So you are feeling lonely and looking for some friends to hang out with and watch some horror movies? Well, friendly people are always ready to receive you with open arms, sharp knives, and a demon or two on their backs. Ever since the Holy Church started its persecution of paganism, cults have been dreaded worldwide, and it’s no wonder they are still used by horror movies trying to summon your deepest fears. From close communities with deep secrets to full-blow Devil-worshippers, cults are an essential part of the horror genre. That’s why we have selected the thirteen best horror movies about cults, so you’ll never feel alone in the dark again. So grab your red candles, draw a pentagram on the floor, and join us as we worship the force that haunts our every waking moment: horror movies.

1 'Rosemary’s Baby' (1968)

Directed by Roman Polanski

While Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby is not the first horror movie about a cult, it might be the most influential. Starring Mia Farrow in the role that defined her career, Rosemary’s Baby follows the titular Rosemary as she grows suspicious of her neighbors, whom she believes are part of a Satanic cult. Rosemary’s worries are dismissed as paranoia by the people close to her. Still, it soon becomes evident she’s at the heart of a bigger conspiracy involving her newborn son, said to be the son of Satan himself. By exploring the possible horrors of motherhood, Rosemary’s Baby claimed its place as a universal time that resists the passage of time and is still capable of frightening the viewer today.

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2 'The Wicker Man' (1973)

Directed by Robin Hardy

Half a century after its initial release, Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man remains one of the most influential horror movies ever. The Wicker Man follows a fervorous Christian police officer (Edward Woodward) who is charged with investigating the disappearance of a child on the isolated Scottish island of Summerisle. Unfortunately for him, what could have been a simple investigation turns into a lust-infused nightmare when the officer finds out the community has abandoned Christianity, following pagan fertility rites instead.

In 1973, The Wicker Man spoke about the secret desires of a majorly-Christian society, which represses sex and pleasure instead of accepting that intimate physical contact is necessary for most humans. Nowadays, the movie remains an essential exploration of faith by showing how people in a cult – or religion – are willing to do anything to validate their beliefs. Plus, there’s something special about seeing a young Christopher Lee singing and cheering while another person dies horribly.

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3 'Children of the Corn' (1984)

Directed by Fritz Kiersch

Children of the Corn is one of the most prolific and arguably worst horror franchises, with 11 entries under its belt. Despite the unnecessary sequels, the 1984 original, based on a short story by Stephen King, is one of the most uncomfortable movies you’ll ever see. A young couple, Burt (Peter Horton) and Vicky (Linda Hamilton) are traveling through the cornfields of Nebraska. It’s there that they meet a religious cult who worships “He Who Walks Behind the Rows.” Worse, the cult is made of children who believe anyone over 18 should die. To see young minds already warped by a fanatical cult gives the viewer a feeling of utter hopelessness. How can you change someone who has never known anything else? Stay far away from the cornfields of the sequels, but the original is a masterpiece in suspense. Pay particular attention to actors Courtney Gains as Malachi and John Franklin as Isaac.

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4 'Martyrs' (2008)

Directed by Pascal Laugier

What’s the difference between a cult and religion? They are both based on faith and rituals, and across history, we could even say that religion damaged many more people than cults. That’s part of what makes Pascal Laugier’s Martyrs so enticing, as the evil cult of the French film doesn’t worship Satan or pagan deities. In fact, they draw inspiration from the Holy Church’s martyrs to discover what truly exists beyond the veil of life. Martyrs’ victims go through the most abusive and invasive procedures as the movie’s wealthy cult tries to turn them into actual martyrs, capable of glimpsing at Heaven and whispering the secrets of God to the living. And Laugier doesn’t refrain from showing every detail of their extensive torture, making this one of the most violent movies ever conceived. Even if you love horror movies about cults, you should approach this one cautiously, lest you be traumatized for life.

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5 Safe Haven — 'V/H/S 2' Segment (2013)

Directed by Timo Tjahjanto and Gareth Evans

Following the found footage tradition of the V/H/S franchise, Timo Tjahjanto and Gareth Evans’ Safe Haven follows a group of journalists infiltrating a cult to reveal its dirty secrets. While the short film gets messy once the demonic entity the cult worships comes into play, Safe Haven is absolutely terrifying long before it shows its supernatural elements. The reporters’ investigation is focused on the cult's spiritual leader, a man known only as “Father” (Epy Kusnandar), who holds his community tightly. Promising a place in paradise to those who follow him, Father imposes a strict way of living for the people of Safe Haven while also reducing women to a role of servitude. The short film also indicates Father has sexual relationships with the young girls of his community. And halfway through the film, Father convinces everyone to commit mass suicide. The scariest part of it all? This kind of community did exist – and still does. That’s one truly terrifying thought.

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6 'The Invitation' (2015)

Directed by Karyn Kusama

While most horror movies about cults draw inspiration from folklore and ancient myths, Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation explores the reaches of a closed community at the core of modern society. In the movie, a wealthy couple invites some friends over for dinner, promising to reconnect after a couple of years of absence. The dinner takes a strange turn as the hosts begin to share the weird worldview they’ve acquired while joining a cult, which of course, leads to some disastrous consequences for everybody. The Invitation shows how trauma can lead even the sanest people to change their perception of social rules. It’s also a cautionary tale of how communities that market miraculous emotional healing are, in fact, cults that will probably harm more than they help.

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7 'Baskin' (2015)

Directed by Can Evrenol

Can Evrenol’s Baskin is a Turkish horror movie infused with folklore and surrealism. The story follows a group of police officers who answer a call for help and inadvertently end up in hell. This is not a metaphor, they really cross the barrier between dimensions and end up in a place of suffering and pain. There, they become victims of an evil cult that perform Satanic rituals in the name of their dark master. Baskin is overflowing with Turkish culture, making it challenging for an Occidental audience. Even so, the movie's nightmarish imagery can scar people from any culture, and lovers of the bizarre will be well-served by the profane cult of Baskin.

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8 'The Void' (2016)

Directed by Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie

Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie’s The Void doesn’t have a solid character to anchor our hopes and fears, nor is its story particularly fresh. But what The Void lacks in substance, it compensates in style. The story follows a police officer who gets trapped inside a half-abandoned hospital with its crew and a couple of patients. They soon become the targets of a cult dedicated to a Lovecraftian entity. Survivors get killed one by one while trying to escape the cult. But every cent of the film’s budget was put into makeup and practical effects to deliver some fantastic creature designs. The film also gets extra points for understanding that Lovecraftian horror thrives on the fringe between faith and science, with a villain that both worships Eldritch Gods and performs macabre experiments.

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9 'The Endless' (2017)

Directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead

Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s The Endless have a time-manipulation Eldritch God who traps people in temporal loops to torture them. It’s also a surprisingly quiet meditation on childhood trauma, as the directors play the roles of two brothers coming to terms with the fact they were raised by a cult. Taking complete creative control into their hands, from script to editing, Benson and Moorhead tell a gripping story of family, love, and self-respect. The movie explores the power of acceptance and community by featuring a cult that’s far from evil, just misguided. Instead of harming the brothers, the community is ready to welcome them with open arms, which is a refreshing perspective. There’s enough spectacle in The Endless to please the casual moviegoer. Still, in the end, The Endless deserves all the praise for telling a very original story while respecting its character’s human relationships.

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10 'The Ritual' (2017)

Directed by David Bruckner

A group of friends hiking decides to take a shortcut through an unmarked forest. The premise of David Bruckner’s The Ritual sounds like the plot of a cliche horror story, but the movie is far from just another tale of dumb people getting lost. First, the group is making their trip together to celebrate the memory of a dead friend who was murdered before they could depart together. Next, their unexpected detour happens due to a severe health issue. Even so, they will get lost in the woods and are tormented by a strange creature and the cult that worship it. The creature can make people see their biggest regrets and fears, a power that forces the group to relieve their friend's death. The creature of The Ritual also deserves praise for being one of the most original and creative monsters in the last decade of cinema.

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11 'Mandy' (2018)

Directed by Panos Cosmatos

Nicolas Cage is a divisive star, with lovers praising his exceptional acting skills, while haters point out how his exaggerated grimaces break the immersion of any movie. Who would have thought, then, that one of Cage's best and unanimously loved performances would be in a film featuring a chainsaw duel?

Panos Cosmatos’ Mandy follows Cage as a man who loses everything when his wife is captured and killed by a Satanic cult. After a brief moment of grief, Cage’s character decides to go after the people who murdered his wife, killing them one by one. While Mandy offers a spectacle of blood and guts, it also gives Cage the chance to use all his chaotic energy to express the pain of a grieving husband filled with rage and regret. As a result, Mandy is violent but also surprisingly emotional, making this one of the best horror movies about a cult.

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12 'Hereditary' (2018)

Directed by Ari Aster

Obviously inspired by Rosemary’s Baby, Ari Aster’s Hereditary follow a family struck by tragedy when the youngest daughter dies in one of the most gruesome and disturbing accidents in the history of cinema. After the brutal death, the family begins to realize supernatural forces are involved in their suffering, and it all seems connected to a cult of strange people who follow them everywhere they go. At the heart of Hereditary is the mother of the family, played by Toni Collette in a performance criminally ignored by the Academy Awards, amidst a whole family given enough screen time for the audience to share their pain.

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13 'Apostle' (2018)

Directed by Gareth Evans

While most cults worship otherworldly forces, Gareth Evans’ Apostle follows a community dedicated to a spirit of nature, which directly affects their crops and ensures they keep thriving on an isolated island. Inspired by The Wicker Man, the movie follows a man named Thomas (Dan Stevens) infiltrating the island community to find his sister, who was kidnapped for ransom. Pretending to be newly converted, Thomas becomes a part of the cult, slowly uncovering its deadly secrets. Since Thomas is a former missionary who lost his faith, Apostle is also a reflection on belief. While getting deeper into the cult, Thomas is forced to wonder how different the pagans truly are from the Christians he decided to escape from. Lastly, Apostle is just gorgeous, both in representing the divine rituals of the cult as its bloody punishment for those who fail to follow their rules. While Apostle might burn too slow for some people, it still ranks among the best horror movies about cults.

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14 'Midsommar' (2019)

Directed by Ari Aster

Updating the story of The Wicker Man for a new generation, Ari Aster explores paganism as a metaphor for right-extremism in Midsommar. The movie is about a closed community finding a new member when they convince a grieving woman (Florence Pugh) to perform barbaric rituals of violence. However, Midsommar is so rich that it remains an impactful exploration of trauma and the lasting effects of depression. Every frame of Midsommar is filled with small details that pay homage to pagan culture. The movie is deeply disturbing and challenges even the bravest horror-fiends to keep their eyes open as the pagan cult of Midsommar takes us into a kaleidoscopic experience of color, sound, and blood. But the trip is well worth your time, as Midsommar is undoubtedly an unforgettable experience.

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15 'The Empty Man' (2020)

Directed by David Prior

You’ll be forgiven if you’ve never heard of The Empty Man, or if you did and immediately dismissed it because the title made it sound like some trope-filled Slender Man film for young teens. Though it got lost during the pandemic when released in 2020, director David Prior’s film deserves your attention, and the less you know going in, the better. Yes, there is a scene with teenagers and an urban legend of sorts, but that’s just the surface. The Empty Man is so much more. James Badge Dale plays a detective investigating a series of brutal deaths which lead him to a bizarre cult. You may think you’ve seen that before, but this movie goes against your expectations every time you think you have it all figured out. It has a shocking final act, but it’s The Empty Man’s drawn-out opening scene, set in the mountains of Bhutan, that tells the viewer this isn’t an empty clone of other horror movies, but something totally original and unforgettable. — Shawn Van Horn

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