The Mummy’s Ghost (1944)
Universal Mummy Film
This was the fourth and second to last of Universal’s Mummy films with Lon Chaney Jr in the role of Kharis. By now the series has been reduced to a well-worn formula
Cults
Cults are separatist religious groups. The definition of a cult is a loose one but by general agreement it is a religious group that encourages its adherents to live outside the strictures of regular society, often in isolation and/or a communal existence. Cults will also require devotion to a charismatic leader and their teachings.
Cults have been with us for centuries but gained a fascination in the public eye during the 1960s and 70s with groups like Charles Manson’s Family, Jim Jones’ People’s Temple and others since such as the Branch Davidians and Heaven’s Gate who attained notoriety with murders and mass suicides. As a result, a group labelled a cult usually comes with connotations of controlling behaviour, relaxed sexual mores or abuse, slavishly murderous followers and belief in doomsday prophecies.
From the 1940s on, the screen has been filled with cults devoted to vampires, Ancient Egyptian practices, UFOs and aliens or to bringing about resurrections of occult figures. 1960s and 70s films are rife with depictions of Manson-styled murderous hippie cults, as well as cults devoted to Devil Worship set upon facilitating the birth of a Devil Child.
A different treatment came with The Wicker Man (1973) and its depictions of a small pocket of people devoted to Celtic folk religion in the present, which has been echoed by other films. Also popular have been a number of films in which the prophecies of doomsday cults turn out to be right after all.
This theme should be differentiated from Cult Movies about films that have devoted fan followings.
The Mummy’s Hand (1940)
Universal Mummy Film
The first and best of Universal’s Mummy sequels with Tom Tyler in the role, this achieves modest atmosphere
The Mummy’s Tomb (1942)
Universal Mummy Film
The third of Universal’s Mummy films where Lon Chaney Jr inherits the role of Kharis
Murder in an Etruscan Cemetery (1982)
Giallo Film
A giallo film with occult overtones centred around the discovery of an Etruscan tomb. As a series of murders occur, the heroine may be the reincarnation of an ancient high priestess
The Nameless (1999)
Occult Child Sacrifice Cult
The first film from Spanish director Jaume Balaguero, an adaptation of a Ramsey Campbell novel about a mother trying to rescue her daughter from a child sacrifice cult
Necromania: A Tale of Weird Love (1971)
Pornographic Film/Occult Rituals
In one’s efforts to track down all Edward D. Wood Jr’s films, one finally comes to Necromania, which was believed lost for many years … This turns out to be a pornographic film, consisting of little more than serial sex scenes, this far less interesting because it lacks all of Wood’s typical gaffes and ineptitudes
Noah’s Shark (2021)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
An entry in the gonzo killer shark film fad from Mark Polonia, this has some undeniable amusement to its title mash-up as a team go in search of Noah’s Ark, which somehow has killer sharks involved
Octane (2003)
Highway Psycho-Thriller/Sinister Cult
Thriller where Madeleine Stowe’s daughter is abducted by a blood drinking cult while on a road trip
Odd Thomas (2013)
Eccentric Clairvoyant-Medium/Dean R. Koontz Adaptation
At first glance, Stephen Sommers and Dean R. Koontz seem strange bedfellows, but oddly enough it works – Koontz gives Sommers more story than he is used to working with and surprisingly it is the likeable characters and mind-boggling quirks of plot at the forefront rather than Sommers’ usual CGI bombast
Older Gods (2023)
Lovecraftian Cosmic Horrors
An original work that conjures a fantastic sense of ominous Lovecraftian cosmic horror as a man is haunted by a cult whose purpose is to wake a slumbering deity that is dreaming all of reality
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
Haunting Found Footage Film
The Paranormal Activity series has had a better run than most horror franchises up until now but the cracks are starting to show through here. This feels like it is straining to find some new way to do the familiar moves but fails to provide anything unexpected or original
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)
Found Footage Film/Religious Cult
Blumhouse resurrects the Paranormal Activity series for another outing about an investigation into the secrets of an Amish cult
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015)
Haunting Found Footage Film
For supposedly the Paranormal Activity series final entry, this offer the novelty of the first Found Footage film in 3D – a gimmick that signals the series is out of fresh ideas. Moreover, the series’ look via watching security cameras has been de-emphasised in favour of another CGI driven ghost story
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014)
Found Footage Film/Possession
Less another sequel than a spinoff of the Paranormal Activity series, this takes place with Latino characters and in a whole different culture and socio-economic strata. While this gives the series a face change, everything else it feels like the shuffling of a well-worn deck of plot cards
Pig Hunt (2008)
Backwoods Brutality/Giant Killer Pig
One of the most conceptually confusing films I have seen in some time – it starts out seeming like a film about people hunting a near-mythical giant pig before abruptly veering off into Backwoods Brutality territory and then out of the blue introducing a sinister cult to the mix
Popcorn (1991)
Movie Theatre Slasher/Genre Homages
Surprisingly good modern slasher film set in a movie theatre during a festival of old horror films. The films come with surprisingly affectionate and well done recreations of old gimmick films, and the slasher sequences a more than reasonable style
Postal (2007)
Videogame Adaptation/Bad Taste Satire
Another Uwe Boll videogame adaptation, a satire where Zack Ward sets out on a shooting spree. Boll sets out to offend as many people as possible but somehow forgets to make any of it funny
Proxima (2007)
Science-Fiction Fan Makes Alien Contact
Strong and intelligent Spanish film that readily homages Philip K. Dick in its mind-expanding story of a science-fiction fan being contacting aliens
The Quiet Ones (2014)
Parapsychological Experiment/"True Story"
Another offering from the revived Hammer Films. Like a few films of recent, this claims to be based on a true story – a parapsychological experiment conducted in the 1970s – but throws almost every detail out the window to substitute a well-worn bag of horror tricks
Race with the Devil (1975)
Backroads Pursuit by Satanists
This has been conceived as a 1970s car chase film mashed up with the 1970s fad for Satanism and occult where two couples in an RV inadvertently witness a devil worship ceremony and are pursued
The Reaping (2007)
Modern-Day Biblical Plagues
Reasonable budgeted film about a series of Biblical plagues being visited upon a rural Louisiana town. An interesting set up that flounders amid a confused script
Red State (2011)
Religious Cult
Kevin Smith discovers a newfound maturity in this work about a religious cult. Smith subdues his adolescent humour in a series of darkly laced dramatic twists, while the show is capped by some great performances
Requiem (2018)
Abducted Child Mystery/Occult Conspiracy
This BBC tv mini-series starts out seeming a mystery about the disappearance of a child as the investigating heroine makes the jolt realisation that she is the missing child, before the show edges over into occult conspiracy. Very nicely written and beautifully directed with a line-up of standout performances
Resurrected (2023)
Resurrection Process
This has a fascinating premise where the Catholic Church develops a resurrection process, before one priest starts to see a darker conspiracy beneath. Shot in the Screenlife process where the film screen becomes a computer screen
The Sacrament (2013)
Sinister Cult/Found Footage
Ti West, a rising name in horror in the last few years, makes a film about the activities of a sinister cult. Soon into the film, you realise that he is actually conducting a modern Found Footage retelling of the infamous Jonestown mass suicide of the 1970s
Sacrilege (2020)
Folk Horror
Folk Horror is a term that has emerged as a distinct genre of its own in recent years; this is a B-budgeted attempt to join the bandwagon
Scanner Cop (1994)
Psychic Powers
Third of the sequels to Scanners, this stars Daniel Quinn as a police officer who discovers scanner abilities
Servants of Twilight (1991)
Pursuit by Crazed Cultists/Dean R. Koontz Adaptation
Dean R. Koontz adaptation with Bruce Greenwood as a private detective drawn into helping a woman protect her child from crazed cultists that believe he is the Antichrist
Sharks of the Corn (2021)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
Perhaps not the worst Gonzo Killer Shark film ever made but it would sit among the worst half-dozen involving a shark-worshipping cult conducting sacrifices to summon a shark god in the cornfields
Shelter (2010)
Split Personality/Soul Transference
This starts out was as a film about multiple personality disorder with several scenes that catch your attention before it drifts into a muddle of confused supernatural themes
Shrooms (2007)
Drug Hallucinations/Backwoods Horror
A group of friends travel to Ireland and go on a tour searching for magic mushrooms. In between assorted drug hallucinations, someone or thing begins slaughtering the group
Silent Hill (2006)
Videogame Adaptation/Sinister Otherworldly Town
One of the best of all filmed videogame adaptations. Christophe Gans creates a creepy and unworldly atmosphere, along with a series of genuinely outlandish creature effects
Silent Hill: Revelation (2012)
Videogame Adaptation/Sinister Otherworldly Town
Dull and unimaginative Silent Hill sequel that only revisits what went before. The first film had an uncanny otherworldly atmosphere but the sequel reduces everything to no more than pop-up Clive Barker
Simon (1980)
Fake Alien Comedy
A directorial debut from Woody Allen co-writer Marshall Brickman, an offbeat comedy where scientists hypnotise Alan Arkin into believing he is an alien
Smiley Face Killers (2020)
True Crime/Cult of Mysterious Killers
A film based on the so-called Smiley Face Killings, a series of theorised true-life serial killings. With a script by Bret Easton Ellis of American Psycho fame
Snuff (1976)
Snuff Movie/Cult Killings
Arguably the world’s first Found Footage film, this gained a notoriety by conducting a scam that tried to sell it as a real snuff movie
Son (2021)
Sinister Cult/Devil Child
This seems a variant on the plot about a cult pursuing a child for their purposes but expectations soon get twisted on their head in interesting ways
Sound of My Voice (2011)
Cult Led by a Woman Who May Have Come from the Future
Fascinating film about a cult centred around a woman who claims to come from the future. Featuring an ethereal performance from a then unknown Brit Marling, the film remains ambiguous about her claims. Less a script than a series of often emotionally raw scenes that have been improvised between the actors
Southbound (2015)
Horror Anthology
Another in the spate of multi-director anthologies that have become popular in recent years – The ABCs of Death, V/H/S et al. This is set around the common locale of a desert highway where all five tales hover in an eerie twilight zone where the everyday world has stepped over into the uncanny
The Spider Labyrinth (1988)
Spider Cult
Italian giallo with a professor in Budapest investigating a cult of spider worshippers
Stake Land (2010)
Post-Apocalyptic World of Vampires
Strong and highly original film that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by vampires. This has more the feel of a zombie film or an existential Western but does some highly original things with its ideas
Stake Land II (2016)
Post-Apocalyptic World of Vampires
Stake Land, set in a beautifully wintry post-holocaust world where vampires had taken over, one of the best films from Glass Eye Pix. This is a sequel that reunites most of the same elements from the original but fails to ignite them as memorably as the first film did
Studio 666 (2022)
Foo Fighters vs Deviltry/Horror Comedy
A horror comedy starring the Foo Fighters where the band’s antics sit alongside some entertainingly outrageous gore
Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017)
Animation/Comic-Book Superheroes
The Teen Titans get their first solo film in the DC Universe Original Animated Movies. A reasonable adventure based on a classic comic title that works with a good story and characterisation, even if some of it has an adult flavour that makes you wonder who the audience is
The Return of Chandu (1934)
Serial/Mystical Superhero
A serial based on Chandu the Magician, a popular radio superhero who wielded magical and mystical powers. Featuring Bela Lugosi in the title role
The Third Day (2020)
Folk Horror
A UK TV mini-series that borrow much from The Wicker Man in a complex and fascinating story about the discovery of folk religion on a small island and becoming caught up in pending rituals
Thou Shalt Not Kill … Except (1985)
Crazed Cultists
Film made by several Sam Raimi associates about a crazed cult with Raimi making an acting appearance as the cult’s leader. This wades in much gory enthusiasm
To the Devil a Daughter (1976)
Satanism
The second-to-last Hammer film, an adaptation of one of Dennis Wheatley’s occult novels, shows them trying to catch up with The Exorcist and its ilk
Together (2025)
Couple Physically Fuse Together
A Body Horror film that creates some undeniably ick effect where Dave Franco and Alison Brie play a couple who experience an infection that causes their bodies to start fusing into one whenever they touch
Treasure of the Four Crowns (1983)
Caper Adventure
Cheap and tatty copycat of Raiders of the Lost Ark shot in the short-lived 1980s 3D revival fad
The Veil (2016)
Ghosts of Mass Suicide Cult Members
This has a great premise – a camera crew revisiting the site of a cult mass suicide stir up the ghosts of the cult members – and a director who I always maintained had much untapped potential. Alas, the finished result seems to slip by his hands
V/H/S/2 (2013)
Anthology of Found Footage Horror Tales
Sequel to the modest success of V/H/S, an anthology of short Found Footage horror films featuring a different line-up of genre directors. The episodes are competent at best, none standout and mostly forgettable
V/H/S/94 (2021)
Anthology of Found Footage Horror Tales
The popular V/H/S series, an anthology of Found Footage horror tales, is revived for a fourth entry
V/H/S/99 (2022)
Anthology of Found Footage Horror Tales
The fifth film of the Found Footage horror anthology series, including one episode that is among the best of the series so far
The Void (2016)
Hospital of Horrors/H.P. Lovecraft Homage
In his follow-up to Manborg, Steven Kostanski abandons the affectionate homages to 1980s video-released genre films he has specialised in so far. A homage to the works of H.P. Lovecraft, this should be seen for the utterly wild and outlandish makeup effects that Kostanski delivers
The Watcher (2022)
True Crime/Family Terrorised by a Mystery Letter Writer
Compulsively watchable Ryan Murphy mini-series about a family whose life is torn apart by a sinister letter-writing campaign. A true story that gets far most bizarre than most fiction
Where the Devil Hides (2014)
Devil Child Prophecy in a Religious Cult
This is a modestly effective effort that sits just on the dividing line between interesting and cliched – the undeniably captivating premise involves an Amish-like cult dealing with a series of prophecies about devil children and killings of their number
Wrong Turn (2021)
Backwoods Brutality
A reimagining of the long-running Wrong Turn series of Backwoods Brutality films, this does imaginative things with the set-up and emerges as the best of the series so far
XX (2017)
Women-Directed Horror Anthology
As directors, women are underrepresented – in terms of the content listed on this side, for example, probably less than 5% has been made by women. As a believer in equal opportunities for all, one can only cheer on XX where five women have gotten together to make a horror anthology
Yeti: A Love Story (2006)
Gay Yeti/Troma Film
Troma film about a group of trampers attacked by a Yeti only for one of the group to discover gay love with the Yeti
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
Teenage Sherlock Holmes/Adventure Film
Steven Spielberg produced film about an adolescent Sherlock Holmes often feels like it is Holmes being pitched as an Indiana Jones adventure but comes with some beautifully made touches