When Evil Lurks [Blu-Ray]

[This is my Letterboxd review added here.]Usually when you see horror movies that deal with possession they tend to be a slow burn before the third act. In the third act the horror films go in hard. This film doesn't do any of that at all and starts off immediately hard and things only escalate from there on. This Argentinian based horror film brings a new take to possession and sets rules that makes it frighteningly impossible to combat the evil. This definitely gives the vibe of The Exorcist, The Mist, and Evil Dead with it's own original twist added to it.This film doesn't shy one bit with the violence. If anything you start dreading that any minute something truly awful will happen. Especially a scene when they start focusing on a dog and a child. That scene is going to leave many shocked and horrified it went there. And there are many grisly scenes of gore and dismemberment here that I must say one thing. Don't be eating while watching this film. I may not get scared by horror movies, but that doesn't mean I can't get grossed out by it lol.The performance by the actors here are excellent especially by the two main leads Ezequiel Rodriguez and Demián Salomon who play bothers Pedro and Jaime respectively. Ezequiel at time looks and gives a visceral performance that's akin to Hugh Jackman. And I don't mean that as a negative at all, it's high praise. And the supporting cast performances definitely add to the creep factor as some of them will really creep you out.The score in this film composed by Pablo Fuu does excellent work with adding a lot of anxiety and dread to many situations. It's so good that I'm definitely going to look for it and add on my music playlist on my phone.The only negative I give the film is usually the typical horror topes they tend to fall in. That is near the climax the characters choose those moments to start making stupid decisions. They know certain people shouldn't be trusted but then they stupidly start listening to them. That can get annoying and frustrating when you see this happening. But at the same time I tend to give this a pass because it can't be a horror film if our leads aren't doing something stupid to make it happen.But regardless, it's not every day I see Spanish horror films, as usually the heavy hitters that are dominating those markets tend to be North America and Asia. So when South America decides to say "look what I can do!" They leave you with your jaws dropped. I highly recommend this horror movie and I pray to god that this doesn't get an American remake. Appreciate and enjoy foreign films people. I heard there will be a sequel so I can't wait to see what they're planning to do.

aka Cuando acecha la maldadIf you often feel that horror fails to cultivate the dread, utter shock, and dire hopelessness it deserves, then this is the gut-punching atmospheric film you need in your life. That is all.Casual agrarian frontier life takes a dire turn when brothers Pedro (Ezequiel Rodríguez) and Jimi (Demián Salomón) happen upon a mutilated body near their ranchland. The macabrely disfigured man who is claimed to be possessed by a demon threatens to birth greater evil upon the land.Upon discovery of the bloated, oozing body of Uriel, it is imperative that they take his body far away and kill him to halt the evil inside him from moving to the next vulnerable soul, the unborn child of a neighbor. While often reduced to a group of panicked men discussing the matter on the ranch, the atmosphere is incredibly stressful. For what they feel they must do is as unsettling as the perceived consequences of inaction. Moving the corpulent demonic vessel is a likewise unnerving matter. He seeps pus from his lips when disturbed, and his skin is an amalgamation of bedsores and clusters of cysts. The very sight of Uriel admonishes what lies within.Despite only affecting three small neighboring ranchland households, this dilemma feels intensely large. With no help from local authorities and uncertain of the best way to handle this unique problem, they do what they think is best. But to us viewers, their actions feel anything but.From here, the wild superstition is as horrendous as the imagery is brutal. Characters are murdered under hopeless circumstances, for reasons combining possession and fear of demonic forces. As the story continues; the desperate superstition mounts. Leaving all possessions behind, burning clothes exposed to the evil, and fleeing the afflicted land eventually seems to be the only option. They run. The evil follows.The cinematography and general camerawork are excellent! But what about blood and guts…? There is a brutally grounded abruptness to death in this movie. The special effects gore of the severed lower half of a man to the festering obese body of the ranchland neighbor Uriel will surely shock viewers. Multiple self-inflicted suicidal ax wounds to the face will leave you slack-jawed at the visuals as well as with other awkwardly unique and undeserving deaths. The animal attack comes out of nowhere and is truly astounding! In fact, this movie will make you nervous whenever you see a camera linger on an animal. Oh, and the car death… that, too!!! Not to mention a LOT of skull crushing squishy head trauma. Yeah, this film brings a lot to the table.What this film lacks (for me) is a satisfying resolution to the story. Some people didn’t like the story or the “rules” of the possession because they didn’t fully get it—or so I’ve read online. But as someone who got it, I still didn’t care for the turns or revelations of the third act. However, even with this criticism stated, I thought this film was awesome and the execution of aspects I liked less remained thoughtfully crafted.Writer and director Demián Rugna has regaled horror fans again, and his greatest flaw may also be the source of his strength: his patience. After all, his previous feature film was in 2017! So rather than rush him, I simply hope he has another soul-rattling groundbreaker in store for us by 2029… but yeah, sooner would be better! In the meantime, I need to find the horror anthologies to which he has contributed short segments.

Creepy; gory; it's definitely worth watching but don't eat while watching it's disturbingly gory. But definitely worth watching!

Interesting movie. Definitely worth watching. Kept my interest and was creepy.

I thoroughly enjoy movies like this, Belzebuth and Aterrados are at the top of my list of great horror. Maybe it’s personal to me, but the stereotype of autistic people being “possessed” and demonic is still dangerous and harmful, and it was disappointing for the movie to lean into it without really justifying or addressing the choice, the symptoms of extreme autism are still highly stigmatized, and this movie capitalizes on this widely believed myth and it wasn’t clever or meaningful, it just felt very gross and left a bad taste in my mouth. Everything else in the movie is well-paced and dark with the hopeless ending of sadness and acceptance, but introducing the autistic child as mistakenly demonic, and then justifying that concern at the end of the movie felt like a very low blow to an already marginalized group, this entire story could have been realized without that piece in the plot. Great idea, good execution, extremely poor side motive.

Awesome horror movie in 4K! This movie is a little bit of a slow burner. But stick with it because it gets really good and scary toward the end. Excellent Shudder release!

A great film that shines brightly on 4k. However very little to no special features. But the movie will give you shivers way after the credits roll.

Intense, unsettling, original plot. One of those movies that stays with you long after the credits finish rolling. Highly recommend.