 | Gross: $41.82M
4/10
41. Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)
R | 117 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Years before Father Lankester Merrin helped save Regan MacNeil's soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East Africa. Merrin's initial battle with Pazuzu leads to the rediscovery of his faith.
Director: Paul Schrader | Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Gabriel Mann, Clara Bellar, Billy Crawford
Votes: 13,589 | Gross: $0.25M
4/10
42. The Nun (2018)
R | 96 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A priest with a haunted past and a novice on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate the death of a young nun in Romania and confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun.
Director: Corin Hardy | Stars: Demián Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Bonnie Aarons
Votes: 170,576 | Gross: $117.45M
4/10
43. The Exorcist III (1990)
R | 110 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A police lieutenant uncovers more than he bargained for as his investigation of a series of murders, which have all the hallmarks of the deceased Gemini serial killer, leads him to question the patients of a psychiatric ward.
Director: William Peter Blatty | Stars: George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Brad Dourif, Jason Miller
Votes: 38,910 | Gross: $26.10M
3.5/10
44. The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
PG-13 | 119 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A lawyer takes on a negligent homicide case involving a priest who performed an exorcism on a young girl.
Director: Scott Derrickson | Stars: Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Campbell Scott
Votes: 140,106 | Gross: $75.07M
3.5/10
45. Pumpkinhead (1988)
R | 86 min | Fantasy, Horror
After a tragic accident, a man conjures up a towering, vengeful demon called Pumpkinhead to destroy a group of unsuspecting teenagers.
Director: Stan Winston | Stars: Lance Henriksen, Jeff East, John D'Aquino, Kimberly Ross
Votes: 27,844 | Gross: $4.39M
2.5/10
46. Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)
R | 98 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Margot, a young woman who was abandoned by her mother as a baby, travels to a secluded Amish community with a documentary film crew seeking answers about her mother and extended family.
Director: William Eubank | Stars: Emily Bader, Roland Buck III, Dan Lippert, Jaye Ayres-Brown
Votes: 16,669
2.5/10
47. Mirrors (I) (2008)
R | 110 min | Horror, Mystery
An ex-cop and his family are the target of an evil force that is using mirrors as a gateway into their home.
Director: Alexandre Aja | Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Amy Smart, Cameron Boyce
Votes: 113,759 | Gross: $30.69M
2.5/10
48. Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015)
R | 88 min | Horror, Mystery
Using a special camera that can see spirits, a family must protect their daughter from an evil entity with a sinister plan.
Director: Gregory Plotkin | Stars: Chris J. Murray, Brit Shaw, Ivy George, Dan Gill
Votes: 30,705 | Gross: $18.30M
2.5/10
49. Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
R | 88 min | Horror, Mystery
It has been five years since the disappearance of Katie and Hunter, and a suburban family witness strange events in their neighborhood when a woman and a mysterious child move in.
Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman | Stars: Stephen Dunham, Katie Featherston, Matt Shively, Brendon Eggertsen
Votes: 70,288 | Gross: $53.92M
2/10
50. Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
R | 117 min | Horror
A teenage girl once possessed by a demon finds that it still lurks within her. Meanwhile, a priest investigates the death of the girl's exorcist.
Directors: John Boorman, Rospo Pallenberg | Stars: Richard Burton, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow
Votes: 28,397 | Gross: $30.75M
1.5/10
51. Fall of Grace (2017)
R | 81 min | Horror
A troubled couple's lives descend into violence and madness after a demonic entity takes their daughter.
Director: Michael Crum | Stars: Joshua Winch, Sheri Davis, Skyler Blodgett, Gerald Crum
Votes: 798
1.5/10
52. Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Night (2010)
90 min | Horror, Mystery
A young woman returns to Tokyo, following a car accident that fractured both of her legs. While her brother Koichi provides hospitality for Haruka, weird noises and events transpire in the house - leading to a more horrifying truth.
Director: Toshikazu Nagae | Stars: Aoi Nakamura, Noriko Aoyama, Kousuke Kujirai, Ayako Yoshitani
Votes: 5,401
1/10
Tell Your Friends