12 Best Horror Movies About Demonic Possession
9. The Blood On Satan’s Claw
This is a fine example of a possession movie which pre-dates The Exorcist and so doesn’t follow the tropes established there. In Satan’s Claw we see possession more as contagion, rather than something focused on an individual. An entire village falls prey to the ravages of possession as the devil tries to resurrect.
The period setting plays perfectly for the inherent paranoia about the supernatural, in particular, witchcraft. In the film we see this very justified paranoia tear the community apart, as one by one more villagers are possessed and working towards the resurrection of the dark lord. It’s not long before the villagers are flaying and raping each other in the name of Satan. As with all the films on this list, chaos reigns when Satan is in the celluloid.
The Blood on Satan’s Claw is one of the best and least known horror movies of the 1970s. Occupying a place in a similarly brilliant but little-known genre, folk horror (if you’ve not heard of folk horror, think The Wicker Man).
If you’ve not seen The Blood on Satan’s Claw, it’s well worth ninety-three minutes of your time.