THE DEVIL MADE THEM DO IT

[AntonioDelLago]

THE BEST HORROR FILMS about THE DEVIL and SATANIC GOINGS-ON

1. THE EXORCIST (1973) William Friedkin (A)
2. THE OMEN (1976) Richard Donner (A)
3. ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968) Roman Polanski (A)
4. ANGEL HEART (1987) Alan Parker (A)
5. THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK (1987) George Miller (A)
6. BLACK SUNDAY (1961) Mario Bava (B+)
7. DAMIEN-OMEN II (1978) Don Taylor (B)
8. THE EXORCIST-PART III (1990) William Peter Blatty (B)
9. END OF DAYS (1999) Peter Hyams (B)
10. (tie) THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE (1997) Taylor Hackford (B)
SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES (1983) Jack Clayton (B)

BEST DEVIL INCARNATIONS: Louis Cypher (Robert DeNiro) in ANGEL HEART; Daryl Van Horne (Jack Nicholson) in THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK; John Milton (Al Pacino) in THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE; Mr. Dark (Jonathan Pryce) in SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES.

SEXIEST PARAMOURS OF EVIL: Alexandra, Jane and Suki (Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer) in THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK; Christabella (Connie Nielsen) in THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE; Epiphany Proudfoot and Margaret Kruzmarck (Lisa Bonet and Charlotte Rampling) in ANGEL HEART; Katya Vadja (Barbara Steele) in BLACK SUNDAY.

BEST HEROES: Jericho Cane (Arnold Schwarzenegger) in END OF DAYS; Robert Thorn (Gergory Peck) in THE OMEN; Richard Thorn (William Holden) in DAMIEN-OMEN II; Harold Angel (Mickey Rourke) in ANGEL HEART; Father Damian Karras (Jason Miller) in THE EXORCIST; and Lt. Kinderman (George C. Scott) in THE EXORCIST III.

SCARIEST ANTI-CHRIST: The three incarnations of Damien Thorn (Harvey Stephens in THE OMEN, Jonathan Scott-Taylor in DAMIEN and Sam Neill in THE FINAL CONFLICT).

MOST INVENTIVE MURDER SPREES: The gory kills in THE OMEN and DAMIEN, which featured bleak, RESERVOIR DOGS-style endings (in which nary a cast member survives). Predated the more popular FX featured in 80's slashers such as FRIDAY THE 13TH and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. RUNNER-UP: ANGEL HEART.

TACKIEST WITCH: Ruth Gordon's Oscar-winning turn as nosy neighbor Minnie Castevet in ROSEMARY'S BABY. This is one woman who you would NOT want to borrow a cup of sugar from!

SCARIEST ANIMALS: The baboons and the hounds of hell in THE OMEN; the raven in DAMIEN-OMEN II.



[This message has been edited by AntonioDelLago (edited 06-28-2001).]

[MovieSuperFreak]

To this day Al Pacino remains my favorite Devil. He had the charm you would expect for the Master of Evil. Noticable mention goes to Tim Curry in Legend (although I know it's not horror).

[pablotheintern]

I like the list, but End of Days is one of the worst movies ever made and Arnie gives another of his many awful performances.

[SteveSzyk]

Can we count the Evil Dead in this catergory? If so...

...The Evil Dead (A+)
...The Exorcist (A+)
...Evil Dead 2 (A)
...The Omen (A)

As you can see Devil movies are my least explored sub-genre.

I love all I have seen, but haven't had intrest in the others at my video store.

[AntonioDelLago]

THE SENTINEL (1977) Slick supernatural-themed horror film from that great decade, the 70’s, centering around a NYC fashion model (Cristina Raines) who moves into a brownstone that doubles as the gateway to hell. Chris Sarandon of FRIGHT NIGHT fame co-stars as Raines’ suspicious boyfriend. The top-notch, all-star supporting cast includes: Martin Balsam as a Latin professor; John Carradine, Jose Ferrer and Arthur Kennedy as men of the cloth; Ava Gardner as a mysterious realtor; Burgess Meredith as Raines’ eccentric neighbor; Sylvia Miles and Beverly D’Angelo as lesbian lovers; Deborah Raffin as Raines’ best friend; and Eli Wallach and Christopher Walken as detectives. Tom Berenger, William Hickey, Jeff Goldblum and Jerry Orbach appear in cameos. Hysterical happenings include D’Angelo masturbating in front of Raines, Meredith throwing an elaborate birthday party for his cat, and Raines checking out an unexplained noise in her sexy teddy! Not the best of the good vs. evil films that were popular during this great decade (THE EXORCIST and THE OMEN come to mind), but definitely not the worst! Real-life freaks and Albert Whitlock’s FX figure prominently in the rather sick finale. The film's major flaws are the medicore direction by Michael Winner and uneven score by Gil Melle. Adapted from the novel by Jeffrey Konvitz. The term “sentinel” is a synonym for “guardian”. My grade: a solid B.

[This message has been edited by AntonioDelLago (edited 06-28-2001).]