Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Mephistopheles, the Devil – whatever you call him, there are few recurring representations of evil as powerful or as fear-inducing as the ruler of hell.
For as long as film has existed the Devil has been a fixture of horror, which means over a hundred years of depictions. Over a century worth of cinematic incarnations means he’s been everything from a fork-tongued, cloven-hooved beast to offspring of powerful anti-matter ruler.
But for all of his countless appearances in horror, these 10 portrayals are sinfully the best.
The Devil’s Advocate – Al Pacino
Pacino’s rendition of John Milton, aka Satan, is pure scene-chewing melodrama. For most of the film, Milton is a bombastic leader of a high-end law firm, working hard to tempt Keanu Reeves’ Kevin Lomax with money, power, and lust. Unadulterated smarm and charisma, Pacino’s version of the Devil is far more outgoing than many of his other onscreen iterations. Of course, all of that pales in comparison to the final act, when Milton reveals that not only is he Kevin’s Satanic dad, but that he wants Kevin and his half-sister to conceive the Antichrist. Because nothing says welcome to the family like incest. Pacino ramps up his performance to eleven here, delivering devilish monologues with over-the-top gusto.
The Witch – Black Phillip
For the family at the center of this period set horror film, being banished from a Puritan colony is only the beginning of their problems. Isolated and alone, they’re vulnerable to the darkness lurking in the nearby woods. A witch. First baby Samuel is stolen by the witch to be ground down into a flying unguent. Then eldest son Caleb is seduced by her, sending him into subsequent madness. In turn, the surviving family members descend into paranoia and chaos, each blaming the other for their ills. No one suspects that the family goat, Black Phillip, was Satan in disguise, manipulating the family all along. No need to be afraid of a neighboring witch when the Devil’s hanging around your yard.
Prince of Darkness – Susan Blanchard
Technically, for a good chunk of the film anyway, Satan is depicted as a large cylinder of swirling green goo. Thanks to John Carpenter’s interest in theoretical physics, which lead to his combining Satan with the concept of anti-matter, this iteration of Satan is the liquid offspring of an even bigger evil – Anti-God. When a group of academics come to study the mysterious stuff in the basement of a church, those exposed become possessed by it, who then bring the cylinder to the chosen physical vessel; a sleeping Kelly (Susan Blanchard). Gnarly and disfigured, the new Kelly is powerful and creepy, but her sole purpose now is to herald in her much more powerful daddy from the other realm.
Constantine – Peter Stormare
Supernatural detective John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) has managed to piss Lucifer off bad enough that he’s the only soul Lucifer would come topside to collect personally. So, when things hit the proverbial fan, John slits his wrists as a means of manipulating Lucifer into intervening with Gabriel’s nefarious plans. If you want your film’s depiction of Lucifer to be memorable, then you hire Peter Stormare. His few small scenes pack a punch; his take on Lucifer is venomous, magnetic, and a little bit unhinged. Stormare plays Lucifer with a malevolent glee.
Tales from the Hood – Clarence Williams III
For the trio of drug dealers taking refuge in a funeral home, they find more than they bargained for with the eccentric owner, Mr. Simms (Williams III). He regales them with four tales of terror before turning the tide on the criminals. Mr. Simms isn’t really a funeral home director; he’s Satan himself come to usher these boys to Hell. Williams is delightfully campy as Simms, the manic energy increasing with each tale, until it explodes in the final reveal. “This ain’t no funeral home! It ain’t the Terror Dome, neither! Welcome to Hell, motherfuckers!”
The Prophecy – Viggo Mortensen
There’s a simplicity in The Prophecy’s version of Lucifer that makes him all the more terrifying. Dressed in black and soft-spoken, this Lucifer doesn’t exactly look threatening at first glance. But Mortensen imbues the first fallen angel with a menace unlike any other portrayal before. His soft-spoken, calm demeanor as he utters lines like, “I can lay you out and fill your mouth with your mother’s feces, or we can talk” is unsettling. Mortensen plays Lucifer with such apathetic disdain toward humans, his body language relaxed, that it communicates a sense of immense power in a way that’s far more sinister and effective than flashy demonstrations and boisterous performances.
Mister Frost – Jeff Goldblum
Mr. Frost is a serial killer arrested and sent to a mental asylum after confessing to multiple murders. He doesn’t speak for two years, and the police aren’t able to discover his identity. He breaks his vow of silence to claim his identity as Satan to one of the doctors, along with his intent to trick her into murdering him. As the title implies, Goldblum plays his sadistic serial killer with icy intelligence. Calm, cool, and cunning, Goldblum makes for one unnerving Devil.
Angel Heart – Robert De Niro
Angel Heart is a horror movie disguised as a noir mystery thriller. De Niro plays Louis Cyphre, a man who hires private investigator Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke) to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite. The investigation leads Harry down one hellish web of deceit, death, and horror. Louis Cyphre is a homophone for Lucifer, who’s playing poor Harry like a fiddle. One of De Niro’s best performances of all time, his take on Lucifer is as regal as it is creepy. Seriously. You’ll never look at hardboiled eggs the same way.
The Wailing – Jun Kunimura
After the arrival of a Japanese stranger in a mountainous village of South Korea, a mysterious illness begins to spread. One of the symptoms is a homicidal rage. A bumbling cop is drawn further into the investigation when his own daughter is stricken with the illness. That’s the simplified version of the plot, which becomes increasingly more complex as it progresses. While the narrative toys with science versus religion behind the mysterious illness for most of the run time, ramping up the dread in the process, the final scenes are pure horror. The Japanese-speaking deacon who aided the police as investigator comes across the stranger in a cave, in the aftermath of absolute anarchy. That stranger reveals himself to have been a soul-stealing Devil all along, and it’s downright unsettling.
Legend – Tim Curry
What happens when you combine the talents of legendary special makeup effects artist Rob Bottin (The Thing) with an iconic performance by Tim Curry? You end up with one of the best iterations of the Lord of Darkness of all time. Ridley Scott’s dark fantasy may have starred Tom Cruise as the naïve hero Jack, out to save his lady love from the Lord of Darkness’ clutches, but he was upstaged by Curry at every possible turn. “What is light without dark? What are you without me? I am a part of you all. You can never defeat me. We are brothers eternal!” Indeed, Darkness. Indeed.
