When Evil Lurks review

The best and scariest movie of 2023 (if not the decade). I heard about When Evil Lurks on Bluesky where other horror fans were very excited that it was on Shudder. Curious about why a movie I hadn’t even heard of out of Argentina was causing horror fans and reviewers I know to say it was so scary, I knew I had to watch. I am so glad I did.

Content Warnings:
When Evil Lurks is a supernatural horror film featuring gore, death, child death, cannibalism, dismemberment, suicide, suicidal ideation, animal death, animal attack, religious abuse references, and more. This movie does not cut away or fade to black on the attack and death scenes. Take care of yourself.

In a remote village, two brothers find a demon-infected man just about to give birth to evil itself. They decide to get rid of the man but merely succeed in helping him to deliver the inferno.

Why is this the best horror movie of the year? Why does this movie about possession rival The Exorcist (1973)? I will do my best to put into words how I feel after finally watching this movie, knowing that what I say will likely fall short and end up as “It was so fucking good, go watch it!”

I admittedly waited to watch this movie despite expecting it to be amazing. I saw the content warnings and trailer and knew that there was child death. As a parent of a young child, child death in movies hits me different nowadays than it used to. Now, I have to check my head space and make sure I have time for aftercare if needed. So I had to prepare myself for this movie and I am glad that I did.

When Evil Lurks is brutal. The special/practical effects are so realistic I recoiled and even gagged a few times (I cannot honestly recall a horror movie ever making me as close to vomiting as this one and I applaud for it). The camera takes no prisoners. It never pulls away or shields the audience from the horror. It stays with it, giving you every horrible detail – every attack, every blood splatter, every death and fate worse than death. There’s never a moment that makes you feel like you or the characters can find safety and reprieve from what is happening.

The horror of this film does not rely on cheap tricks and jump scares either. There are a few scenes were the audience sees a possessed person or undead coming before the characters do and that of course builds up tension and dread but the majority of the horror is the story, the effects, and the dread. The last one more than anything. I was so angry with some of the decisions these characters made however, the movie makes it pretty clear that no matter what happens, it will be bad. There aren’t a lot of good decisions to be made and everything has consequences. The hopelessness, the knowing that horrible things will happen with nothing to really stop it, is what leaves the audience with nightmares.

The world building and character development is probably the most subtly masterful part of this movie. Without any pause to explain or do any filler exposition, the audience is clued into how this world works through expertly crafted dialogue. I thought this movie would be a contemporary Exorcist type film. Instead, we are shoved into a reality where possession is as common as Covid and the response across the world just as inane. There are rules to this epidemic that, until the point of this film, has been contained mostly to cities. The rules are shared by elders and experts but even those rules only offer a tiny bit of hope – false hope. Yet, none of this is shared by a narrator to prepare the audience like a Resident Evil movie. Instead, it is all through bits of often low dialogue tinged with either panic or the attempts to sooth a child or worried adult (or a terrified audience).

In the end? It was so fucking good, go watch it!

Recommendations

If you are fans of The Exorcist (1973) or Hereditary (2018), you will love When Evil Lurks. If you enjoy it, then go check out Terrified for another Demian Rugna film that is horrifying, this one about ghosts. For an older film that is filled with dread, intensity, and characters that you get so mad at but also understand because they are in a situation that no one can possibly be prepared for – Possession (1981).