Blu-ray Review: WHEN EVIL LURKS – A Bleak Look At Demonic Possession
Look, I don’t know how many demonic possession movies have been made since William Friedkin unleashed The Exorcist into the world way back in 1973 – but I’m guessing that the number is probably in the thousands by now. You know the drill: someone’s voice gets deeper, they develop a propensity for staying in bed and their personal hygiene (literally) goes to hell. Then a priest (usually Catholic) rocks up, says a few prayers, whips out a crucifix, and some furniture around the room gets rearranged before the power of Christ eventually compels the demon to leave.
The good news is that Demián Rugna’s When Evil Lurks (aka Cuando acecha la maldad) doesn’t mess around with any of those tired old tropes. This Argentinian film takes things in an entirely new direction. Firstly, it’s set in a world where demonic possession is already somewhat commonplace – and the demons can skip from person to person (or person to animal, in one case) with ease. This gives those possessed a zombie-like quality that turns them ferocious, rabid and very, very nasty.
The film sees two brothers, Pedro and Jimi (Ezequiel Rodríguez and Demián Salomon) discovering that one of their neighbours is possessed. They decide to do a good thing and report it to the authorities – but they can’t be bothered with the bureaucracy. The brothers are then forced to work things out for themselves; however, no good deed goes unpunished, and they ultimately make a mess of things in a rather bloody way.
This horror has some good performances and there’s a real sense of world-building on display. It might be set in an alternate reality, but it feels very real. Truth be told, though, it’s a little too bleak (there’s some seriously gnarly stuff going on) and the dark tone makes this a rather grim watch (keep the kids away from the pit-bull). Having said that, it’s unique, fresh and well made – so I’d ultimately recommend that you steel yourself before giving When Evil Lurks a go.
Special Features
The mighty Second Sight Films once again goes above and beyond with this release of When Evil Lurks. This give this niche horror a really good release. You get a commentary with Spanish film professor, Gabriel Eljaiek-Rodriguez, interviews with writer-director Demián Rugna and the film’s actors Ezequiel Rodríguez, Demián Salomón and Virginia Garófalo. There’s also a video essay by Mike Muncer. Compressive stuff indeed.
