Browsing Tag

religious horror

Posted on July 26, 2026

Hearing is Believing: Undertone’s Aural Horror

Guest Post

Jered Mabaquiao

I initially experienced writer-director Ian Tuason’s Undertone (2026) in its opening weekend in a Dallas Cinemark XD and IMAX theater. Undertone follows Evangeline (Evy) Babic, played by Nina Kiri, who is co-host of a paranormal podcast and token skeptic. Additionally, we understand Evy also takes care of her dying mother who is a devout Catholic. Evy’s house is decorated with various religious iconography. Her friend, Justin, voiced by Adam DiMarco, is the other host of the podcast and a firm believer in the possibility of another realm. Justin anonymously receives ten audio files, each sequencing disturbing activity experienced by a couple named Mike and Jessa who seem to unleash a demonic entity, named Abyzou. Abyzou possesses mothers and causes miscarriages or outright kills infants out of jealousy due to its own infertility. Throughout Undertone, Evy is wrestling with having just learned that she’s pregnant, out of wedlock, thus adding critical mental and physical stress involving whether or not she should keep the child.

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Posted on September 29, 2024

Borderlands of Final Prayer

Guest Post

By Steve A. Wiggins

The 2013 folk horror found-footage movie Final Prayer (Elliot Goldner, 2013, released stateside as Borderlands) underscores the conflict of religions that fuels much of the genre. Even so, some of the choices on the Christian side of the formula are a bit unusual.  

The Catholic Church, often in cases of canonization (or saint-making) investigates claims of miracles. Sometimes it investigates miracle claims on their own.  That’s the premise here.  Although set in England, Final Prayer is about a Catholic Church. The investigator Deacon (Gordon Kennedy) arrives to find his new colleague Gray Parker (Robin Hill), having already installed cameras in the cottage where they’re staying.  Gray insists that they wear head-cameras throughout. It shortly becomes clear that a third investigator, Fr. Mark Amidon (Aidan McArdle) is also expected.  Deacon is a religious brother—he’s basically a monk, but not associated with a monastery. Gray is a layman, only nominally Catholic, who took the job as a techie because it paid well. And when he arrives, it becomes clear that Mark, the priest, is in charge.

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priest sits in a confessional
Posted on December 25, 2021

Midnight Mass and Spiritual Abuse

Guest Post

Content Warning:  This article discusses heavy spoilers for Midnight Mass, manipulation, and emotional and spiritual abuse.

Horror holds a mirror up to your psyche and dares you to look at your own risk:  it’s a realization of your worst fears. Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass (streaming on Netflix) is no different. And for me, a devoutly religious person (Protestant, if you’re curious), the image within the dark mirror of my psyche is the specter of a trauma I’ve survived:  spiritual abuse.

Most dedicated horror fans are well aware that abuse can be perpetrated through psychological and emotional means.[i] Spiritual abuse is a similar beast. WebMD defines spiritual abuse as:  “Any attempt to exert power and control over someone using religion, faith, or beliefs.”[ii] And Midnight Mass is a veritable hit parade of red flags for spiritual abuse. This post aims to compare every bullet point within WebMD’s guide to spiritual abuse against what the residents of Crockett experience in Midnight Mass.[ii] Read more

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