When Evil Lurks

When Evil Lurks offers a refreshingly unique take on demonic possession, portraying it as an inescapable plague — especially if you don't follow the seven rules to combat the lurking evil. This horror film is a relentless ride full of despair and hopelessness, where horrific things happen to everyone, including children. The main characters make choices that seal their grim fates, adding to the film's tension. The movie is filled with terrifying scenes, occasionally spiced with disturbingly gruesome moments that linger in your mind. The opening scene, featuring the transportation of a decaying, morbidly obese Uriel, is particularly repulsive and visceral. Demián Rugna first caught my attention with his earlier work, Aterrados, and he has now solidified his place as a distinctive horror filmmaker to watch. I hope he continues on this uncompromising horror path. (10/12/2023)

This blew me away. Unpleasant, harsh, decadent and literally delicious in genre. The idea was original and brilliant, the tension nerve-wracking and some scenes so fucking surprising and unexpectedly gritty that I almost didn't understand that finally someone made a film that breaks all genre clichés, bypasses the whole cliché and puts only the best in the film and in many cases something we haven't seen before. Two brothers in the middle of bloody nowhere find out that a member of the village is possessed by a demon, and since everyone here is a believer and knows what to do in this situation, they decide to take him as far away as possible to avoid being possessed. But everything goes wrong and the demon spreads from one person to another like a disease and the disaster begins. The ubiquitous musical score is unpleasant, the tension is in the air from the very beginning, the rules of possession are delivered in a solid, gripping and firm manner, and the film not only has no problem with the fantastic horror elements, the occasional gore (a brain evisceration, a dog attack, the opening disgusting possession…), but it doesn't mind killing children, pregnant women, animals, and doesn't shy away from just about anything. The second half of the film did lose a bit of pace and was a bit weaker compared to the first, but all in all it's still without a doubt one of the best films made in a long time. And not only in the genre, where I appreciate the originality and finally a breath of fresh air, but also in the general cinematic level, where everything from the music, the cinematography, the visuals (!!!) and above all the superficial decadence is on point, including the ending. A gem. (10/27/2023)

After so many positive first reactions, When Evil Lurks is a solid disappointment for me. The premise of demonic possession spreading like an epidemic is great, but as is unfortunately the case, the translation of a promising premise to the screen and especially the ways they chose to go with it went more and more off the rails as the minutes ticked by. Characters make bizarre decisions influenced by motives we don't understand, they disappear from the plot and reappear as the script sees fit, and the whole thing is so oddly constructed that after the climax of the entire film, I was convinced that there had to be at least one more act to follow to pull it out of its lackluster sub-par state and add some proper resolution. It didn't. (10/10/2023)

When Evil Lurks is the most original and most well-rendered manifestation of the devil on earth in many years. Though we follow only a handful of characters fleeing the devil in the vicinity of a small town, the film is of almost apocalyptic proportions; the plot is packed with twists and changing locations; a desperate feeling of constant danger from an unpredictably hidden evil; superbly executed gore scenes that Hollywood wouldn’t dare to shoot; solid directing like that seen in a high-quality family survival drama. Not everything in the film makes sense, but its urgent sense of drive in combination with the believability of the supernatural threat is excellent. (01/19/2024)

I was apprehensive that this would be just another run-of-the-mill horror flick, rehashing tired tropes. Boy, was I wrong. This film had a fresh take; the creators didn't recycle anything I'd seen five times before but instead crafted an original story featuring Uriel, who could very well become a new sex symbol in our modern, highly tolerant world, along with a pair of well-meaning losers. I appreciated the polished atmosphere, which kept me on edge throughout, as well as the stellar cast (I genuinely liked all of them). Additionally, I liked how the creators were restrained with violence (reserving it for occasional, brief outbursts), but when it did occur, it was brutal. I have to admit, I had a blast. / Lesson learned: Don't attempt to digest indigestible materials. 4*+ (01/20/2024)