The Top 10 Best Movie Deities
Bow Down Before these All-Powerful Movie Deities
It’s time to gather around the altar of the multiplex as I tackle the top 10 Movie Deities of all time. Rest assured that I will remain impartial when it comes to the religious significance of the movie deities chosen for this list, and I’ve set a few rules in place to ensure exactly that. 1) Only one version of any god will be allowed on this list. 2) Only one god per film or franchise. 3) Entries must be referred to specifically as a God in the film or must be one from an established religion (past or present). Demi-gods, servants (aka angels or demons), or harbingers are not eligible for this list. 4) The deity has to have a physical form, no disembodied voices. 5) I’m sticking to live-action movie deities for this list, though a future animated movie deities list isn’t out of the question, and I will have a special animated shout-out at the end. So, get together some offerings and say your prayers, because it’s time to pay homage to the top 10 movie deities of all time!
10. The Ancient Ones- Cabin in the Woods
I’m getting a little Lovecraftian with the first entry on this list of movie deities. It might seem like a bit of a stretch to include them, but hear me out. First off, the Ancient Ones are exactly that, a race of gigantic beings from before mankind, kind of like, say, the titans. There is a massive organization that performs rituals in order to appease these Ancient Ones to keep humanity alive, kind of like, say, organized religion. Ergo, since they are enormous titans with an organized religion built around them, they are most definitely movie deities. While we don’t get a good look at these ancient gods in Cabin in the Woods, we’re filled in on all the gruesome details about what their reawakening will mean for mankind. Besides, that giant hand at the end of the film definitely satisfies rule number 4.
9. Raiden- Mortal Kombat
On the one hand, casting Christopher Lambert as a Japanese deity feels a bit on the cringy side (that could change soon though). On the other hand, Mortal Kombat is one of the few decent video game movies out there. It was a tough call, but I eventually settled on giving the character a spot on this list because you don’t see many movie deities from Asian folklore. It wasn’t just for the “diversity” though. Raiden is the God of Lightning, making him plenty powerful in his own right but is also one of the few movie deities out there that really seems to give a damn about what happens to mankind. When the fate of the Earth is set to be determined by a fighting tournament, Raiden jumps in to help find the mortals that will have the best chance at winning. Despite being officially barred from Mortal Kombat, Raiden does all he can behind the scenes to help the humans out, making him a truly benevolent god.
8. Bughuul- Sinister and Sinister II
Just because a being is a god doesn’t make them a “good guy.” The Ancient Ones were only the first of the evil movie deities on this list. Bughuul is a very dark and very scary Pegan deity with one twisted MO. He kills entire families, except for one child who he takes with him in order to feed on their soul for all eternity. At least that’s what Occult lore specialist Professor Jonas tells us. He’s also sure to add that early Christians believed that Bughuul was able to travel through images featuring his likeness, including paintings, pictures, and, you guessed it, movies. Bughuul might not be as big as some of the other gods on this list, but he’s definitely the more chilling. You might also remember the alias that children use for him, Mr. Boogie. So, is Bughuul the original boogie man? Your guess is as good as mine, but either way, he’s not the kind of god I want to meet in a dark alley.
7. Hermes- Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
The Percy Jackson films are full of figures from Greek mythology from Zeus to Hades and everyone in between. That’s why, when I started pulling together this list of movie deities, they were some of the first films I looked to. So, why Hermes? I mean, the guy is a relatively trivial member of the Greek Pantheon and pretty much works as the emissary/delivery boy of the gods. His job should have become obsolete with the invention of email. Instead, this version of Hermes (Nathan Fillion) adapted to the times. He’s taken his messenger job to the next level and uses his incredible speed to deliver magical packages around the world in a blink of an eye. When it absolutely, positively had to be there yesterday, Hermes is the only name to trust in the delivery biz. He might not be one of the heavy hitters in Greek mythology, but he’s also the least likely to curse humans or accidentally sire monster babies with them (see Minotaur).
6. Aries- Wonder Woman
Just a heads up; you’re in for a few more big screen Greco-Roman gods on this list of movie deities. What can I say, Hollywood just loves those guys. Next up we have the God of War himself, Ares (David Thewlis). He’s shown up in a few movies over the years, but his biggest moment was when he joined the DCEU in Wonder Woman. It turns out the big guy was pulling the strings behind the scenes to propel mankind towards World War I, which makes sense because that’s kind of his whole deal. Still, you can understand how some people might see him as the bad guy in all that, which is why Wonder Woman went after him. So far we’ve seen some pretty scary deities on this list, but Aries is the first one that really embodies a celestial fury that is truly terrifying. Let’s just say, the guy really makes an impression.