Asmodeus in Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin is based on a real-life demon! Starting with the original found-footage film in 2009, the Paranormal Activity franchise centers on supernatural occurrences, like demonic possession. Most of the series revolves around the demon nicknamed “Toby,” a malevolent entity that spent over 20 years haunting the descendants of a witch who promised her family’s firstborn son to him in exchange for power.

Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin, meanwhile, introduces a brand new villain in the form of Asmodeus. For the first time in the series, viewers are introduced to a story completely separate from what came before, leaving behind the story that was set up by the ending of Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension in favor of a fresh new story. The film centers on Margot, a woman who was abandoned by her mother at birth and is making a documentary about her journey to find out where she came from after her cousin reaches out to her through an ancestry website. This journey leads her to what appears to be an Amish village that protects the world from Asmodeus, an ancient demon that would threaten the entire world if he escaped.

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Asmodeus in Next of Kin is a very different demon from what viewers have seen before in the franchise; not only does he seem more powerful than the main Paranormal Activity demon entity Toby, but Asmodeus is also based on real-life Abrahamic dogma. According to Brittanica.com, Asmodeus is a powerful demon who shows up in the Book of Tobit. Asmodeus falls in love with Raguel’s daughter Sarah, and kills anyone who tries to marry her so he can have her for himself. Tobias, Sarah’s eighth potential suitor, finally rendered Asmodeus powerless with help from the angel Rafael.

Asmodeus also shows up in Christian works, where he’s called the Prince of lechery, or the demon of lust. This version of Asmodeus is one of the kings of hell under Lucifer himself. He appears handsome and well dressed, with one leg that’s clawed at the end. This version of Asmodeus isn’t seen as outright monstrous, but rather playful and mischievous, in some cases even charming. Those watching the Paranormal Activity movie may find the name Asmodeus familiar: The demon has appeared throughout popular culture due to his importance in Abrahamic dogma. Asmodeus is usually portrayed as a vile demon, often in place of Lucifer or acting in his service. For example, he was a recurring villain in Supernatural season 13.

Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin cleverly adopts the lore around Asmodeus by having the demon connected to Margot’s mother, Sarah. While it seems the franchise set him up to be the main villain of the series moving forward, Paranormal Activity 8, titled The Other Side, actually returns the story to Katie Featherstone, and likely “Toby” will be the main antagonistic force. Still, Asmodeus may factor in in some way — especially after Next of Kin‘s ending showed Asmodeus to be far more dangerous and terrifying than anything seen in the franchise before.

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Rob Fernandez
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Rob is a writer who has always had a passion from movie and TV: from Star Wars to the MCU to The Good Place, he can’t get enough of it. Rob is very excited to be working for Screenrant and can’t wait to start writing about a subject he’s deeply passionate about.

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