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Evil aired its final episode this week (probably), which means there’s nowhere to turn for your infusion of priests and nuns, shadowy Vatican operatives, Antichrist figures, sarcastic skeptics, and conniving Satanists getting in each other’s way as they battle the forces of good and evil. Except, well, that’s not true! Those are much-loved themes in film and TV, and while Evil did them in its own wonderfully quirky way, it did sometimes tread familiar ground.
Here are 10 more places to turn, if you want a break from re-watching Evil‘s four seasons on Paramount+.
The Pope’s Exorcist
The timelines don’t quite add up—Russell Crowe’s irreverent Father Amorth, based on the Pope’s real-life personal exorcist, is a mid-1980s dude. But it’s still tempting to imagine him showing up to the Vatican one day and meeting the newest members of his team: Evil‘s Father Acosta (Mike Colter) and Dr. Bouchard (Katja Herbers). They’re newly arrived in Rome, but they’re well-trained in Amorth’s primary area of interest: chasing demons out of humans and back to hell. Stream on Netflix.
The Exorcist TV series
Obviously, The Exorcist movies are very Evil-adjacent, but the Ben Daniels-led TV series, which ran for two seasons across 2016 and 2017, is also an ideal companion piece. Imagine if Evil starred two priests instead of a trio of assessors (including one priest, of course), and followed a single case over a season rather than digging into a monster of the week, with the added intrigue of loosely tying into the movie franchise. Both shows are equally character-driven and both are genuinely scary. Stream on Hulu.
Stigmata
In this 1999 release, Gabriel Byrne plays a Jesuit priest in the business of investigating and/or debunking miracles; the Vatican gets involved when he’s drawn into the case of a woman (Patricia Arquette) who’s suddenly sprouted stigmata-like wounds, and is spewing mysterious phrases in Aramaic. There’s a big conspiracy and cover-up, not unlike the frustratingly murky practices of Evil‘s Entity, who’d prefer you did not refer to them as the Vatican’s secret service. Stream on Tubi.
The Borderlands (also known as Final Prayer)
The Borderlands, also released under the title Final Prayer, is a cut-above 2013 British found-footage film about a trio of men—a priest, a religious brother, and a techie (swap in “psychologist” for “religious brother” and you have Evil‘s team make-up)—who’re sent by the Vatican to investigate disturbing reports coming out of an ancient church. Strange sounds, strange occurrences, people doing strange things—you know it’s all leading up to something, but you’ll never guess what happens in its truly shocking final scenes. Stream on Tubi.
Prince of Darkness
io9’s retro review of this John Carpenter classic highlighted how it contains “one of the most disturbing depictions of evil ever,” and it also has a plot that wouldn’t be too out of place on Evil, as a priest teams up with a physics professor and his students to study what may very well be Satan in liquid form. There are plot holes and some unhinged energy afoot, but Prince of Darkness—stocked with a cast of Carpenter regulars, including Halloween’s Donald Pleasence—will haunt you all the same. Rent or buy on Prime Video.
Rosemary’s Baby
The Julia Garner-starring Rosemary’s Baby prequel, Apartment 7A, is coming to (where else?) Paramount+ soon, but if you’re already in a Satanic baby mood thanks to Evil‘s little Timothy, there’s no better place to go than the original. In 2024, Timothy was carried by a willing surrogate, and created using Kristen’s stolen egg and the devil-worshiping sperm of her worst enemy. In 1968, Rosemary—assaulted by Satan, betrayed by her husband, creeped-upon by her coven of neighbors—gives birth to the great hope of the forces of evil. Different Antichrist circumstances… but both, lest we forget, have their father’s eyes. Stream on MGM+ or Paramount+.
The Omen
Speaking of Antichrist kids, you have to imagine Damien, for all his wealth and privilege, was a much more troublesome baby than sweet Timothy. Of course, Damien’s grandmother didn’t take him to be secretly baptized. Stream on Hulu.
The First Omen
This year’s The First Omen proved that even a nearly 50-year-old horror franchise still has stories worth exploring. While we’ve known since 1976 how toddler Damien turned out, we’ve also now witnessed the lead-up to that infamous baby-swap forced on the Thorn family. It’s maybe the most surprising Antichrist tale to date, even taking Evil‘s own wild narrative into account. Stream on Hulu.
The Vatican Tapes
Michael Peña, Dougray Scott, and Djimon Hounsou star in this 2015 film about a young woman (Olivia Taylor Dudley) whose miraculous return from the brink of death turns out to be… demonic, or perhaps even tied to the Antichrist. Other than the Antichrist thing, its link to Evil is its fascination with Vatican’s vast archives chronicling cases of possession over the years. Stream on Tubi.
When Evil Lurks
Sometimes, there’s no explanation. There’s no Satan, there’s no Catholic Church, there’s no Bible-toting priest with rituals to perform. Sometimes, evil just makes itself spontaneously known, then starts following you around and ruining your life and the lives of everyone around you. There’s a reason When Evil Lurks topped many “most scariest movie of the year” lists last year: it’ll get under your skin and stay there. Stream on AMC+ or Hulu.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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Cheryl Eddy
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