31 DEVIANT DAYS: Film Phobias - D

D is for Demonophobia - Fear of demons.

This is a fear that I am pretty familiar with. Tho, I understand it to be completely irrational...it is something that shakes me to my core. Ladies and Deviants...I am afraid of Demons.

A little history on demons before we begin our malevolent journey into the abyss.

The word "demon" actually comes from the Greek word "eudaimonia"...which, in fact, means happiness or good-spirited. Kind of interesting when given its more modern definition. The negative connotations didn't really come into play until certain translations of the bible, in which it cites mythology and medieval occultist concepts. The demon is an evil spirit with the power to possess the living. It is this very belief that has brought on such wide-spread superstition and has created a whole sub-genre of film. Films that have provided plenty of material for a pretty common fear called Demonophobia.

Going all the way back to the very first horror film ever made...a silent French film called Le Manoir du Diable, also known as The House of the Devil or The Haunted Castle, demonic elements have been used to incorporate such horrific tactics in which to present a harrowing cinematic experience. It almost seems as if each filmmaker since has been constantly trying to one-up each other, giving us more disturbed stuff over the years. However, there has been no other film that has delivered the demonic evil quite like The Exorcist. To this day, that film still haunts the fiber of my soul.

Of course, there are many other examples of great genre films incorporating the fear of Demons to great results. Here are just a few of them.


Being the subpar sequel to one of the most iconic 80's horror films about demons is not without its merits. For one, Demons 2  is the cinematic debut of my estranged wife Asia Argento. Secondly, BOBBY RHODES. And thirdly, the film boasts one of the coolest demon-emerging-out-of-a-TV scenes ever!


If ever you find a better hot-goth-chick-transforming-into-a-demon dance scene in any other horror film...you let us know there, chief. Night of the Demons  should be in any genre fan's collection and Angela's seductive demon dance still holds up as one of the most intoxicating scenes in horror film history.


The Evil Dead  was the very first demon movie I ever watched. Technically, my mother brought me along to watch The Exorcist  with her in a theater. But, seeing as how I was still in her womb...I kinda don't remember much about that experience. Sam Raimi's film scared the hell out of me, tho. It doesn't really hold up like it did the very first time I watched Cheryl get herself all possessed by a Candarian demon way back when...but, it still has a place in my heart.


Think really hard for a moment. Has there ever in the history of motion pictures been a more disturbing delivery of a more disturbing line than when Regan MacNeil exclaims, "LET JESUS FUCK YOU!", all while jabbing a metal crucifix into her hoo hah? Me thinks not.

What other demonic horror films can you think of? Are you Demonophobic? Stay tuned for more Film Phobias all October long!

Thanks for reading,