When Evil Lurks

So you've hung out with Evil Dead for a while to such a degree that you're comfy with each other, but then E.D. says 'hold up, my Argentinian cousin is coming over' and when he does, shit just gets GRIM. I love how in the world of When Evil Lurks there is precedent for demonic possession and the world has tried to move on from that, but there is no escaping its darkness. One scene in particular will haunt me for a while. Woof.

I have gone decades without even hearing the words "apple ice cream" strung together, it's an abomination. Vile cruel imagery here (no not the apple ice cream when it finally shows up) and just a bleak time. It's that good gooey though where you go yeesh but don't feel gross after. Guys son in this probably has so many letterboxd likes

i loved the scene when evil not as much lurks, but actually straight up peeks

The characters, story, pacing and ending are all fine, but nothing special. Although a lot of credit is due for how visceral it is without ever feeling like it’s trying too hard. The whole sequence involving the dog in particular is a high note for the film. Pretty annoyed with what has to be one of the dumbest decisions I’ve seen from a horror protagonist towards the end. It didn’t quite get there for me, but there’s some great individual moments.

Evil unleashing mayhem in shit town Argentina as we follow a possessed man about to give birth to incarnated young evil itself and spreading an epidemic of demonic manifestation and these two don't-know-what-were-are-seeing bros barely escaping stuff but witnessing every sort of brutality regarding their (already broken, about to eat itself) family. Children as both victims and vessels of hell on eart. No church, no exorcist, no ritual, no faith. Most pessimistic horror film in quite some time.

The tension is heightened not with cheap jump scares, but with truly terrifying story elements. Filled with harsh, graphic imagery that will haunt you forever, this isn’t a film that relies on the easy scare, but one that is legitimately disturbing.

Despite its ability to build an atmosphere and get the audience invested in the horrific, WEL has zero concern for the plot and the credibility and depth of its characters. Brothers find a man slashed into two yet check him as if he is a dead rabbit. They dump a 1000 lb. man into a field as if he is the most usual thing, lol. I liked the wise old woman, whose Gaia-esque ethos helps us heal the evil that contaminates. A strange post-apocalyptic mood was also noteworthy. Bad but dreamlike.

Add it to the weirdly long list of movies that exploit an autistic character as a nonsensical plot device, but there's a lot to like about When Evil Lurks elsewhere. It offers a fresh and unique spin on demon/possession horror and is unflinchingly brutal and even downright mean. It has many interesting ideas but doesn't always communicate them well. The second half is weaker than the first, and the climax especially didn't really work for me, but still, points for originality and brutality

It has an irregular rhythm, but the good premise and shocking scenes result in an effective horror film.

The moments of high-energy body horror are pretty great, especially in the first act. Would've loved this to keep its foot on the gas, as some of excessive world-building towards the end was a chore. -TIFF 2023

Very good genre ideas let down by an unconvincing package. This was not developed or thought out properly, and it's a shame for there's a very good horror movie here somewhere.

Violence is on point but the story... not so much

"Horror"-endsly awful.

Dang, that was grim.

audiovisual 59 acting 62 overall feeling 64 avg 62

Beautiful use of violence, but the idea was too big, vague, and difficult to produce. It also led to dead ends all over the place. I loved the cinematography, the soundtrack, and the color scheme. I HATED how stupid everything else was. I mean come on... What a waste of a good production crew. The main characters did EVERYTHING anyone with knowledge told them not to. Extremely anticlimactic ending. Truly.... Waste of such great backdrop, money, time, et al.

you are not ready

2023'de #IzlediğimFilmler ; 183. Cuando acecha la maldad (2023) Bu yıl izlediğim en iyi korku filmlerinden. Baştan sona soluksuz izletiyor. Pesimist ruh hali de hikayeye çok yakışmış. 9/10

I'm thinking I need a rewatch. Not a fan of supernatural horror typically since I always feel like there's no internal logic (which in a way makes sense given the subject) and this is no exception. But the visuals are grotesque and truly horrifying. Looking forward to more from this director.

Por un lado me encanta lo implacable que es la historia, mientras que por otro la mayoría de personajes (y sobre todo el protagonista) están a 100 casi toda la peli, gritando y a las puteadas, lo cual termina resultando monótono; no hay los suficientes valles como para que los picos tengan tanto impacto como deberían. Aún así y todo me gustó mucho y amo ver cine de terror nacional siendo celebrado internacionalmente.

When I watched Demián Rugna's previous film, Aterrados, I was excited for his future films. Now I see that I was right to be excited. Because When Evil Lurks is an incredible journey into hell. Some scenes stuck in my mind. I didn't expect this movie to disturb me this much. One of the best horror movies of the year.

Who's such a good doggie?

60 for the gore. The script is confusing.

The narrative style and ideas here are noticeably different than the genre's usual. The climax is a rather decent sequence. Sadly, a lot of characters and events seem half-baked, and the middle gets a bit tedious. Feels like this could have been much better with script editing.