Gothic’s use of Catholic tropes – ruined abbeys, lecherous priests, nuns walled up in convents and so on – created a picture of the religion that could be both repellent and fascinating to readers.Īccording to scholar Susan Griffin, in England and in 19th- and early 20th-century North America, Catholics – usually from countries outside the English-speaking world – were often portrayed as a “ racialized other” in Gothic as well as early horror. This representation dates at least back to horror’s roots in the 18th-century Gothic novel, which dramatized the Enlightenment distrust of the irrational in general and the supposedly occult and uncanny nature of Catholicism in particular. Swedish-born actor Max Von Sydow blesses actress Linda Blair as she lies in a possessed state in the film ‘The Exorcist.’ Warner Bros./Courtesy of Getty Images Gothic Catholicismįor every horror film that sees the rituals of Catholicism as instruments in the fight against evil, another portrays the Church itself as evil. In most zombie films, the eating of flesh does lead to a resurrection of a body, but one without a soul. Toppe suggests that zombie narratives have come to “satirize” the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist. According to scholar Jana Toppe, modern zombie stories represent the opposite of Catholic belief regarding eternal life. Other types of screen horror subvert or dismiss Catholic ritual and symbolism altogether. You are dealing with a mythology that is steeped in blood ritual and resurrection.” In fact, “Midnight Mass” creator Mike Flanagan has statedthat Catholic ritual and vampirism are “explicitly linked. Such stories connect Catholic rituals and vampirism. More importantly, many vampire narratives make use of the Catholic doctrine that the bread and wine consumed during Mass are the literal body and blood of Christ.
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These films and series include “The Strain,” “Interview with the Vampire” and even the “Twilight” franchise. Many narratives make a point of the inefficacy of sacramental objects. Still, not all screen vampires fear the emblems of Catholicism.
Francis Ford Coppola’s “ Bram Stoker’s Dracula” leans heavily on such Catholic symbols. In horror television and film, vampire hunters employ religious symbols like the Christian cross, but also specifically Catholic elements such as holy water and the consecrated Communion wafer. Screen heroes often don’t have to be priests, or even Catholic, to fight evil with Catholic ritual and symbols. Catholic symbols and the fight against evil
The movie’s narrative ultimately absolves him of moral, if not legal, guilt for her death because he believes himself to be acting according to the will of God.
Similar violence is questioned within the 2005 film “ The Exorcism of Emily Rose.” In it, a priest is found guilty of homicide after the titular character dies during an exorcism. The film has also been criticized for representing physical violence in a way that it appears necessary for saving the young female protagonist. In the 1973 film “The Exorcist,” which centers around the possession of 12-year-old character Regan MacNeil, two priests give up their lives in an attempt to expel the demon.
These movies often depict priests as martyrs whose sacrifices may even absolve them from violence they commit during the ritual. In other films, often with the words “exorcist” or “exorcism” in the title, Catholic clergy are the heroes in the fight against evil.
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In the films – “The Conjuring,” its two sequels, and the prequels “Annabelle” and “The Nun” – the Warrens employ the instruments of their faith, including prayer and sacramental objects such as rosary beads, to free possessed people. Many horror films depict Catholic ritual as a means of fighting evil, especially demonic possession.įor instance, “The Conjuring,” a horror film franchise, fictionalizes the experiences of Ed and Lorraine Warren, a married couple, who are self-professed demon hunters and lifelong devout Catholics. In my experience as a scholar of religion in film, horror movies can offer a complex picture of Catholic belief, ritual and daily experience.
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