Film

The Devil's Men

A 1976 Eurocult horror film where Donald Pleasence and Peter Cushing battle a satanic conspiracy on a remote Greek island. It's pulpy, atmospheric, occasionally incoherent, and utterly committed to its own absurdity. For fans of grindhouse horror who prize atmosphere and committed performances over logic.

TMDb rating2.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like 1970s occult horror where stolid veteran actors lend real gravity to lurid pulp, and a rescue plot keeps the dread moving from one scene to the next.

Skip it if you want restraint or modern scares; this is lurid cult pulp with a plain rescue plot, so its shocks may feel more dated than frightening.

What it asks of you: Roughly ninety minutes, with a brisk, straightforward shape: little set-up, and mostly your attention on the rescue rather than on puzzling anything out.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Wicker Man1973

Folk horror masterpiece about a detective investigating a missing girl on an isolated Scottish island. Genuinely unsettling, brilliantly constructed, and anchored by genuine dread beneath the strangeness.

But The folk music and pagan rituals may feel dated or silly to modern viewers. Requires patience for slow-burn atmosphere.

The Wicker Man poster

Suspiria1977

Dario Argento's vivid fever dream about a dance academy harboring witches. Visually stunning and sonically violent; style and mood matter more than plot coherence, and it works.

But The narrative is deliberately fractured and dreamlike, which some find frustrating. Dubbing (even the recent restoration) can feel stagey.

Suspiria poster

The Beyond1981

Lucio Fulci's surreal Italian horror about a woman inheriting a haunted hotel connected to Hell itself. Gloriously uninterested in making sense; pure nightmarish imagery and atmosphere.

But The plot is genuinely nonsensical. Requires you to surrender to mood rather than follow logic. Gore is graphic.

The Beyond poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Devil's Men

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Possession1981

Both films use satanic/demonic forces as expressions of domestic or psychological breakdown. Neither is interested in scare-movie mechanics; both sacrifice narrative clarity for atmosphere and metaphorical weight. Both are thoroughly committed to their own derangement.

Andrzej Żuławski's Polish-French masterpiece: a collapsing marriage in Cold War Berlin becomes a nightmare of psychological disintegration, body horror, and Lovecraftian cosmic dread. Uncompromising, visually stunning, genuinely disturbing.

But The acting is deliberately operatic and the narrative is intentionally cryptic. Contains strong sexual content and graphic creature effects. Demands more emotional stamina than most horror films.

Possession poster
More like this (7)

Race with the Devil1975

A road-movie thriller where a couple witnesses a satanic ritual and goes on the run. Paranoia-fueled fun with genuine stakes, strong performances, and a great 70s thriller vibe.

But The satanic elements are fairly surface-level. It's more chase film than horror, which might disappoint genre purists.

Race with the Devil poster

Blood on Satan's Claw1971

British folk horror about a rural village corrupted by an ancient supernatural force. Unsettling, well-crafted, and maintains genuine creeping dread throughout its runtime.

But Slow pacing and a fragmented narrative structure may feel scattered. The resolution is deliberately ambiguous and bleak.

Blood on Satan's Claw poster

Let's Scare Jessica to Death1971

Psychological horror about a woman recently released from a psychiatric hospital who suspects her new home harbors something worse. Atmospheric, credibly paranoid, genuinely haunting.

But The horror operates on subtle psychological levels rather than action or jump scares. Requires active engagement; easy to lose focus.

Let's Scare Jessica to Death poster

The Lair of the White Worm1988

Ken Russell's delirious adaptation of Bram Stoker, starring Amanda Donohoe as a serpent priestess. Unhinged, sexually transgressive, visually baroque, and hilariously committed to its own weirdness.

But Russell's excess can feel incoherent or exploitative. Sexual content is graphic. Not everyone appreciates maximalist surrealism over narrative clarity.

The Lair of the White Worm poster

Murders in the Rue Morgue1971

A lesser-known Jason and the Argonauts director helms this atmospheric Gothic tale with real visual style and committed performances. Neglected Euro-horror gem with more craft than its reputation suggests.

But Pacing is deliberate and can feel tedious. The plot, such as it is, takes a backseat to mood and visuals.

Murders in the Rue Morgue poster

Phantom of the Paradise1974

Brian De Palma's campy rock-opera horror comedy about a composer's revenge in a decadent nightclub. Wild, inventive, stylish, and genuinely entertaining even when it shouldn't be.

But Tonally chaotic—it cannot decide if it's parody, homage, or genuine horror. The rock-opera elements feel dated. Some find it more silly than scary or affecting.

Phantom of the Paradise poster

Werckmeister Harmonies2001

Both depict the arrival of an corrupting supernatural force (whale as stand-in for demonic influence) that catalyzes the unraveling of social order. Both suggest evil is less a villain than a mirror reflecting something already present in communities. Both are challenging, unhurried examinations of human susceptibility rather than action-driven narratives.

Béla Tarr's monumental black-and-white Hungarian film about a whale arriving in a provincial town, triggering social collapse and apocalyptic darkness. Slow, hypnotic, visually sublime, philosophically devastating. Pure cinema.

But Seven hours long. Deliberately glacial pacing. No plot in the conventional sense; it's a meditation on human nature and societal breakdown. Requires patience bordering on asceticism.

Werckmeister Harmonies poster

People

Cast

Directing

Writing

Production

Recommended by

The Blood of Fu Manchu