“The calls are coming from inside the house!” (Black Christmas). “Be afraid. Be very afraid” (The Fly). “Sometimes, dead is better” (Pet Sematary). There is wisdom in horror films. Don’t believe me? Are you going to go grab that red balloon dangling from the sewer drain?
No? I didn’t think so. Better yet, if you answer a call from an unknown number, and they ask you what your favorite scary movie is? It was nice knowing you.
It is my favorite season of the year. And after wrapping up an entire thesis adaptation, listing my favorite horror films and their biblical messages seemed like a fun way to continue writing.
I grew up in a home where horror movies were forbidden. Only a few exceptions: Jaws, Signs, and Jurassic Park. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom if I was lucky.
Yet, I was exposed to them along the way. Horror itself seemed to speak some kind of language nobody else could understand… and I couldn’t either, until I tried determining how they might fit in a theological argument.
In this post, with the spooky season quickly approaching, I wanted to share some of my favorite horror movies and why I think these entries matter theologically.
Jesus’ disciples thought he was a ghost at one point. The Bible speaks a lot about the resurrection of the dead. Of course, Leviathan and Behemoth are in the book of Job. So, I’ll cut right to the chase: horror and theology belong together. Don’t believe me? I’m not surprised. But let’s look at a few examples.
Pet Sematary
I’ve had a lifelong obsession with the seminal punk band the Ramones. That is how I found this movie. They wrote a song specifically for this movie, aptly titled “Pet Sematary.” One of their best known songs, “Sheena is a Punk Rocker,” plays at a deeply traumatic scene in the film. A punk band was my gateway to horror. And indeed, this is the first horror movie I actually fell in love with.
The terror of the 1989 Pet Sematary is not because of great practical effects, A-list acting, or tone. The effects, acting, and writing are very much a product of the 1980s. The terror of Pet Sematary comes from the idea. If my dead pet comes back to life, will I be happy? Sure, if you are okay with disturbing the creature’s eternal rest. The protagonist has this brilliant idea: what about burying a human there?!
Don’t disturb the dead.
So, what does Pet Sematary have in common with the Bible? That thought exactly: disturbing the dead’s rest. Let’s ask a king of Israel about that concept.
In 1 Samuel 28, King Saul, fearful of the army of Philistines, seeks God’s guidance. God does not answer. Sound familiar? Since Saul’s calls to God are going straight to voicemail, he consults a medium. And asks to speak to the since-deceased Samuel.
“Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” the spirit of Samuel immediately asks Saul. “Why then do you seek me, since the LORD has turned from you and become your enemy?”
My mom always emphasized that God has ordained our days and made everything suitable for its time. Why on earth would you desecrate a grave, then rebury the corpse in a possessed graveyard, with the intent of them waking from their restful sleep? Don’t do it. Just don’t.
If you do, your sweet old neighbor might get his Achilles tendon severed. Okay, maybe he had it coming… but still. Don’t disturb the dead. Sometimes, dead is indeed bett-uhh.
Saw
I know the title says “classics,” and 2004 might not be long enough for it to be a “classic”… but the impression the Saw franchise has left on the horror industry is certainly unique. I was still a child when a new Saw movie was coming out every single year.
And from the bits and pieces I did see, I could say John Kramer, aka Jigsaw, is a deranged, heartless man. Twenty-something years later, I can tell you he’s the greatest anti-hero, and my personal favorite horror “villain.”
Have you ever wished someone would “learn their lesson?” Or “get what’s comin’ to ‘em?” Then you’ve got a lot more in common with Jigsaw than you may ever like to admit.
The Saw franchise is, in my view, an excellent example of divine justice. Jigsaw gives the oppressors what the wrathful God of the Hebrew Bible might. “Oh, you’re an insurance executive denying people coverage for ‘business logistics?’ I would like to play a game.” Come on, who doesn’t want to see that?
The Saw movies that once terrified me have now become some of my favorites. And yet, of the ten (yes, ten) Saw movies we have… my favorite remains the newest. Despite the trauma of watching that poor girl thrown into the pit of dirty needles, or the man who must push his face through a claw of knives, Saw X, in my view, is a horror masterpiece. And I love it far more than the OG.
It’s told from Kramer’s perspective, unlike the others. We’ve spent 9 movies watching how sick an antagonist he is. Then in Saw X, we see his motive. People who cause other people suffering… should suffer. That’s the general idea bubbling in Kramer’s mind. While his actions are not ethical or right, it indeed makes for an entertaining premise.
Lex talionis
Very similar to an Old Testament command: lex talionis, the common Latin term. “If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe” (Ex. 21:23–25). You might also recall Jesus’ reimagining of this concept in the Gospels.
Kramer is dying of cancer. In Saw X, a manipulative black-market cancer treatment organization assures him that they will cure him. He pays, attends… only to find out the surgery never happened.
Let the games begin.
Similarly, in the first few verses of Judges, we find an actual example of lex talionis being carried out. The Israelites fight a man who is hardly given an introduction. His name is Adoni-bezek. What do the Israelites do? They cut off his thumbs and big toes. Maybe not quite the same as forcing someone to administer a self-lobotomy, but still far from desirable.
So why this oddly specific punishment? Adoni-bezek tells us: “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has paid me back.” That’s what he did. Now it’s being done to him.
The choice… was his.
Final Destination
What does Final Destination have in common with the Hebrew Bible? Strange, supernatural forces cause many deaths. Where do they differ? Characterization of those forces. In Final Destination, the antagonist is known solely as “Death.” In the Hebrew Bible, in English, the one who causes such events is known as God.
Is God the villain in the Final Destination movies? That is a question I asked long before seminary or even college. There is no masked killer. No figure lurking in your dreams with razor sharp fingers. No clown in the sewer, and no zombies. Only an unseen force.
What about everyone else on earth during Noah’s flood? Were they just out minding their own business, living any ordinary day, when the earth flooded? Clawing against the wooden ark, begging to be let in as everything they love is washed away?
Better yet, Sodom and Gomorrah. God threatens to wipe the cities off the map; Abraham pleads for God to spare the cities if he can find enough righteous people. He cannot. God rains fire and brimstone upon the city. Lot’s wife ignores the angelic commands not to look back; when she does, she becomes a pillar of salt.
In the Final Destination movies, the protagonist has a premonition of a massive disaster killing everyone nearby, often friends and family. Those who do not heed the protagonist’s calls die in the gruesome disasters. But those who heed the advice, survive… for a few more days.
Death comes lurking for them.
It is trying to see if they will inevitably “look back.” And when they do, it is prepared to do far worse than turn them into a pillar of salt. Perhaps burning alive in tanning beds. Or dying in the eye doctor’s office.
In Final Destination, people die because they escape death. In the Bible, people die for many reasons, but because of disobedience is quite common. Still, from the victim’s perspective, both involve an unseen sovereign force that kills through events that cannot be prevented.
To quote the late Tony Todd’s character William Bludworth, “In death, there are no accidents, no coincidences, no mishaps, and no escapes.” Are there any accidents, coincidence, mishaps, or escapes with/from God?
Scream
One last example from the late-90s/early-2000s, and perhaps the most renowned of them all: Scream. The original is a classic. The second is an impressive sequel. And aside from 4 and 5, the rest are god-awful. I just watched Scream 7 this week… as much as I wanted to like it, ignoring all the political controversies… it was absolutely terrible. No stakes were raised, and Matthew Lillard’s talent was incredibly wasted in an attempt to incorporate AI into a slasher.
But let’s entertain the idea of Ghostface as a ghostwriter. The two antagonists of the original film died in the first film… supposedly, at least. Their guise, Ghostface, made such an impression that many future killers adopted that very identity.
Different people, separated by time, intention, and even location. All under one moniker. How can each villain ensure they are relevant? By adopting what, or who, everyone already knows.
Which is very, VERY, common in the Bible. The book I just spent all summer writing on? It is popularly believed to be written by Solomon. Yet, it is extremely unlikely that Solomon wrote a book centuries after his death. The author, identified as Qoheleth, needed a way to push his message out there. So, he writes from the perspective of a great king.
But that’s just one example. Popular tradition also credits Proverbs to Solomon, though scholarship—mostly—disagrees. Song of Songs is often called Song of Solomon. How about the Wisdom of Solomon? Testament of Solomon?
They all want their message to be heard. If that means donning a mask, so be it. They don the mask of Solomon. Much like an underdeveloped, annoying character in Scream 7 adopts the Ghostface moniker. Which is definitely not my “favorite scary movie.”
The Evil Dead
Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist, Black Christmas… all actual horror classics. Yet, the original Evil Dead trilogy stands as my favorite of that era. Like Saw, I would like to propose a broad biblical example.
A very broad example: the Bible itself. In case you’ve been living under a rock since 1981, Evil Dead follows five college students vacationing to a remote cabin, who find an audio tape that unleashes ancient, demonic forces, which is tied to an ancient book. In Evil Dead Part 2, essentially a retelling, the cause of mayhem is the book directly: the Necronomicon Ex Mortis.
A book possessing real authority unleashes violent forces, and once the book enters one’s life, they cannot just decide it no longer has any power over them. And the continuity… is very much in line with the Bible.
The franchise’s own canon is skewed. The second film completely reinterprets the first. They essentially tell the same story: the same man discovers a possessed item, the forces of that item kill his friends, he overcomes them all before day break… in Part 2 and Army of Darkness, with a chainsaw for a hand, a boomstick, and a groovy dose of kickass.
Kind of makes me think of a carpenter from Galilee whose life is recounted in four separate books. And while I do not wish to enter the debate of just how different the Gospels are, there are indeed some differences. Is John the biblical equivalent of Evil Dead Part 2?
The Necronomicon unleashes unimaginable powers. And all who encounter its power are forever changed. For some, that looks like death. For others, it looks like having your hand chopped off. But hey, you get to replace it with a chainsaw—just as the prophecy foretold!
Bonus: Monster House
Again, not exactly a classic, and not exactly horror… but it is to me; hence, it is a bonus.
I’m honestly amazed that this one was allowed growing up. Monster House was okay; The Corpse Bride and Harry Potter? No, those were satanic. Never mind an animated movie about a house being possessed by a long-deceased wife…
But I am extremely grateful for this movie. I’m certain it left some kind of impact on my very young psyche… in that I credit it as the movie that made me love horror.
You do not put Monster House on to be scared, or grossed out by gore, like you might Pet Sematary or Saw. You watch it to laugh; even as an adult. But is it really suitable for kids?
Even small details, like a rookie cop pulling out a loaded handgun in front of three children, a drunken boyfriend and beer bottles, trespassing, littering, loitering… and treason, to quote the rookie cop. You can visit the PluggedIn review, if you’re bored and wanna read a full fundamentalist treatment of an animated film from 2006.
Aside from parents… Who decides what is appropriate for children?
My question with this film, and the biblical example I am about to present, is who decides when something is “appropriate” for a young age? No, PluggedIn, you can put your hand down. Because the problem is much older than any of the films I’ve noted here, and much older than James Dobson’s PluggedIn.
For quite some time, as a child, David and Goliath was my favorite story. Then Revelation, later Job. I can vividly remember the David and Goliath illustrations in my children’s Bibles. Of course, I have a special place in my heart for VeggieTales’ Palme d’Or-worthy Dave and the Giant Pickle. The story is by far one of the most popular stories for children from the Bible.
What really is the moral of this story? Attack your bullies with a slingshot? That with God you can do all things—like murder your enemies? Prance around with their severed head after the fact (1 Samuel 17:51)?
Why might Monster House be acceptable, but not Harry Potter? Of course, the question itself would vary across parents. Why is David and Goliath suitable for kids, but not Judges 19? The answer seems so obvious, and yet it isn’t. Both contain graphic depictions of murder.
Of course, I would never advocate for showing Scream or Final Destination to a child. And I would never ever suggest reading Judges 19 aloud as a bedtime story—for children or adults. But one of the reasons I love the films I’ve explored in this post is that they do not hold back. They show the world under the sun exactly as it is: dark, chaotic, and extremely graphic. The Bible does that too. And as I often say, there are two books that have actually terrified me: Pet Sematary and the Bible. Which one is more graphic?
I suppose the choice is yours.