Demons are a very specific subset of horror movie villains. Often described as a fallen angel, the term can also apply to any evil entity intent on possessing the soul of another creature. This includes inhabiting the body of another human or animal as a means of controlling the power of evil. Lord help us!
Of course, from Oscar winners to forgotten B-movies, horror films have featured demonic entities for decades. But have you ever considered which are the absolute scariest? Better yet, the most potent? Fear not friends, we have the 10 Most Powerful Demons in Horror Movies, Ranked below!
Abalam (The Last Exorcism)
One of the more genuinely unnerving demonic horror movies is the 2010 faux-documentary The Last Exorcism. The small-scale found-footage film won critics and audiences over with its convincing depiction of demonic possession.
While we don't see the demon itself, when Abalam possesses the soul of young Nell Sweetzer, the demonic power is hard to ignore. In some of the most intense possession scenes captured on film, Nell's body spasms and contorts in gravity-defying ways as Abalam violently lashes out. A documentary film crew tries to capture a religious exorcism to rid Nell's body of the demon, but the demon proves too potent to kill. Cue the sequel!
The Lamia (Drag Me To Hell)
While Drag Me To Hell adheres to Sam Raimi's slapstick sense of humor, The Lamia is still one powerful demon.
When Christine Brown denies a freaky old gypsey woman a bank loan, the woman places a curse on her. The curse includes the torment of The Lamia, a goat-like demon that is conjured in a seance held by a fortune teller. The Lamia continues to vex Christine throughout the film with one goal in mind: to drag her to hell! The Lamia may be a bit cartoonish by demonic standards, but judging by the downbeat ending, its overall power allows it to triumph!
Bughuul (Sinister)
While director Scott Derrickson did an equally spooky job with The Exorcism of Emily Rose, he took the demonic subgenre to another level with Sinister.
In the film, new homeowner Ellison Oswalt discovers a collection of disturbing video-tapes in the attic. After researching the videos, Oswalt discovers the presence of Bughuul, a child-eating demon that weirdly resembles a death-metal rocker. What makes Bughuul so domineering is its ability to possess children through the video footage that they capture.
Annabelle (The Conjuring)
The Annabelle demon in The Conjuring universe is so powerful that it's been granted a lucrative spin-off franchise. What else needs to be said?
First discovered by Ed and Lorraine Warren, the real-life paranormal investigators at the heart of The Conjuring, the demon that possesses the Annabelle doll continues its reign of terror. Of course, the potency of the demon extends beyond possessing mere mortals, but inanimate objects as well. Annabelle has horrified audiences in three standalone films.
Deadites (The Evil Dead)
As noted above, Sam Raimi is the king of demonic horror! He earned plaudits above for bringing The Lamia to life in Drag Me to Hell, but The Evil Dead is really where he made his baleful bones!
Whether it's the Deadite legion - a spate of zombified demons - or the specific Kandarian Demon, the magnitude of terror each brings cannot be denied. The same demons, conjured from the Necronomicon (aka The Book of the Dead), appear throughout the trilogy. Poor Ash (Bruce Campbell) must face off with demons of every stripe in The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and The Army of Darkness.
Lipstick-Face Demon (Insidious)
Although it resembles Darth Maul a bit too much, the odious intent of the red-faced Insidious demon is too strong to omit.
The demon in question begins tormenting the Lambert family, which is plagued by a rash of supernatural activity in their home. An amateur seance is held to summon the spirit, and soon the Lamberts learn that a dastardly demon wants to abduct their child. A race ensues to stop the potent demon before comatose son Dalton is brought to the evil realm known as "The Further."
Paimon (Hereditary)
The most recent cinematic demon on our list is no less scary than the rest! Indeed, Paimon, the duplicitous demon featured in Ari Aster's Hereditary, is one of the most devastating entities found in modern movies.
Summoned as a cult-ritual by her deceased mother, Annie (Toni Collette) must protect her family from Paimon's evil persuasions. Paimon first targets Annie's daughter, Charlie, before going after his most prized possession in her son Peter. Once Paimon infiltrates his host's body, he does unspeakable acts of horror this generation has never witnessed.
Azazel (Fallen)
Biblically speaking, Azazel in Fallen is one of the mightiest demons of all time!
One of the ways to determine the power of a demon is whether or not it outlasts the film's protagonist. Such is the case with Azazel in Fallen, which evilly outwits the great Denzel Washington in the end. Of course, the true power of Azazel is its ability to change human hosts with a passing touch. The invisible entity can assume the body of a human or animal, leaving those hunting it utterly clueless.
The Cenobites (Hellraiser)
Pinhead and his malefic minions, aka The Cenobites, are demonic hellions with a collective power unlike any. Talk about power in numbers!
Aside from their grotesque physical depiction, The Cenobites are terrifyingly potent. They come from a hellish purgatory where sadomasochism and abject torture rule the day. They do the dirty bidding of Pinhead by entering the Earthly realm when victims open a special golden box. Their goal is to drag their victims back to the violent-filled netherworld where eternal suffering takes place.
Pazuzu (The Exorcist)
Talk about head-spinning horror. No cinematic demon has ever been more potent or frightening than that of Pazuzu in The Exorcist.
The demon, which derived from an archaeological dig in the middle east, finds its way to the U.S. There, it infiltrates the body of 12-year-old Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) with the evil intention of subsuming her soul. The profane, foul-mouthed demon makes Regan do unspeakable acts of horror, including masturbating with a crucifix. Pazuzu also makes Regan's head spin 180 degrees and projectile vomit buckets of pea soup. Adjusted for inflation, the 1973 Best Picture Winner is still among the highest-grossing films ever made.