Fantastic Fest 2023: WHEN EVIL LURKS

While there is a decreasing number of those who partake in organized religion, there remains throughout the world a deeply rooted fear in the existence of the devil. Whether in the literal form or symbolic, the devils lives within each culture waiting for its moment of rebirth. In recent years, Paco Plaza‘s Verónica and Ivan Villamil‘s horror short La Nueva (The Newcomer) have delivered horrifically engaging depictions of demonic possession, leaning into the fear of losing ones self to the evil within and releasing the devil onto the world.

Argentinian horror When Evil Lurks is the latest demonic horror certain to posses its audience. Intentional in its pace and direction, writer and director Demián Rugna takes audiences on an intense trip through the darkness, proving that the devil is everywhere.

Apocalyptic Spiral

With the start of When Evil Lurks, the film instantly drips with ominous intent and a deeply rooted mystery. We are left as confused as its characters, the silence of the night cut by gunshots in the distance. There is speculation to their location, accompanied by a hesitation to search. 

With the break of dawn, cinematographer Pablo Fuu beautifully captures the mist over the fields and beams of morning light breaking through the trees, crafting a sense of peace before the storm. When Evil Lurks is not a film in a rush, its pace laid out with intention. As brothers Pedro (Ezequiel Rodriguez) and Jimmy (Demián Salomón) explore the woods, they stumble on the remains of a man they struggle to identify. The camera pans the forest ground, finally revealing the horror they see. It is as abrupt as it is memorable. Heightening the mystery and ominous feeling of the night before, When Evil Lurks begins to takes its audience down an apocalyptic spiral of denial and rage. 

Tsunami of Death

Discovering the man before them was on their way to the home of Maria Elena Gomez, they follow suit. Maria feels as though she speaks in riddles, as she talks of waiting for someone to come and kill her son. As the brothers discover the putrid living corpse decomposing in the other room, When Evil Lurks introduces a sweeping sense of a lost religion, one the community has turned against but has not forgotten them. God may be dead, but the devil lives on – and all around. 

There is a madness that resides in fear. Responses are less thought out, and the brothers’ attempts to protect the ones they love become muddled between what is right and what is wrong. Following the discovery of the living corpse and his “rotten” state, When Evil Lurks goes deeper into the human psyche, capturing the loss of sense and self in the face of fear. There is little pause given to each decision made, at times a group mentality setting in on how to handle “the rotten”. There is an almost eccentric nature that takes hold of our characters, no one listening to the instructions or warnings of those close to them, the tsunami of death expanding beyond them. 

It was at this point in the film When Evil Lurks begins to take on a parallel to the recent pandemic. Government officials disregarded the report of the “rotten” a year ago. Pedro’s wives refuses to believe his insistence that they need to leave town as soon as possible. For many, the rotten serves as a displacement of their suspicions of those around them. Ruiz (Luis Ziembrowski) believes the government ignored the report on purpose, allowing it to worsen in order to evacuate and take his land. Sabrina, Pedro’s wife, believes it is an attempt to take her children away from her – again. No one sees the simplicity of the report, needing it to be the possibility of anything else than the coming brith off evil. 

Conclusion:

When Evil Lurks proves itself a visceral horror that will get under your skin. Its pace allows you fall under its own form of possession, refusing to let go until the credits roll. Heightened success if its lead, Ezequiel Rodriguez’s performance brings to life a tortured soul ripe for the devil to tap into.  As the brothers work to eradicate the evil that plagues them, their families and their town, Rugna is unrelenting on its graphic showcase. The gore is top notch, its jump scares crafted with an increasing tension that makes even the most predictable feel off guard. Yet, it is not just the gore that makes the film successful, Rugna using a variety of horror tropes and tools to brilliant execution. Shadows dance on the walls while distant figures move just out of focus. The voices of children herald the devil in spirit and action, giving the film a breadth of terror.

While When Evil Lurks retains a at times an eerie feeling of Children of the Corn, this is not an evil that lurks behind the rows – but rather all around.

Watch When Evil Lurks