When Evil Lurks, 2023.
Directed by Demián Rugna.
Starring Ezequiel Rodríguez, Demián Salomón, Luis Ziembrowski, Silvina Sabater, and Marcelo Michinaux.
SYNOPSIS:
Residents in a small town discover that a demon is about to be born amongst them, but is it too late to escape the imminent evil?
Argentinian director Demián Rugna’s 2017 movie Terrified was a fairly creepy supernatural horror that tapped into that rich storytelling vein of humanity being shown itself after death, and despite it not managing to hold itself together for its entire running time it did prove popular on its festival run, with one shot in particular showcasing Rugna’s eye for haunting visuals.
When Evil Lurks treads a similar path but Demián Rugna has broadened his scope, the evil forces in this movie not just ghosts moving furniture in a haunted house but a full-on folk horror nightmare as a small town appears to be the birthplace for a demon, although this demon is already possessing the locals to allow its way in. We are first aware of this when brothers Pedro (Ezequiel Rodríguez) and Jaime (Demián Salomón) go to a remote shack after finding a human body torn in two in a field. There they find a mother nursing her bedridden son Uriel, but Uriel has become a ‘Rotten’, a diseased blob of possessed flesh, covered in sores, pus and all manner of bodily fluids. It turns out Uriel is the vessel for which the demon will be born into this world.
Managing to get Uriel into the back of their truck, the brothers drive for miles in the hope of dumping his body and protecting their community from the oncoming evil, but Uriel manages to escape. Thinking they are rid of him they return home, but the evil that is inside Uriel is infecting everything it comes across, including Pedro’s estranged family.
As with Terrified, When Evil Lurks is less of a cohesive narrative and more a series of set pieces designed to shock and disgust you in equal measure (although disgust might just win this one). The sight of Uriel laying in his bed covered in whatever liquids his body can secrete isn’t as much of a sudden slap to the senses as the money shot in Terrified, but the camera lingers on him as if Demián Rugna is daring you to take it all in. In fact, every scene involving Uriel seems to follow this tactic, the character leaking drool – and not always from his mouth – with every slight movement but the camera doesn’t cut away.
Elsewhere, there are shock moments as Rugna breaks the golden rules about animals and children in a scene so well framed and shot that, again, it dares you to look, if only to try and work out how it was done. It is around this point in the movie that the plot starts to get a little vague, with rules set up earlier on seemingly being either forgotten or expanded upon, so that when the movie moves into the final act and Uriel is being protected by other possessed beings it feels a little rushed, and instead of streamlining the plot Demián Rugna built on it a bit too much to reach something of a contrived ending. It isn’t enough to ruin the previous 80-or-so minutes, but it doesn’t feel very satisfactory given the pain and suffering we’ve just sat through.
Nevertheless, when When Evil Lurks’ punches land they land with force and there is a definite progression in Demián Rugna’s filmmaking style. The first half of the movie is certainly the most engrossing, and it does lose that initial sense of dread by the messy end, but When Evil Lurks is still one of the most daring horror movies from the past five years, its visuals outweighing many – not all – of its narrative shortcomings.
Presented in a limited edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray set by Second Sight, the disc also includes an audio commentary by writer and academic Gabriel Eljaiek-Rodriguez, cast and crew interviews plus a video essay by podcaster Mike Muncer, all wrapped up in a rigid slipcase with a 120-page book and art cards. It’s another immaculate release from Second Sight, and 4K UHD is the best way to watch it so you can soak up every juicy make-up effect that is on the screen, so give When Evil Lurks a try if the safe and sanitary world of mainstream horror isn’t quite cutting it for you, and given how much better this movie is than Terrified, whatever Demián Rugna has in store next should be something of a watershed moment.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★/ Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
