Supernatural horror film in the context of "Devil"

Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include monsters, apocalyptic events, and religious or folk beliefs.

Horror films have existed since the early 20th century. Early inspirations predating film include folklore; the religious beliefs and superstitions of different cultures; and the Gothic and horror literature of authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, and Mary Shelley. From its origins in silent films and German Expressionism, horror became a codified genre only after the release of Dracula (1931). Many sub-genres emerged in subsequent decades, including body horror, comedy horror, erotic horror, slasher films, splatter films, supernatural horror, and psychological horror. The genre has been produced worldwide, varying in content and style between regions. Horror is particularly prominent in the cinema of Japan, Korea, and Thailand, among other countries.

Folk horror is a subgenre of horror film and horror fiction that uses elements of folklore to invoke fear and foreboding. Typical elements include a rural setting, isolation, and themes of superstition, folk religion, paganism, sacrifice and the dark aspects of nature. Although related to supernatural horror film, folk horror usually focuses on the beliefs and actions of people rather than the supernatural, and often deals with naïve outsiders coming up against these. The British films Witchfinder General (1968), Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) and The Wicker Man (1973) are pioneers of the genre, while The Witch (2015) and Midsommar (2019) sparked renewed interest in folk horror. Southeast Asian cinema also commonly features folk horror.

A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, often by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic term for any horror film involving murder, film analysts cite an established set of characteristics which set slasher films apart from other horror subgenres, such as monster movies, splatter films, supernatural and psychological horror films.

Critics cite psychological horror films such as Peeping Tom (1960) and Psycho (1960) and the Italian giallo films as early influences. The genre hit its peak between 1978 and 1984 in an era referred to as the "Golden Age" of slasher films. Notable slasher films include Black Christmas (1974), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), My Bloody Valentine (1981), Sleepaway Camp (1983), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Child's Play (1988), Candyman (1992), Scream (1996), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), Urban Legend (1998) and Terrifier (2016). Many slasher films released decades ago continue to attract cult followings. The slasher canon can be divided into three eras: the classical (1974–1993), the self-referential (1994–2000) and the neoslasher cycle (2000–2013).

Deliver Us from Evil is a 2014 American supernatural horror film directed by Scott Derrickson and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The film claims to be based on a 2001 non-fiction book entitled Beware the Night by Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Cool, and its marketing campaign highlighted that it was "inspired by actual accounts." However, the plot is an original piece written by director Derrickson and his co-writer Paul Harris Boardman. The film stars Eric Bana, Édgar Ramírez, Sean Harris, Olivia Munn, and Joel McHale in the main roles and was released on July 2, 2014. The film grossed $87.9 million against a $30 million budget.

Candyman is a 1992 American gothic supernatural horror film written and directed by Bernard Rose and starring Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd, Xander Berkeley, Kasi Lemmons, and Vanessa E. Williams. Based on Clive Barker's short story "The Forbidden", the film follows a Chicago graduate student completing a thesis on urban legends and folklore, which leads her to the legend of the "Candyman", the hook-handed ghost of an African-American artist and son of a slave who was murdered in the late 19th century for his relationship with the daughter of a wealthy white man, who now appears whenever his name is chanted 5 times in front of the mirror.

The film came to fruition after a chance meeting between Rose and Barker who later completed his own film adaptation of Nightbreed (1990). Rose expressed interest in Barker's story "The Forbidden", and Barker agreed to license the rights. Where Barker's story revolved around the themes of the British class system in contemporary Liverpool, Rose chose to refit the story to Cabrini-Green's public housing development in Chicago and instead focus on the themes of race and social class in the inner-city United States.

Stir of Echoes is a 1999 American supernatural horror film written and directed by David Koepp and starring Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Illeana Douglas, and Kevin Dunn. Adapted by Koepp from the 1958 novel by Richard Matheson, it follows a working-class father in Chicago who, after being hypnotized by his sister-in-law, begins experiencing a series of disturbing visions connected to a missing intellectually disabled teenage girl.

What Lies Beneath is a 2000 American supernatural horror thriller film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer, with supporting performances from Diana Scarwid, Miranda Otto, James Remar, Joe Morton, and Amber Valletta. Its plot focuses on a woman who comes to suspect that the lakeside Vermont home she shares with her husband is haunted by a female ghost.

The original story for What Lies Beneath was written by Sarah Kernochan, inspired by a real paranormal experience she had. The project began development around 1998, with Clark Gregg making several alterations to Kernochan's original treatment, which he eventually developed into a feature-length screenplay. Principal photography took place on location in Vermont and on soundstages in Los Angeles, while director Zemeckis was taking a hiatus from filming his concurrent project, Cast Away (2000). It was the first film produced by Zemeckis' production company ImageMovers.