And people think fans of horror are in a cult…
Cults in horror can either go really well…or really bad. Using a cult to try and quickly explain why your horror villains are carrying out their evil deeds is a cheap trick. It basically ruined the Halloween series when they made Michael Myers a product of a cult in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. However, when used correctly horror cults can be a truly terrifying trope. Here are some of the best cults we’ve seen pictured.
The Devil Worshippers in Rosemary’s Baby
We basically spent the entirety of Rosemary’s Baby trying to figure out what’s up with Rosemary’s neighbors. They seem to be pretty chill. They make her and her husband feel welcome. They’re very helpful, especially when Rosemary’s seemingly suffered a great loss. Yet, they never manage to truly reel Rosemary in, until they reveal that her baby is tied to their devil worshipping activity. Say what you will, but any cult that can forcefully impregnate a woman with the child of Satan and still get her to join them is obviously a pretty effective organization.
The Kids in Children of the Corn
Everyone has a rebellious phase, but the kids in Children of the Corn take it to a new level. Children killing off all the adults in their small town, because some bratty kid says that he hears voices from within the corn is quite an interesting twist on horror cults. Even the rituals we see them do in the name of their weird Corn Lord are unnerving. On paper this movie sounds a bit ridiculous, but it manages to be truly horrifying even with a somewhat outlandish premise.
The Family in Ready or Not
The cult in Ready or Not is particularly interesting. Cults typically just make you feel like they’re your family, but here, we see an actual family sacrificing goats together. Talk about family issues. Where the cults we’ve previously mentioned here make you want to be a part of their family, it’s interesting that our characters feel like they have to be a part of it. Blood is thicker than water and all that. For those that are close to their families, it makes you question, would you kill for them? Would you kill your partner for them? If so, seek help.
Pagan Cult of Midsommar
Yeah, we had to talk about it. Midsommar has portrayed the most interesting look into cults out of all of these films. Throughout the entirety of Midsommar we see the members of the cult support our broken main character in a way that her partner can’t. Because of this, we feel almost happy at the end when she’s joined them. It feels like she’s gone home to a family, even after we see them sew her partner into a bear carcass and set it on fire. They managed to make the grossest thing I’ve even seen feel like justice. Being pulled in and comforted by this cult has the most terrifying sense of familiarity, and it’s a cult horror masterpiece.
By Joey Warren