When Evil Lurks

I have seen a ton of horror movies in my life. If you know me, you know horror is my #1 genre. It’s the only genre I have a list for on here for my favorite movie from each year of my life. I have seen all sorts of horror movies, from the disgusting to the depraved, and very little ever shocks me in a horror movie anymore. I watch them for the freedom to push the envelope the genre enjoys, and for the chance to be shocking, to leave me breathless. It’s not often a movie comes along and does that. Last one I can think of was Spoonful Of Sugar. Well, here ya go. Add When Evil Lurks to the list, because OH MY STARS, this movie is a sucker punch. I don’t wanna give a lot away here as far as plot details, because this is a movie that is best served blind. I will say it is about demonic possession and a world where it is seemingly not unheard of. Two brothers get sucked into a situation where a possession happens, and … well, things happen. Boy, do things happen. The demonic possession sub-genre of horror is one of a few that is the most riddled with tropes. Most movies of this sub-genre uphill from the same bag of tricks we’ve been seeing since The Exorcist 50 years ago. When Evil Lurks chucks all that out the window. It is a bold, unique take on the concept, maybe the most unique since Frailty. The movie builds up the rules and the parameters of this world quickly and believably, so all the viewer had to do is buckle in. There’s a steady drip of suspense and tension, but it never has to stop to lore dump; everything comes naturally. Speaking of suspense and tension, if you want a slow burn, just go somewhere else. This thing literally starts in the middle gears and goes from there. I mean it when I say you’re hitting the story within 5 minutes of the credits, and then it’s off to the races, and it never stops. It’s not white knuckle rapid or anything, it just has a purpose and that’s all this movie is there to do. It ain’t here to lightly jab you into a false sense of security. It starts out throwing haymakers … and then it looks for a baseball bat. And that brings me to the movie’s other calling card: brutality and bleakness. This movie is one of the most unrelentingly dark, depressing, and vicious movies I’ve ever seen. Not in a “look at the corkscrew sticking out of his eye” kind of way, although there is plenty of blood. I mean that this movie is genuinely shocking, and it does not stop being shocking. It goes places you don’t think it has the guts to, and just when you think it won’t do it again, oh yes it does. It left me speechless on several occasions with certain moments I will not even hint at here. The one thing keeping this movie from a full rack is that the script frequently requires the two main leads to make some rather moronic choices. Yeah, it’s a horror movie, and they’re thinking with their hearts and not their heads, so in a way it can be excused, but it does keep happening. I wish there was a more organic way for certain plot points to happen than making the dumbest decision. It’s a small thing, though, and I don’t think it hinders the movie from being thoroughly watchable. Just know you have to be in a frame of mind to watch this. It ain’t a date night movie. It ain’t for the faint of heart. It ain’t for people who are easily triggered by trauma. When Evil Lurks is merciless, and you’re either in or out. If you’re in, you’re in for one memorable ride.