University of Tehran Press Philosophy of Religion 2008-7063 21 4 2025 03 17 Exploring the World After Death in the Horror Genre Movies from the Perspective of Religions Exploring the World After Death in the Horror Genre Movies from the Perspective of Religions 255 271 100375 10.22059/jpht.2025.371564.1006019 FA Kiana Abolhassani Department of Cinema, Faculty of Art & Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran 0009-0007-3232-5300 Mohammad Ali Safoora Department of Cinema , Faculty of Art & Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran 0000-0003-4886-2462 Amir Hasan Nedaiee Department of Cinema, Faculty of Art & Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran Journal Article 2024 01 23 This article aims to address the questions: “what is the religious criterion and effect of the presence of spirits in horror movies on the audience?” and “How can one find a semantic relation and pattern shared by the subject of afterlife in this genre?” In this article, we analyzed distinguished movies of horror genre revolving around the subject of the world after death using a qualitative approach, a combination of descriptive and analytical methods, and a review of religions. A recognition of the history of the world after death in non-monotheism religions has been achieved according to Edward Burnett Tylor theories, and in Christianity, this has been achieved according to the holy book (the Bible). As a result, it was found that horror movies with the theme of the world after death can have both indirect and direct religious functions as well as a direct allusion to a religion, because they can remind the audience of the call of death and the world after death. This article aims to address the questions: “what is the religious criterion and effect of the presence of spirits in horror movies on the audience?” and “How can one find a semantic relation and pattern shared by the subject of afterlife in this genre?” In this article, we analyzed distinguished movies of horror genre revolving around the subject of the world after death using a qualitative approach, a combination of descriptive and analytical methods, and a review of religions. A recognition of the history of the world after death in non-monotheism religions has been achieved according to Edward Burnett Tylor theories, and in Christianity, this has been achieved according to the holy book (the Bible). As a result, it was found that horror movies with the theme of the world after death can have both indirect and direct religious functions as well as a direct allusion to a religion, because they can remind the audience of the call of death and the world after death. https://jpht.ut.ac.ir/article_100375_29454f76774a6dbf9ce864cdafa1a6cf.pdf