The Demonologist is a 2019 American horror film.
Damien Seryph is a detective investigating a series of ritualistic homicides. As it turns out, they're being committed by a cult led by one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who seeks to bring the other three to Earth. As Damien pieces together the mystery, he uncovers secrets about his own past and occult abilities of his own.
This is not the same as the co-op video game (with the same name).
This film contains examples of:
- And the Adventure Continues: Damien banishes Abatu back to Hell, but the Order is still around and has Molech's dybbuk box. However, he has taken up demon hunting full time and is hunting them down.
- Angel Unaware: Damien has no idea until late in the movie that he's a descendant of Lucifer.
- Apocalypse Cult: The Order, who summon Abatu to Earth in an attempt to control him and bring the world to its knees. However, Evil Is Not a Toy and Abatu is clearly running the show.
- Big Bad: Abatu, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who leads a cult in trying to summon the others to Earth.
- Big Bad Friend: Garrison, Damien's partner on the force, is part of the Order and was sent to throw Damien off the trail. He mentions being sincere in not wanting to have to kill him, but that doesn't stop him from trying.
- Big Good: Paimon, an agent of Lucifer who guards the Seryph bloodline and guides them to thwart the Order's schemes.
- Blood Bath: Abatu sustains his human vessel by bathing in the blood of young women.
- "Darkness von Gothick" Name: Damien Seryph
- Evil Old Folks: Due to an Age Without Youth curse, Terric is a withered old man who can't speak above a whisper.
- Fan Disservice: Abatu's human vessel gets two full frontal scenes, one of which immediately after getting possessed and the other while committing a brutal murder.
- Greater-Scope Paragon: Lucifer, of all people, started the Seryph and Parrish bloodlines to protect humanity from the Four Horsemen. When the Parrish line fell, Lucifer had his agent Paimon guide the Seryphs to stop them. Despite all this influence, he never shows up in person.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Abatu has three brothers, Abbadon, Leviathan and Molech, whom he seeks to set upon the Earth, but they don't show up in person.
- Heroic Lineage: Lucifer sired two children to battle the Four Horsemen throughout the centuries. Seryph is the latest in this bloodline, though ironically one of those brothers founded the Order that does Abatu's work.
- Historical Rap Sheet: Order agent Ian Parrish committed the Jack the Ripper slayings in one attempt to summon Abatu.
- Horsemen of the Apocalypse: They seceded from Lucifer's legions to pursue their own agenda. One of them is the Big Bad.
- Immortality Immorality: Abatu managed to convince one of Lucifer's sons to summon him to Earth in ancient times by promising immortality. However, this was Age Without Youth, though he does control the Order.
- Job Title: Also a Protagonist Title.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Paimon forced Damien to forget killing his own father as a child due to a botched exorcism because it was too traumatic.
- Our Demons Are Different: These are green-skinned horned humanoids who can manifest as a black smoke to possess humans. While they are in human vessels, they can keep them young by bathing in blood. Their blood can grant Age Without Youth.
- Protagonist Title: Job Title-type.
- Psychic-Assisted Suicide: Damien uses his demon powers to force Garrison to shoot himself.
- Sadist: Abatu, a General of Hell who betrayed Lucifer with his brothers, and has spent the ensuing millennia trying to destroy the world for giggles. He shows no care for his brothers beyond a shared love of destruction, and doesn't even blink when his cultists die. Meanwhile, he enjoys violence, being borderline orgasmic when killing people.
- Satan Is Good: Lucifer himself started the Heroic Lineage to battle the Horsemen.
- Villain Opening Scene: The cult summoning Abatu to possess a woman.
