Religious Themes in Horror Movies: Religion, Haunted Mansions With Undertones

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By J.S.Matthew

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Common Threads

One thing I noticed about my own film reviews is that most of them are horror movies and many of them share similar themes regarding Religion; many of these movies have influence from Christian (mostly Catholic) Religions.

"One Missed Call": St. Luke's Hospital;

"B.T.K.":Dennis Rader was Church President;

"Doubt": the whole movie was based on a priest, a nun, and a private Catholic School;

"Hydra": based on Greek Mythology;

"The Alphabet Killer":the town was called "Churchville", the missing medallion from one of the victims was of St. Philomena-ironically, the "Protector of Children", and lastly, St. Michael's Church (there are several other references but I felt that this was enough for this review).

In "Knowing",Caleb questions the existence of heaven, John Koestler's (Nick Cage) father is a pastor, and Koestler ends up being a modern day Prophet. At one point, Koestler-an atheist-kneels down humbly before the higher presence, which I believe were Angels.

"The Haunting In Connecticut" revolves around a sick boy, Matt, having cancer. His treatments are at "St. Michael's Hospital" and one of Matt's closest friends from his treatments, is a pastor.

Now I find it odd that these elements are intertwined throughout. Who would think that horror movies could be so relative to religion? I never gave it much thought until I began reviewing notes that I took while watching the films.

I feel that many of the reasons we fight wars, or even fight people in general, is due to a combination of fear and misunderstanding, which leads to hate. I think that as civil human beings, if we chose to, we could be more compassionate to others through understanding their customs and belief systems, and stopping the negative stereotypes that fuel anger, hate and racism.

If each and everyone of us "Paid It Forward" just a little bit everyday, then imagine the possibilities for our entire race. We should be free to share our faiths, opinions, and ideals without fear of aggression, repercussion, being singled out, or hated.

I ask of all my readers, when you think about this, please say a prayer-no matter who your "God" is, for world peace and triumphant brotherhood between billions of people around the world. Hate may be an innate thing, but acting out on that hate is an action; a behavior that can be modified. When we refuse to act out this hate, we can then begin to change the way we view our enemies. God Bless us all!

Comments

tillsontitan profile image

tillsontitan Level 7 Commenter 8 months ago

How right you are on every point. While hate is an innate thing it can come alive in those who foster it. Praying for peace and paying it forward could definitely change the world!

J.S.Matthew profile image

J.S.Matthew Hub Author 7 months ago

I pray for the same peace tillsontitan! You are my first comment on this article and I wrote it back on 08/10/2009! Patience is a virtue! Thanks for stopping by!

JSMatthew~

Painted Seahorse profile image

Painted Seahorse Level 3 Commenter 6 months ago

Interesting hub, J.S.Matthew! I think of "The Exorcist" too as a religious film. It deals with faith lost and found. The author of the book saw it as proof of God's love even in the face of evil.

J.S.Matthew profile image

J.S.Matthew Hub Author 6 months ago

Hello Painted Seahorse! "The Exorcist" is another great addition to this genre. I didn't add it only because I haven't written a review about it. I guess to make "evil" you have to have an element of good which is usually taken from religious beliefs and social norms. Thanks for the insightful comment!

JSMatthew~

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