Occult Movies

The plot of Thinner concerns massively overweight lawyer Billy Halleck (Robert John Burke), who is receiving an oral gift from his wife (Lucinda Jenney) while driving down the street one night, when he becomes so carried away that he runs over an old Gypsy woman (Irma St. Paule), killing her. Nobody in town likes the traveling Gypsies much, so Halleck's pals -- a judge and a cop -- cover up the incident. After the cover-up, the dead woman's father, Tadzu Lempke (Michael Constantine), touches Halleck's face and whispers "thinner." Pretty soon, Halleck is losing weight at an incredible rate of more than 40 pounds a week. He tries everything, but learns that Lempke is the only man who can remove the curse. In the meantime, the judge dies of a mysterious skin ailment, and the cop commits suicide. When begging and pleading with Lempke doesn't work, Halleck turns to more drastic methods of persuasion. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

This mildly amusing zero-budget horror film concerns a group of young people putting on a gory Grand Guignol spookhouse. A strange man tries to warn them that encouraging horror can only have horrible results, but -- in typical genre style -- they pay no attention. After a lengthy tour of the spookhouse exhibits, complete with admirable effects-work by David S.T. Rosenkrantz, Brent Pyeatt, and Klaus Larsen, the youths become possessed by the house's evil and begin using the various prop torture devices for real. Things get out of hand when the man who warned them returns as a psychotic clown with an iron hand, but director Eric Worthington (who also appears as the ill-fated Hal) provides enough interesting visuals and creepy atmosphere to keep the viewer watching. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Combining Hi-8 video with black-and-white 16 mm film, this film presents a raw look at what can happen when college students forego common sense and enter the world of voodoo and witchcraft. Presented as a straightforward documentary, the film opens with a title card explaining that in 1994, three students went into the Maryland back woods to do a film project on the Blair Witch incidents. These kids were never seen again, and the film you are about to see is from their recovered equipment, found in the woods a year later. The entire movie documents their adventures leading up to their final minutes. The Blair Witch incident, as we initially learn from the local town elders, is an old legend about a group of witches who tortured and killed several children many years ago. Everyone in town knows the story and they're all sketchy on the details. Out in the woods and away from their parked car (and civilization), what starts as a school exercise turns into a nightmare when the three kids lose their map. Forced to spend extra days finding their way out, the kids then start to hear horrific sounds outside their tents in the pitch-black middle of night. They also find strange artifacts from (what can only be) the Blair Witch, still living in the woods. Frightened, they desperately try to find their way out of the woods, with no luck. Slowly these students start to unravel, knowing they have no way of getting out, no food, and it's getting cold. Each night they are confronted with shrieking and sounds so haunting that they are convinced someone is following them, and they quickly begin to fear for their lives. The film premiered in the midnight movie section at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Chris Gore, Rovi

Christopher Walken, Jared Harris and Alison Elliott star in this supernatural tale of terror about a beautiful Ireland-born American young woman who has been suffering from terrible headaches and memory blackouts. On a trip to her ancestral home in the Irish countryside, she discovers that the key to her problems is neither physical nor psychological -- it is the curse of a druid witch that is slowly destroying her. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Fifteen years after the original Children of the Corn, John Franklin returns as Isaac, leader of the band of murderous children who has returned to bring the youthful followers back to the field. Also stars Nancy Allen and Stacy Keach. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Spanish director Jaime Balaguero brings us this jet-black horror thriller. Claudia (Emma Vilarasau) and Marc's beloved six-year-old daughter Angela dies under mysterious circumstances. Flash forward five years, and Marc has left while Claudia wiles away her time watching family videos of happier times. Angela suddenly inexplicably calls saying, "They wanted you to believe I was dead." Claudia immediately calls an ex-cop, Massera (Karra Elejalde), to investigate the matter. To make matters worse, Claudia finds herself stalked by psychotic ex-boyfriend Toni, who simply radiates evil. As the movie progresses, Massera and Quiroga (Tristan Ulloa), a journalist who works for a magazine specializing in the occult, uncover a bizarre sadistic cult that sacrifices children. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

A man who fails to respect the dead pays a high price for his arrogance in this horrifying thriller. For decades, the city of New York has buried the bodies of the unknown and the destitute on Hart Island, a tiny slip of land near the Big Apple's harbor, with inmates from a nearby prison on hand to do the labor. Now, multi-millionaire land developer Mr. King (Malcolm McDowell) has decided to buy the island and build a resort. King scoffs when he's told it's bad luck to disturb the resting place of the dead, but he soon learns there's a kernel of truth in their warnings -- Hart Island is also home to huge swarms of disease-carrying flies, and when King, his associates, and a crew of prisoners are trapped on the island, there's no telling if they'll make it out alive as the insects try to claim the humans as their prey. Island of the Dead also stars Bruce Ramsay, Talisa Soto, and hip-hop artist Mos Def. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Lots of women get the feeling that their boyfriends become different people after they've married them, but one finds herself dealing with a much bigger problem than leaving socks around the house or not taking out the trash in this supernatural thriller. Kristie (Laura Harris) is a sweet but slightly naïve young woman who is soon to marry the man she loves, Marc St. Clair (Richard Lintern), a television reporter. On the night of their wedding, Marc leads Kristie away from the wedding reception and takes her virginity near a strange stone monument in the woods. Kristie is a bit surprised by this behavior and even more startled when she discovers she's pregnant. Nine months after her wedding day, Kristie's son, Dylan, is born and the new mother is thrilled, but as the child grows older, she begins to sense that things aren't right. Marc seems to take an obsessive interest in his son, while even more surprisingly, his boss, Elizabeth (Alice Krige), is nearly as interested as Marc. In time, when Dylan begins to display telekinetic powers and Kristie discovers Elizabeth has given him a book of Satanic prophesy, Kristie begins to wonder what sort of a person Marc really is -- and whose child did she really bear? ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An ordinary man with an extraordinary gift must save the planet from evil in this action-packed fantasy. Unknown to most people, the world is crowded with spirits both good and evil who walk among us in human guise. One of the few who can see these spirits is John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), but the responsibility of his vision is more than he can stand, and he tries to kill himself. Saved from death, Constantine must now atone for his actions by acting as a guardian in the middle ground between Paradise and Hell. Constantine also makes the acquaintance of Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz), a police detective who becomes aware of his unusual gift while looking into the death of her sister; he leads her into the unknown world of the spirits and soon circumstances demand that they join forces in a desperate bid to save humanity from evil. Constantine also features Tilda Swinton, Peter Stormare, and Gavin Rossdale, the latter best known as the lead singer of the rock group Bush. Michelle Monaghan (Made of Honor) was originally in the film (cast as a half-breed demon) but director Francis Lawrence cut her scenes. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Yeung Kuen directs this Shaw Brothers-produced horror flick. The film opens with cabby Chau (Phillip Ko Fei) accidentally plowing over an old man while driving the night streets of Hong Kong. When he runs out to check on the victim, there's no one there. When he returns to his taxi, the same old geezer is parked in his back seat. The guy claims to be a wizard and warns Chau that he is heading for tragedy. Meanwhile, rich playboy Anthony Fang (Norman Tsui Siu-keung) is shagging Chau's beautiful casino dealer wife Irene. When they have an argument in countryside -- Fang refuses to leave his wife for her -- the womanizer abandons her in the middle of nowhere. Soon Irene is running from a pair of redneck rapists until she falls to her death in an old house. Chau wants revenge. With the help of the wizard, Irene's would-be rapists meet a gruesome end and Fang soon gets his just deserts as well. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

The second directorial effort from filmmaker Shaky Gonzalez, this gory flick centers on an ex-con whose plans to go straight are curtailed by a fellow criminal and some demons. Tolo Montana stars as Carlitos, a man looking to make a fresh start and a life with his young son. Unfortunately, when he's talked into "one last job," Carlitos soon finds himself embroiled in a situation far beyond anything he'd bargained for. One Hell of a Christmas has also been known under the title The Claw. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Ahn Byeong-ju's Pon (Phone) is a psychological horror film. Ha Ji-weon portrays Ji-weon, an investigative reporter who is receiving unsettling calls on her cellular phone. Ji-weon's decision to stay with friends for a while leads to the friends' child Yeong-ju (Eun Seo-woo) being traumatized after the girl accidentally answers Ji-weon's phone. Eventually, it is discovered that the preceding owners of that cell phone's number have died. A missing teenager, a secret from the past, and some very disturbing behavior from Yeong-ju all play a part in the final unraveling of the plot. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Planned for years, but plagued by problems such as the death of director John Frankenheimer before production had even begun and the exiting of star Liam Neeson, the fourth installment of the Exorcist saga finally got off the ground with Paul Schrader (Affliction, Auto Focus) behind the camera and Stellan Skarsgård filling the shoes left empty by Neeson. But the pitfalls didn't stop there, as Morgan Creek decided against their initial approach assigned to Schrader after seeing his finished cut, and hired Renny Harlin to reshoot the film with extra gore and head-spinning nastiness. The first prequel in the series, Exorcist: The Beginning is based upon events occurring before the first film. Playing the character made famous by Max von Sydow in the earlier films, this entry finds Skarsgård as a young Father Merrin facing true evil for the first time in Africa in the wake of World War II. When a young local boy begins to behave strangely, it becomes more and more apparent to Merrin that the child is a victim of demonic possession. Boasting a first-time screenplay by best-selling novelist Caleb Carr (The Alienist), Exorcist: The Beginning features a supporting cast headed by Izabella Scorupco (GoldenEye) and James D'Arcy (Master And Commander). ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi