The Horror Movie That Invented a Pagan God
A lot of horror movies are inspired by paganism in some way. One horror movie took things a step further by inventing a new pagan god. The film reinforced a lot of widespread perceptions of ancient paganism.
This horror movie is about a fake pagan god who preys on children
One of the best horror movies of the 2010s is Sinister. The movie stars Ethan Hawke as an author who finds a box of mysterious Super 8 films in his attic. The films each depict a different small child killing all the members of their families. He comes to believe that the killings were the work of a Babylonian pagan deity called Bughuul, who was the basis for the boogeyman. Supposedly, early Christians were terrified of images of Bughuul, because they felt that they could help the god enter the physical world and possess children. The film has some pretty terrifying moments.
While the film’s internal mythology is interesting, it has nothing to do with any pagan gods. The Babylonians did not worship a god called Bughuul. However, Bughuul still aligns with the popular perception of pagan deities.
This horror movie seems to be inspired by various theories
Some have claimed that Santa Claus is based on the Norse god Odin. There are also conspiracy theorists who have claimed Jesus Christ is derived from pagan deities such as the Egyptian god Horus, the Greek god Dionysus, or the Roman god Mithras. With this in mind, it makes sense that Sinister would show the boogyman as having similar origins, even though that is patently false.
Furthermore, pagan deities have been portrayed as dangerous, particularly to children. For example, the Bible says the Canaanites sacrificed babies to a god called Moloch. Sinister‘s Bughuul is, in a sense, a distant descendent of Moloch.
The writer of ‘Sinister’ explained how pagan gods inspired him
During a 2012 interview with Love Horror, writer C. Robert Cargill was asked what inspired him to pen the screenplay for Sinister. “A nightmare, believe it or not,” he said. “I had a terrible dream after seeing The Ring. I was climbing into my attic when I saw a box with Super 8 films and a projector in it. I spooled up the first film and it was the opening image of Sinister. That nightmare stuck with me for a while and eventually I realized it might make a for a pretty good horror movie.”
Cargill said that he drew influence from old horror films while writing Sinister. “I’m a long-time horror fan,” he said. “My wife and I spend most weekends sifting through Netflix to find horror movies one or both of us haven’t yet seen. Inspirations for the film chiefly come from The Changeling, The Ring (for obvious reasons), Blowup, Hardcore, and an obscure little piece of nasty cinema called Devil Times Five.”
He also did some research while creating Bughuul. “The only real research I did was part of my normal routine anyway: reading books on folklore, demonology, and the occult,” he revealed. “I’m fascinated by religious folklore and mythology and spent a week specifically reading to get inspiration for Bughuul.”
Bughuul is not based on an actual pagan deity — but a lot of viewers still found it convincing.
