Movie Review: ‘When Evil Lurks’

Director: Demián Rugna

Cast: Ezequiel Rodriguez, Demiám Salomon, Silvia Sabater, Luis Ziembrowski, Marcelo Michinaux, Emilio Vodanovich, Virginia Garófalo

Plot: A couple of brothers in a rural Argentinian town become aware of a person being possessed. With the possession being able to spread from person to person, the brothers have to decide whether to do the right thing or convince their families to escape with them.

Review: At the outset there wasn’t anything that drew us towards this film, but the amount of discussion and buzz surrounding it the past fortnight inspired us to sit down and give it a look. A somewhat contained look at demonic possession, When Evil Lurks doesn’t abide by the genre tropes we expect. Religion, singular victims, morality debates, science versus faith don’t feature in this film, instead it could best be considered an pandemic story as Pedro (Rodriguez) and Jimi (Salomon) struggle to pack up their families and leave the area before the infection spreads. Generation trauma also plays a prominent thematic role, as we’re often confronted with parents inflicting harm on their children either through neglect or dragging them into their conflict, and the role of children in accepting the violent change that the possession brings with it.

You may have noticed that we talked about the possession spreading, which is what leads to the pandemic allegory. The initial victim is basically a rotten corpse by the time they find them, and it’s learned that this body is expected to give birth to a demon. Exposure to this person can result is catching the possession, leading to changes in behaviour and grotesque physical malformation. There are a set of rules to follow, including not shooting them as the gun powder increases the spread, not using electric lights, not using their name. For the purposes of this meaning, however, the rules can be arbitrary as its people reactions to the situation and need to follow these rules that matter. Initially Pedro and Jimi debate what the best way to manage the situation is, including reporting the situation to apathetic law enforcement and assisting a landowner is trying to get rid of the problem.

Once the situation worsens, largely as a result of the wealthier landowner wanting to pass the problem on to someone else, the brothers make the decision to gather their family and to get out of town. This comes with it’s own challenges, as Pedro needs to work with his ex-wife in order to get his sons to safety. His ex and her husband are less than pleased with Pedro turning up and the situation devolves into hostilities pretty quickly. It the fighting between the parents that contributes towards disaster as they don’t take the needs of their children seriously. Collecting the brother’s elderly mother doesn’t improve the situation, as she has a degree of disconnect from the situation. We also see scene in which people fail to heed the warnings of the brothers, the brothers failing to take expert opinion seriously and a child with a disability being dismissed even though there are signs that he is becoming a danger.

There are layers of frustration as horror follows them from location to location, but there’s no single person who struggles to do what is needed when confronted with the reality of what they’re facing. The adults inability to resolve matters or even take the right path is reinforced by the final act taking place in a school where the children have rebelled against their caregivers and authority figures. Throughout we get drip-fed some information about the character’s stories, suggesting some real darkness in Pedro’s past that make it entirely reasonable that his ex-wife doesn’t want him grabbing their children and skipping town.

For all the talk of allegory and human nature, the very high-impact gore shouldn’t go unmentioned. This movie is absolutely horrific, with the original victim being a bloated, pus filled nightmare who is stinking and leaking. It’s a visceral moment that only sets us up for the freakshow we’re in for. If violence against children is an issue for you, steer well clear. Saw X clearly felt that it was breaking some taboos by including a child in the sadistic death traps, but that pales compared to what When Evil Lurks does to children. From Pedro absolutely pummelling a schoolgirl, to a dog completely rag-dolling a toddler, to a mother going to town on her child’s brains straight from the skull like corn-chips from a bowl. It’s real nasty business that can stick with you for a long time.

It’s unusual that religion doesn’t play a role in this movie, as possession movies typically lean heavily into religious themes and symbolism. From the outset there’s some confusion about how this world operates, but it’s not something we get much explanation on. It seems that everyone it aware that this kind of possession is and what the rules to follow are to avoid catching it, but it’s uncommon enough for people to cast doubt on anyone claiming to have encountered it. Characters being confronted with question about how they knew it was legitimate and if they’d seen it before become recurring interactions. What happen to religion is left up in the air, as it’s suggested more than once that it has existed and society has turned its back on the churches, but this isn’t elaborated on.

This is a tightly made film with some clear ideas and some scenes of gore that are downright haunting. Horrors fans need to make an effort to track this down, as it sits with Talk to Me as one of the best of the year. They’ve each got their themes seeped through the story with a focus on characters and character trauma. If you don’t want to see a child getting its brains scooped out off their skull though…maybe leave it alone. It does also feature the second best goat in modern horror films.

Rating: EIGHT out of TEN