S 4.6 Catholic Horror with Matthew J. Cressler

In observance of the spooky season we're posting our conversation with historian Matthew J. Cressler on the relationship between Catholicism and horror cinema. We explore the sub-genre of Catholic Horror through our analysis of two recent films centering on the Italian exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth (1925-2016): William Friedkin’s (!) documentary The Devil and Father Amorth (2017) and Julius Avery’s horror/dramedy/superhero film The Pope’s Exorcist (2023). The conversation was enlightening and just a delight. Please be on the lookout for all of Matthew’s great work on Catholicism and horror:

“The Netflix Series That Should Make Religious People Uncomfortable” The Atlantic, 10/25/21 (on Midnight Mass)

“Exorcists, Abusers, and When Catholic History is Horror” The Revealer, 05/10/22

“You Can’t Have a Catholic Imagination without Horror” U.S. Catholic, 10/28/22

And the man’s making comics about this at Bad Catholics / Good Trouble !