The Devil - scary or played out?

In the late 1960's through the end of the 1970's the dominating subject matter in most major-relase horror films seemed to center around subject matter related to the occult and demonic possession, but more specifically - The Devil. By the 1980's, there were still movies featuring the Devil as the main antagonist, but the predominate subject matter had switched to slasher flicks. It can not be denied though that, in the 1970's, Lucifer was king of the box office!

Major classics like "The Exorcist", "The Omen", and "Rosemary's Baby" capitalized on the subject matter and created a public hysteria that still resonates to this day, but it doesn't stop there. The act od devil worship and satanic cults was something that frightened every staunch American Christian and the subject became to the audiences of the 70's what the threat of nuclear war had become to the audiences of the 1950's. Movies like "The Amityville Horror", "The Dunwhich Horror", "Burnt Offerings", "The Omen II", "The Seventh Sign" and "Exorcist: The Heretic" all capitalized on this and the subject matter had the money rolling in for the major studios as petrified Christians flocked to the movie theaters to witness some of their greatest fears on the big screen.

Although the 1990's and even the new millenium have offered up some films for consideration like "End of Days", "The Devils Advocate", "The Ninth Gate", and "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" - none of those films generated even a tenth of the buzz that "The Exorcist" generated in 1974 when it had audience members puking in the lobbies, passing out in the aisles and left with a general sense of extreme fear and paranoia - swearing that they themselves were possessed! So, my question is - does the idea of the Devil even scare audiences like they did 30 years ago? IT certainly can be looked upon as a sign of the times - maybe people are just not as "Dumb" as they were 30 years ago and the idea of "The Devil", a red horned demon with a forked taila nd cloven hooves just seems a bit silly to them now and although the theoretical idea of Hell still scares the bejeezus out of most Christians, the old age symbolism of a red devil presiding over a firey pit of torture and despair may be a bit hokey and VERY unrealistic.