12 Best Horror Movies About Demonic Possession

12. The Exorcist III

It took a long time for this one to get the recognition it deserves. We see a distinct genre shift here, with the main narrative revolving around a detective story with supernatural elements sneaking into the periphery and edging ever closer to the centre.

The performances here are something else, Brad Dourif, in particular, stands out as an overpowering and terrifying presence. He just makes your skin crawl. His brutality and casual cruelty, the finesse of his malice make the viewer loath him. The character is truly vile.

Famously the studio wasn’t wholly on board with the totality of the genre shift. Specifically, they were shocked when they found out that the film was to feature no exorcism. While studio interference generally isn’t welcomed by filmmakers or audiences, in this case, it seems like a fair point. The film is called The Exorcist. The absence of an exorcism would have certainly confused audiences. What the studio asked for, they got. The climax is one of the most explosive examples of an exorcism on screen.

There is also now a director's cut, which pieces together what could be retrieved of the original vision of the film, sans studio interference. It’s not a completed cut as much of the footage was lost, but it is interesting to see.

In both edits, the tone goes in a new direction and what we get is a compelling thriller, which uses the supernatural sparingly and to great effect.