I think over time Demián Rugna’s horror film “When Evil Lurks” will become a monstrous classic that will be explored by a lot of the horror fandom. A lot like Lucio Fulci, and or Mario Bava, Rugna’s film is dependent a lot on striking, often disturbing imagery. Said imagery tends to compensate for a lot of the film’s incoherence and ability to leave us absolutely confused and dumbfounded. I’d be hard pressed to call “When Evil Lurks” a masterpiece, but it sure is a great horror film. Director Rugna, like the aforementioned directors, is big on mounting terror and suspense, leading us in to a pacing that is slow in the beginning but throws us head first in to explosive twists and violence.
When brothers Pedro (Ezequiel Rodriguez) and Jaime (Demian Salomon) discovers the mangled corpse of a local known as a “Cleaner,” they learn that a local has possibly been possessed by a demon. Said demon is known as a “Rotten,” and in a frantic effort to keep the demonic influence from spreading through their town, they flee with the possessed in their tow. But soon Pedro and Jaime begin to realize they might be too late.
There is so much of “When Evil Lurks” that will leave horror fans stirring, as Rugna mounts so much of his film with disturbing violence, sudden bursts of horror, and some of the most nauseating moments I’ve seen in a horror film in years. Rugna is not above reveling in the grotesque and vile to help punctuate the inherent power of evil, and he does so by creating what are known as the “Rotten.” Rather than relying on the body to commit certain deeds, Rugna concocts the idea of the possessed acting more as rotten shells that become huge balls of puss and fluids that also serve as shells for demonic entities.
The moment that the trio of farmers learns about the potential “Rotten,” the battle against evil is already stacked against their favor. They, as much as the audience, know as little going in to face the “Rotten” in the beginning as they in the end, and director Rugna is never one to let us off the hook. What hinders the film’s ability to really take off is the jarring habit to over explain and under explain. So many aspects of the mythology of the “Rotten” individuals are weirdly cryptic in some senses, and abundantly explored in some areas. There’s a literal scene where a character explains the seven rules for avoiding, warding off, and fighting a “Rotten.”
There’s discussion about how the “Rotten” have a difficult time possessing autistic or mentally disabled individuals because their minds are tough to navigate. Then the movie hinges on us not understanding certain elements, like the possession of kids, the attraction of animals to the evil, and the whole final scene involving Pedro’s autistic son and apple ice cream. I’ll just leave it at that. Also if certain towns have protocols to battle or ward of evil, why weren’t the town folks more prepared for the ultimate undoing? Wouldn’t they invent methods to protect the children first and foremost?
Nevertheless, “When Evil Lurks” is relentless in its dark, bleak, and hopeless world where evil is much more of a disease that inexplicably adapts, and grows. All the good can really do is either fight as hard as possible, or hope for a quick end, which is afforded by absolutely no one introduced here.
Now in select UK and US Cinemas; premiering on Shudder October 27th.