Scare Value Award Winner – Best Kill
Top 10 Film of 2023
When Evil Lurks review.
When Evil Lurks offers a fresh take on the possession movie and some truly dark horror. Streaming now on Shudder.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
When Evil Lurks
Directed by Demián Rugna
Written by Demián Rugna
Starring Ezequiel Rodríguez, Demián Salomon, Luis Ziembrowski, Silvia Sabater, Frederico Liss and Marcelo Michinaux
When Evil Lurks Review
A common (and earned) complaint about the possession subgenre of horror is that there are no new ideas. The Exorcist: Believer went out of its way to prove the point by bringing the fresh idea of “two possessed girls” to the table. Seriously. That was the 50-year legacy sequel to one of the best movies ever made. Two girls. The Exorcist has long been a problem for possession films. It is as close to a perfect film as there is. It takes all the best ideas and executes them flawlessly. Both possession stories and religious horror have failed to live up to its legacy. We’re not talking about topping it…that would be a nearly impossible task. For fifty years a giant majority of movies have failed to add anything remotely interesting to the conversation.
Despite The Exorcist: Believer, 2023 has been a banner year in the fight against this complaint. Talk to Me gave us something brand new. An instant classic that became a box office success. Now, Shudder brings us When Evil Lurks. A possession movie with exciting new ideas and a strong commitment to the darkness involved with unleashing evil.
Pedro (Ezequiel Rodríguez) and his brother Jimmy (Demián Salomon) discover a body shopped to pieces in the woods near their home. They find out he was on his way to a nearby house to perform an exorcism on their neighbor Uriel. Worried about the evil that could be unleashed on their town, they turn to landowner Ruiz (Luis Ziembrowski) for help. When the trio attempt to remove Uriel from town…they end up losing the body. All out madness ensues.
When Evil Lurks is a dark movie. Not in its shot composition…it’s a very striking film. In its content. This isn’t a story about hope. This is the story of evil run amuck on a small town. The film does a good job laying out the rules of their possession story. Even better, it withholds those details until after having some fun with them. Ruiz is the first to suffer at the hands of the evil that takes over the land. He encounters a goat that is pretty badass if we’re being honest. He shoots it despite his wife’s warnings. His reward is an axe to his head…delivered by his wife. She then turns the axe on herself.
Not shooting possessed things is one of those rules they get around to telling you after we see it in action. It only lets it loose. Uriel’s disgusting husk warns Ruiz of that even earlier in the story…so he’s just a victim of failing to listen to people. There are seven rules at play here, in fact. Staying away from animals is another big one, as Pedro will learn during his attempt to rescue his children. After a shocking moment that turns Pedro’s ex-wife and new husband’s life upside down…Pedro and Jimmy take off. Trying to outrun the evil they’ve let free.
Evil, they’ll learn, can’t be outrun. When Evil Lurks is a devastating story. The evil here is shocking and relentless. It attacks the thing you care about most. Given that Pedro and Jimmy are on the run with their mother and Pedro’s children…you can imagine where this might be going. What may surprise you is how far it goes to show the true power of evil in the world of the film.
When Evil Lurks consistently surprises from move to move. It doles out key information in lock step with its excellent pacing. A truly harrowing experience awaits Pedro, Jimmy, and company as they attempt to free themselves from the cursed town and save their family. The movie has a little bit of everything. Graphic, realistic violence. Creepy kids. A persistent tense atmosphere. And, most importantly, a perverse feeling that nothing is going to be alright.
When Evil Lurks is a nice surprise as we reach the end of spooky season. It will restore your faith in the future of possession stories in the wake of David Gordon Green’s listless, empty take on it. Combined with Talk to Me, it’s been a great year for fresh ideas on the subject. This is a shocking, dark, bleak film. One that deserves your attention.
Scare Value
When Evil Lurks is a strong, confident take on the possession story. We’ve been spoiled this year with two fresh looks at an old design (Talk to Me). It makes up for The Exorcist: Believer being such a disappointment. This is a dark movie that offers no rays of hope. Bleak, devastating and horrific. Everything a story about demonic possession should be.
4.5/5
When Evil Lurks Links
Streaming on Shudder
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