Who Made the Best Devil on Film?
The Christian religion has caused a lot of heartache over the years. There have been wars, moralising hypocrites and enforced education which was dubious at best. You can check out the Top Ten Reasons That God Doesn’t Exist for more on that topic but there is one thing that the Christian religion has gifted horror fans and that’s a fantastic baddie in the form of Satan.
Many actors have played the devil over the years and he has crept into several horror films in some form or other. In this article we’ll take a look at the best portrayals of one of the oldest horror characters ever created. There are three Satan related films that we can get out of the way first.
The OmenThe Omen
This has to win the creepiest son of Satan competition. Damien is awesomely creepy but not actually the devil himself so this one doesn’t count.
Rosemary’s Baby
It does feature the devil briefly as he rapes poor Rosemary after making a deal with her nasty husband. The real chilling stars of the show here are the old neighbours not the beastly clawed devil so let’s move on.
The Exorcist
The malevolent demon here claims to be the devil but it is never confirmed. We suspect it is in fact some lesser demon trying to self aggrandise for impact. It must be mentioned that Mercedes McCambridge was the woman who voiced the demon and she definitely produced the creepiest satanic voice ever.
LegendLegend
Visually this was one of the best portrayals ever. A big scary looking bright red, horned freak, Tim Curry’s devil was a seriously terrifying character. I was ten years old when I first saw Legend and he definitely haunted me for a while after.
The Prophecy
Viggo Mortensen made a seriously nasty devil in this horror flick from 1995. An angelic war in heaven, like the one that cast Lucifer out, has broken out again. Viggo was given some great lines of dialogue in this one.
Angel Heart
Robert De Niro plays the rather cheesily named Louis Cyphre in this dark thriller. He can peel an egg with his pinkey finger and takes great delight in playing games with Mickey Rourke’s character. It is a fairly creepy performance.
Constantine
Not the greatest of films although it is based on an excellent comic book series. In this one Peter Stormare gives a great turn as Lucifer, clad in a white suit, he looks somewhat rotten and he oozes corruption.
Devil’s Advocate
Everyone loved Al Pacino’s devil. The trouble with his portrayal of Satan is that he is so damn charismatic you can’t help rooting for him. He does become superbly vicious towards the end and he makes a great Satan.
Mr ScratchAll That Money Can Buy
You may not have heard of or seen this 1941 film but it is also known as The Devil and Daniel Webster. The devil here is called Mr Scratch and played beautifully by Walter Huston. Corrupting and mischievous Huston plays the deal making Satan with a twinkle of mischief in his eye but make no mistake he is a powerful force of evil and definitely my favourite devil ever.
