Film

The Divine Comedy

Name: The Divine Comedy
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Cast: Christopher Rygh, Matthew Metcalfe, Tilda Metsola, Fadhilla Othman

A horror reimagining of Dante's epic poem where a grieving writer and a defrocked priest descend through Hell itself, encountering the damned in elaborate circles of torment. This is visceral, literary horror—ambitious and visually baroque, designed for viewers who want their scares wrapped in myth and meaning. For those who like their terror served with intellectual weight.

If you liked this

Inferno2016

Tom Hanks navigates the circles of Hell (sort of) in this glossy adventure that does engage seriously with Dante's architecture and the weight of historical sin, even if it simplifies the theology.

But It's a thriller first and Dante adaptation second. The puzzle-box plotting can feel more Dan Brown than Alighieri, and it sanitizes the poem's darker implications.

Hereditary2018

Like this film, Ari Aster builds escalating dread from grief and family trauma, layering occult horror with genuine emotional devastation. The production design is baroque and punishing.

But Relentlessly bleak and often more interested in unease than catharsis. If you need your horror to offer hope or resolution, this will leave you hollow.

The Ninth Gate1999

Polanski crafts an atmospheric descent through shadowy worlds and encounters with the infernal, built on literary obsession and the pursuit of forbidden knowledge. Visually sumptuous and genuinely unsettling.

But The pacing is deliberate to the point of dragging, and the ending divides viewers on whether it earns its ambition or just gets weird.

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Ghostland2018

Both use the journey through a layered hellscape as a metaphor for processing grief and sin—but here, Hell is the human mind, and the descent is inward rather than downward.

Pascal Laugier crafts a horror film that operates simultaneously as literal ghost story and psychological descent into trauma. It shares Dante's architecture of psychological circles and damnation through internal rather than external evil.

But The twist recontextualizes everything, and some viewers feel it's more effective conceptually than emotionally. Body horror and abuse are central to the narrative in ways that feel exploitative if you're not aligned with the intent.

Midsommar2019

Aster again—this time building horror from ritual, community corruption, and the inversion of innocence. The production design rivals any big-budget fantasy, and the emotional throughline is devastating.

But Graphic body horror and the despair of watching characters destroyed by fate rather than fighting back. Some find the aesthetics beautiful enough to distract from the cruelty; others find that distraction obscene.

A Dark Song2016

Two broken people undertake a spiritual journey through occult ritual and psychological torment. Quiet, strange, genuinely moving—it understands that the underworld is as much internal as external.

But Almost no plot in the conventional sense. If you need narrative momentum or clear supernatural explanations, the slow mysticism will frustrate you.

The Witch2016

Robert Eggers builds Puritan horror that feels like stepping into a circle of Hell—claustrophobic, theologically obsessed, visually stunning. The dread accumulates through language and atmosphere rather than jump scares.

But Deliberately paced and steeped in period dialogue that can feel impenetrable. The horror is existential rather than plot-driven, which leaves some viewers cold.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge1961

This French short is a masterpiece of descent and internal torment, playing with perception and the spaces between life and death. Perfect companion to Dante's architecture of the soul.

But At 26 minutes, it's a short film—and a literary adaptation that requires active attention. Not what you're looking for if you want a feature-length narrative.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge poster

Suspiria1977

Argento builds a dreamlike realm of horror where logic dissolves and each room is another circle of damnation. The colours and sound design create a hell that feels tangibly real despite its impossibility.

But Deliberately stylized to the point of abstraction. If you need plot coherence or grounded character motivation, the surrealism will feel like pretentious nonsense.

The Lighthouse2019

Two men trapped in a confined space descend into madness, obsession, and psychological torment. Pattinson and Dafoe create the sense of eternal punishment through performance and paranoia alone.

But Black-and-white, formally experimental, and built entirely on two actors and confined geography. If you need visual spectacle or plot momentum, the claustrophobia becomes claustrophobic.

Annihilation2018

Both are structured as organized descents through discrete realms where the traveller is transformed by what they encounter. The circles of Hell become the shimmer's rings.

A team descends into a shimmering, horrifying otherworld where reality bends and familiar things become monstrous. Like Dante, it's structured as a journey through zones of increasing strangeness where the further you go, the less human you become.

But Deliberately ambiguous and science-fictional rather than supernatural—if you need clear explanations or traditional horror logic, the refusal to explain will frustrate. Some find the ending too abstract to satisfy.

Saint Maud2020

Like Dante, it's a descent fuelled by religious fervor and obsessive love, but the Hell here is entirely psychological. The journey is one person's twisted redemption arc.

A psychological horror film where a caregiver's religious obsession gradually corrodes reality until we're watching someone descend into private madness and damnation. Gorgeously shot, deeply unsettling, and theologically precise.

But The 'action' is internal—long stretches where very little happens narratively. The ending is deliberately ambiguous about what was real. If you need clear plot beats, this will feel glacial.