Hey guys, Prometheus here and welcome back to FRIGHT FIGHT FRIDAY! Today we have two of my favorite demons in all of cinema ready to face off for your enjoyment! THE KANDARIAN DEMON VS AZAZEL! If you’re new to the series, click here for a quick rundown of the rules! To catch up on past fights, click here and type in FRIGHT FIGHT FRIDAY! Let’s take a look at our competitors!
KANDARIAN DEMON
In case you’re reading this and by some odd chance are not a horror fan, or by some even weirder chance you’re a horror fan but have never heard of the Evil Dead, let me introduce you to the Kandarian Demon.
In the Evil Dead universe, evil spirits possess people and turn them into manic, demon-infested, zombie-like creatures called deadites. In short, think of the Kandarian Demon as the man behind the curtain, controlling all those deadites.
Created, or tamed by the Dark One’s (AKA the Old Ones, or Great Old Ones) long before man roamed the Earth and then banished by Ruby (who was a Dark One and yes, there’s a Lovecraft connection, but we won’t go down that rabbit hole) the author of the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. It was left in a sleep-like state until being awoken in 1300 AD (Army of Darkness, AKA Evil Dead 3) where it preyed on the men of King Arthur and Henry the Red until a time-traveling Ash showed up. He had already battled the demon in the future ‘80s (Evil Dead 1 and 2) and was ready to do it again!
Of course, we all know the demon is reawakened in the ‘80s by Professor Raymond Knowby while translating pages of the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. It can take a physical and nonphysical form. Both are capable of flight. In its nonphysical form, it can travel undetected like the wind and is invulnerable to any conventional form of attack but when in physical form, it can be harmed to an extent. Its main power is being able to create deadites out of just about anything from living beings to plants and even inanimate objects, such as dolls. It also controls several other demons, including the 60 ft. tall Kandar the Destroyer.
It’s only two weaknesses are said to be the Kandarian Dagger and the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis itself. This thing is no damn joke.
AZAZEL
Another contender in this bracket who has roots in actual demonology is Azazel from “Fallen.” Azazel is a famous fallen angel named heavily in the Dead Sea Scrolls (specifically the Enochic “Book of Giants”) as one of the leaders of the rebellious “Watchers.” Known as the “corruptor of man,” he supposedly taught men the art of warfare and weapon crafting, while teaching women the art of deception “by ornamenting the body, dyeing the hair, and painting the face and the eyebrows.” He also taught man the art of witchcraft, leading them astray.
“The whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.”
— Book of Enoch 10:8
Of course, this same story is also told in Genesis, without mention of Azazel. His name also appears in the Bible in association with the scapegoat rite. (Burning a goat that is burdened with the sins of others.) With tons of mythology surrounding Azazel, I will take all of it into account, but we will be focusing on the Azazel from “Fallen.”
In “Fallen,” Azazel can travel from person to person (or being to being) through touch. In the film, you never get to see Azazel’s actual form, but you do get to see through his eyes as he passes from person to person. His affection for the tune “Time Is on My Side,” by the Rolling Stones is the main give away someone is possessed by him. (There’s an awesome scene in the film where Azazel taunts Hobbes, played by Denzel Washington, in the precinct by possessing his friend, then passing from person to person as each subsequent one continues a line of the song.)
Azazel’s powers also include super strength and he seems to have an intimate knowledge of his victims. His main weakness is that he needs a body to inhabit our world. It works like this: He can pass through touch no problem. However, if his host is killed, he will automatically be able to inhabit the closest being to him within a reasonable distance. If unable to do so in a certain amount of time, he will perish from our world. Almost like suffocating. The exact distance or time is never defined but at the end of the film, Hobbe’s plan to destroy Azazel is to smoke a cigarette laced with poison. Being that they are the only two left in the woods for miles, this would leave Azazel stranded with no body. If you’ve seen the film, you know it isn’t that simple though. Azazel reappears as a possessed cat from under the cabin…
“I wanna tell you about the time I almost died…” – Azazel
FIGHT
The rain pounds against the asphalt as he reaches into his coat for his gun. The night sky is as black as ink, with not a star to be seen. The moon hides behind thick, stubborn clouds as the wind whips globs of icy rain against his face. The life of a detective.
It isn’t a life he regrets per se, but as he lies in wait outside of this seedy motel, soaked to the bone; it sure as hell isn’t a life he would recommend to his son. Or to anybody’s son, for that matter. No, this was a life you had to be built for. You had to be tough. Putting men down like dogs, even the worst of them, will weigh heavy on your conscience. His Chief told him that years ago. He said if it didn’t weigh on your conscience, you’re just as bad as they are. Only difference is the badge.
So, here he is. The man on the other side of the motel room door, he’s one of the worst of them all right. Killed several young women in the surrounding areas, and in brutal fashion. He tracked him to this motel, all signs point to him having a girl with him now. He had no illusions about her still being alive at this point, but his crime would not go unpunished. Not this time. Still, his gun is heavy as he prepares to kick the door open.
Most men wouldn’t come alone. They would bring their partner or call for back up, but two weeks ago, the man inside killed his partner. This was personal and back up might get in the way. He takes a deep breath, releasing the safety on his firearm. Showtime…
The door kicks open easily, the man inside is hunkered over the abused body of a young woman. He jumps up surprised, blood stains cover his hands and t-shirt. A knife is still clenched in his right hand as he spins toward the detective.
“You!” The man exclaims, recognizing him from two weeks prior.
“Drop the knife! Hands in the air, now you son of a bitch!” The detective’s voice is firm and loud.
“But detective, I’m not done playing with her.”
“You move an inch; I’ll shoot you where you stand.”
The man sings softly as the detective aims his weapon. “Ti- i-i-ime is on my side. Yes, it is.”
“We’ll see about that, asshole.” The gunshot from the .45 is deafening as it cracks like thunder in the small motel room. The man with the knife falls backward, a large piece of his skull now missing. Grey matter and blood decorate the almost white wall behind him, like some macabre piece of abstract art.
The smell of freshly burnt gunpowder is soothing as the detective lowers his weapon and places two warm fingers against the young woman’s neck. Still alive, but barely. He made it just in time. Hopefully, she can hang on a bit longer. No time for an ambulance, so he gently lifts her and places her over his shoulder. Her blood stains his coat as it runs down the front and back.
“Don’t you die on me, the hospital isn’t far.” He speaks mostly to himself as he carries her out to his car. “You’re gonna be alright, kid.”
Three Weeks Later…
“Jamie,” the voice interrupts her thoughts. “Are you going to hit this or what?”
“Yeah, sorry. Just have a lot on my mind.” She takes the joint, hits it, and passes it on.
“That’s why we’re here,” replies Jen. “To help you forget about what happened and hopefully have some fun.”
“I know. It’s just…”
“It’s just what?” Amy passes the joint back to Jen, blowing out smoke as she talks.
“I mean, a cabin in the woods guys, really?” Jamie looks at her two friends. “Not really my kind of thing.”
She had been in a medically induced coma for three days after being attacked. She didn’t remember any of it when she woke up in the hospital. Except for the detective’s voice telling her it would be alright. She would have thought it a dream if the nurse hadn’t given her his card. Said he came to see if she was OK and left it for her. She was going to call. Eventually. Once she figured out what to say.
“Oh, come on,” says Jen. “It’s already getting late. Plus, it’s just us, a bunch of alcohol and some weed. What could go wrong?”
“A lot, actually.”
“Guys, quick! Come and look what I found,” Mike, Jen’s boyfriend calls out from the basement.
Jamie laughs. “See what I mean?”
A moment later Mike comes running up through the hatch in the middle of the floor, obviously impatient to share his discovery. He slams an old book down on the table. “Boom! Look at that baby!”
Dust rises from it as if it hasn’t been opened in ages. The cover looks like some kind of leather with a horrible, twisted face carved into it.
“What in the actual fuck is that, Michael?” Jen’s voice is sharp and annoyed.
“I don’t know. It’s like an old book of spells or something. It’s fucken weird.”
“Yeah, and creepy. Get it the hell out of here!”
“No way! Look how cool this thing is. It must be crazy old!” Mike picks it up and flips to a page in the middle. “I think it’s Latin, and it looks like it’s written in… well, blood.”
“That’s freaking disgusting,” says Jamie!
Mike begins to read the words on the page, somehow pronouncing them correctly.
“That’s not funny, Mike. Cut the shit.” Jen punches him in the arm, but he keeps reading out loud, faster and faster. The pages begin flipping on their own as he continues. The front door bursts open and Mike is flung back off his feet by what seems like a huge gust of wind.
“Mike!” Jen runs to him, helping him up.
“What’s wrong with his eyes?” Amy grabs Jamie’s arm. “Do you see his eyes?”
“Mike?” Jen’s heart shatters as she looks at his sunken-in eyes and rotting, jagged teeth.
“Give me some sugar, baby,” says Mike as he pulls Jen close, biting her upper lip. His sharp teeth rip through her flesh easily as he jerks his head, tearing her lip from her face and spitting it on to the cabin floor with a maniacal laugh.
Jen collapses to her knees screaming in shock, her face in her hands as blood drips from between them, then pools on the floor where she’s kneeling.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, Mike?” Amy’s voice is frantic and high.
“I don’t think that’s Mike,” answers Jamie. “Not anymore.”
“All of you are going to die here,” says Mike flatly as he collapses on to the floor.
Jamie runs over to Jen, lifting her to her feet. “We gotta go!”
“Jen? Don’t leave me…” It’s Mike’s normal voice. He’s curled up on the floor in the fetal position. Jen stops sobbing for a moment, then speaking the best she can with just a lower lip, she replies, “I’m not going to leave you, baby, it’s OK.” Blood drips down her face as she talks in sloshy slurs.
She walks over to him slowly; tears are welling up in her eyes. “Are you, OK?”
“I am now.”
“Jen, don’t! It could be a trick…” Jamie tries reaching for her but is too late. As she approaches Michael reaches up, pulling Jen to the ground. Quickly he is on top of her, biting into her face repeatedly and spitting the chunks of bloody flesh on to the cold floor.
Amy tries pushing the monster off her friend, but it reaches back and slaps her hard enough to send her flying into the wall, knocking her unconscious. Holding Jen down, it continues to chew into her softer parts. Her face first, then neck, moving down toward her breasts and then stomach. It takes large pieces with every bite, as if ravenously hungry until Jen’s screams eventually stop.
Mike looks up at Jamie. His twisted smile is something straight out of a nightmare. Blood is smeared around his mouth and flesh is visibly stuck between his decaying teeth. Jamie makes a run for the kitchen, grabbing a butcher knife. Mike gives chase and she stabs him in the gut, then removes the blade. He comes forward again, so she stabs it into his neck this time, spraying blood all over her face. Mike falls to the ground, twitches a few times, and is still. For now.
“We’re gonna get you…” The voice sounds like several people speaking at once. Some men, some women, and some children. She can’t place where it’s coming from, then she realizes that’s because it’s coming from everywhere. And possibly nowhere.
“What do you want?”
Suddenly, Amy begins to twitch.
“Oh, no. No, no, no!”
Amy stands up, her eyes a crazy yellow color, her nails suddenly long and unkept. Her body spasms, as if involuntarily as she moves toward Jamie.
“Amy, what are you doing?”
“Amy can’t hear you, bitch.” The voice is demonic and awful. “She’s busy being raped in Hell!” She charges at Jamie, but Jamie is able to grab a pan off the stove and smash her across the face with it, knocking her to the floor. She snatches the book off the table and runs outside to the shed.
Pulling a card out of her pocket, she dials the number on her cell phone.
“Hello, this is Detective Perroni.”
“Detective, this is Jamie Baker.”
“Jamie! How are you? I heard you made a full recovery!”
“I need your help! Somethings trying to kill me!”
“Jamie, slow down. Who’s trying…”
“I’m sending you my coordinates on Google Maps, get here fast. Please!”
She sends the coordinates and looks around the shed for a weapon. An old chainsaw sits on the table in the back but is probably too heavy for her to lift. She opens the book, looking for a way to defeat whatever Amy had become.
She finds what she is looking for, but it turns her stomach. According to the book, the only way to defeat one of these things is total dismemberment or by burying it alive.
She can hear footsteps getting closer to the shed. She picks up the chainsaw, and with a hope and a prayer, pulls the cord. It almost starts but sputters out as Amy crashes through the door. Jamie tries again, pulling as hard as she can on the cord this time. It starts up with a whir and she lifts it wildly into the air as Amy closes in on her.
Jamie can’t hold the weight up and the blade comes down hard on Amy’s face, tearing into her skull and sending pieces of bone and brains all over the room. As Amy falls to the floor, Jamie remembers what the book said and begins to sob.
She lifts the saw again, this time dropping the heavy blade on to Amy’s left leg. “I’m so sorry, Amy,” she cries as she saws through the thick bone. Blood sprays her face like the backsplash of a water ride. She cuts through her right leg next, then removes both her arms. The blood is thick and spills from under the door of the shed. As she goes to bring the saw down on her neck to remove her head, Amy speaks.
“Jamie, stop. You’re hurting me. I thought we were friends.”
“Shut up. I know that isn’t really you.”
“Of course, it’s me, Jamie. Please, stop. You’re killing me.”
“You’re already dead.” She brings the saw down on her neck and with another generous spray of blood, removes Amy’s head and then collapses to the ground crying hysterically. After a few moments, she gets herself together the best she can and drags the chainsaw to the cabin, looking for Mike.
She enters the kitchen, but Mike is gone. His blood is still on the floor, but his body is not. As she begins to panic, Mike charges from behind her holding a knife. The same one she lodged in his neck not long ago. He stabs it deep into her shoulder, twisting it as he pushes it in.
“We’re gonna tear your soul apart!”
She swings the chainsaw, lodging the blade into the middle of his forehead. “Tear this, asshole!” She pulls the cord with everything she has, starting the saw back up. It kicks to life, carving its way deep into his skull, splitting it entirely in two. She pulls the saw out of his neck and lets him fall forward. She then repeats the dismemberment process, removing every limb just as the book said.
She sits on the floor, holding her knees, rocking back and forth laughing, covered in her friends’ blood from head to toe. Her grip on sanity becoming ever so loose.
“You killed your friends, Jamie. Good job,” says the voice from everywhere and nowhere.
“Is that what you wanted?” Jamie stands up, looking around the room. “Huh?”
“This was all for you, Jamie.” Jen’s voice is soft and comforting. “All for you.”
“No, not you too.” Jamie turns around to see Jen standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Her cheeks have been chewed down to the bone, along with her lips and her neck. Large pieces of flesh were missing from her mid-section and belly. It was painful to look at.
“Jesus H Christ,” says Jamie as she lifts the saw again. “Jen, you really need a facelift girl.” The saw connects with Jen’s neck first, lobbing off her head. It rolls to the side as Jamie cuts into Jen’s left leg. “I thought we were best friends,” says Jen’s severed head. “You’re not Jen,” replies Jamie. “And we’re not fucking friends!”
As she’s removing Jen’s last limb, her right arm, Detective Perroni kicks open the front door. “What the fuck…”
Jen looks up, her eyes wild and as wide as the moon. Her entire body is covered in blood and she’s panting. She hears his voice, an instant source of comfort and drops the saw. She immediately starts balling into his arms.
“It’s OK, I’m here now.” He whistles as he strokes her hair, but she can’t place the tune. Then it dawns on her.
“That was the song he was singing. How did you… how could you know?”
“Jamie, you’re in shock.” He reaches for her shoulder, but she slaps his hand away.
“No! Get away!” She lifts the saw again, waving it in his direction. Detective Perroni sidesteps and knocks her into the wall hard. She falls to the ground, dropping the saw to the floor. Blood drips from her head as she begins to twitch. After a moment, the twitching becomes more pronounced and violent. The sound of bones cracking can be heard as her body contorts.
“I will make sure you burn in the deepest parts of hell!” She runs toward Detective Perroni but he lifts her off the ground and easily throws her into the wall.
Jamie stands up, her face now rotten. Her teeth sharp and broken. Her eyes bright yellow. “Azazel, you stand no chance. Leave before I tear you to pieces.”
Azazel removes Detective Peroni’s gun from the holster, emptying the clip into Jamie’s chest. This blows her back off her feet but has little effect on her. She stands back up and cracks her neck sideways, making a sick popping sound. He charges forward, ready to attack.
“Azazel, you dare challenge me? You forget something…” Jamie grabs Azazel and snaps Detective Perroni’s neck immediately. “You need a live body, or you suffocate. Is that how it works?”
Azazel is expelled from the detective’s body, and frantically searches the room in his ethereal form for a warm body to inhabit. “See, that’s the difference between us. I don’t need this stinking meat puppet to survive.” Jamie walks over to the chainsaw and picks it up once again. “You will always be inferior as long as you rely on them to inhabit this world.”
Jamie starts the chainsaw. “Have fun dying Azazel. Maybe you’ll get lucky and find a rat you can sneak into.” She brings the chainsaw down on the top of her skull, laughing as it cuts through the thick bone. As Azazel flees in ethereal form, desperately trying to find a living animal to slide into, Jamie’s cold, lifeless body falls to the floor. The voice from everywhere and nowhere laughs contently as the wind howls outside.
KANDARIAN DEMON
Let me just say this… There is absolutely no freaking way in hell Azazel from “Fallen” beats the Kandarian Demon. Ain’t happening. Sorry Azazel fans, but let’s break it down.
Sure, Azazel is powerful. No question. He’s an actual demon with tons of mythos surrounding him, too. Here’s the thing. The Kandarian Demon isn’t real, but we still need to treat his mythos as if he were. That being said, if the Kandarian Demon was an actual entity it’s power would be immense. This is a demon that can not only create deadites out of freaking anything but also controls other demons. Including the 60-foot-tall Kandar the Destroyer from the Ash Vs Evil Dead finale. (No that was not the actual Kandarian Demon. We see the Kandarian demon’s true form only once, in Evil Dead 2.) This thing goes back and according to the lore, is one of the most powerful entities ever. Sorry Azazel, but no freaking way.
I decided to make the story longer and the fight kind of short on this one because honestly, a fight between Azazel and the Kandarian demon wouldn’t last long. The Kandarian Demon would know his weakness and exploit it, as in this story. I couldn’t see a fight between these two going any further than that. What do you think out there, fellow horror geeks? Am I way off? Yell at me in the comments below!
See you next week for our Evil Spirits bracket Semi-Final Round # 1, BAAL (The Rite) VS PAZUZU (The Exorcist)!!! Until next time, keep on geekin’ on, my friends!
Joshua “Prometheus” Scafidi
*If you enjoy my writing download my short story, "The Mirror" for Kindle!
