‘When Evil Lurks’ Movie Review [Fantastic Fest 2023]: Evil Lurks in Shock Value
Photo from Shudder/IFC Films
From Jeff Nelson
Filmmaker Demián Rugna shocked the horror community with 2017’s Terrified, which combined graphic set pieces with big scares. Now, he doubles down in the shock value department with the undeniably distressing When Evil Lurks. This is a horror offering that isn’t for the faint of heart.
Brothers Pedro (Ezequiel Rodríguez) and Jimmy (Demián Salomón) catch news of a demonic infection taking place in their small, rural community that threatens their precious livestock. The brothers’ carelessness spreads the evil’s reach, forcing them to try and outrun a relentless series of possessions that loom over the family and friends they hold dear.
Rugna treats demonic possession as an infectious disease, which has been seen before in other horror flicks, such as Paco Plaza and Jaume Balagueró’s [REC] franchise. However, When Evil Lurks establishes its own mythos and set of rules, which vary from devilishly refreshing to ropy and starkly ableist. In this world, demonic possession isn’t met with quite the same doubts that such paranormal accusation holds in ours. Rugna occasionally dives into needless exposition surrounding this evil that doesn’t have an impact on the story or its characters, feeding into empty worldbuilding.
The scale starts small in a rural area, progressively expanding the scope of the supernatural evils over the course of its 99-minute runtime until the stakes are monumental. Once the carnage begins, When Evil Lurks doesn’t let up, determined to one-up itself at every turn. The gnarly special effects take the boundary-pushing violence up a notch, consistently generating the feeling that we’re watching something that we shouldn’t be. There’s nowhere this film won’t go, creating a perpetual sense of uneasiness in its approach to many taboos of genre storytelling.
Pedro and Jimmy’s horrid decision-making fits right into common horror tropes, serving the nihilistic narrative themes and gross-out moments over all else. When Evil Lurks leaves the viewer with a nasty feeling that lingers after the credits are done rolling. Even so, it’s simply impossible to turn away from, even though the characters’ stupidity leads to major issues in the third act, losing grip of its own tension.
When Evil Lurks is a shocking, mean-spirited possession film pumped with one jaw-dropping spike of violence after another. It never pulls its punches, but its desire to shock overwhelms the world Rugna builds. Nevertheless, it’s the type of midnight frenzy that will drive huge reactions from the crowds it draws.
Rating: 3/5
When Evil Lurks played at Fantastic Fest 2023 on September 22nd, 2023 before it comes to theaters on October 6th, 2023, and streams on Shudder on October 27th, 2023.
