The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is now in theaters and streaming on HBO Max. The latest entry in the franchise changes up the formula a bit, turning into a kind of procedural as Ed and Lorraine Warren investigate a scary mystery, X-Files-style. If you’ve watched The Devil Made Me Do It and are looking for some similar horror movies that aren’t part of the Conjuring franchise, I’m here to help. Here are five horror movies to watch after The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and where you can stream them.
The Exorcist III
The Exorcist sequels are considered inferior, and for the most part, that’s true. But there’s one big exception: The Exorcist III. While The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It starts off with an exorcism, it turns into a kind of procedural mystery with horror elements. And that’s true of The Exorcist III. The film serves as a direct sequel to the first movie, featuring George C. Scott as Lt. William F. Kinderman, the cop who had a brief but pivotal supporting role in The Exorcist. It’s been fifteen years since the events of The Exorcist, and Kinderman is haunted by the memories. Kinderman is in the midst of a murder investigation, with the killer seemingly recreating the actions of an executed serial killer known as the Gemini. To further complicate things, Kinderman finds a patient locked away in a mental ward who looks exactly like Damien Karras (Jason Miller), the priest from the first movie. Of course, Damien Karras is supposed to dead, having flung himself down those infamous steps. Weird, creepy, and way better than it has any right to be, The Exorcist III may not be as good as the original film, but it’s damn near close.
Where you can watch it right now: Peacock, Tubi
Angel Heart
Another horror murder mystery, Angel Heart is a sweaty, disturbing horror-noir that has a whopper of a twist. Mickey Rourke is rumpled 1950s private detective Harry Angel, who gets hired to track down a missing singer. The client hiring Harry is the mysterious Louis Cyphre, played memorably by Robert De Niro, sporting long fingernails and an icy demeanor. Angel’s investigation leads him down to New Orleans, and it seems like everyone he interviews has a bad habit of meeting a bloody, untimely end. Even if you know where this is going, Angel Heart is a great, atmospheric flick full of disturbing imagery.
Where you can watch it right now: Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, Kanopy
The Gift
Released in 2000, The Gift feels like the Sam Raimi movie that time forgot. Which is weird, because it’s pretty damn great, and has a dynamite cast, along with a script co-written by Billy Bob Thornton. Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves, Giovanni Ribisi, Hilary Swank, Katie Holmes, and Greg Kinnear all star in this Southern gothic, with Blanchett playing a local fortune teller. When the fiancée (Holmes) of the local school’s principal (Kinnear) disappears, psychic Blanchett has a vision of her murder. This kicks off a mystery where everyone in town is seemingly a suspect. This is one of Raimi’s most reserved films – don’t expect any Evil Dead-like shenanigans here – but that doesn’t make it any less effective. Bonus: Keanu Reeves plays against type as a racist, abusive redneck, and he’s actually really good in the role, which is somewhat alarming.
Where you can watch it right now: Amazon Prime Video
The Mothman Prophecies
Like The Devil Made Me Do It, The Mothman Prophecies is “based on a true story.” Richard Gere plays a widowed Washington Post columnist who somehow ends up in a small West Virginia town that’s being plagued with sightings of a mysterious creature known as the Mothman. The Mothman’s appearance foretells a tragedy to come, and Gere’s reporter is trying to figure out what it is before someone gets hurt. Or is he just going out of his mind because he’s still grieving the sudden death of his wife (Debra Messing)? The answer may surprise you! Or not!
Where you can watch it right now: Starz
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
When I heard that The Devil Made Me Do It was using the trial of Arne Johnson – in which a man murdered his landlord and then claimed he was possessed by demons at the time of the crime –as its storyline, I assumed the film would be something like a courtroom drama with horror elements. But the trial actually plays a very small part in the movie – it’s merely there to get the Warrens in action. If you, too, thought we would get more courtroom horror, there’s a film that can give you just that: Scott Derrickson‘s The Exorcism of Emily Rose. This, too, is based on a true story, and follows a priest on trial for murder. The priest (Tom Wilkinson) performed an exorcism on college student Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter, who is fantastic here), and things went so horribly wrong that Emily died in the process. The priest’s skeptical lawyer, played by Laura Linney, has to defend her client while not believing in demonic possession – but those beliefs are soon challenged by the creepy details of the case.
Where you can watch it right now: Starz
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