10 Most Terrifying Social Media Horror Movies

5. The Cleansing Hour

The Cleansing Hour
Shudder

While streaming is clearly a big deal these days, The Cleansing Hour takes this to an entirely different level by showcasing the titular live-streaming show that specialises in exorcisms.

The catch here is that the exorcisms are sham ones, with the all-powerful Father Max an act from all involved in front of and behind the camera, with actors brought in to play the supposed possessed. With a major viewership and following, the crew behind these faux exorcisms are able to shill all kinds of merchandise, including items falsely claimed to be Vatican-approved, as they profit off their lies.

Of course, this behaviour comes back to bite them on the backside in the most sinister of ways when one of their actors is possessed by a very real demon. Making this all the worse, the particular actor here is Lane, the wife-to-be of Max's producer and lifelong best friend Drew, with this sinister presence looking to make all involved pay for their sins in front of a live global audience.

Released in 2020, The Cleansing Hour is brimming with some extremely eerie sequences, a somewhat surprising level of brutality, and has a demonic figure that brings a genuine sense of mischief and playfulness to the terror.

 
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.