When Evil Lurks (2023)
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When Evil Lurks Movie Review
When Evil Lurks is a 2023 Argentine supernatural horror film directed by Demian Rugna. It’s a pretty effective, though flawed and overly violent genre flick.
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“Evil loves children. And children love evil“
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The residents of a small rural town discover that a demon is about to be born among them. They desperately try to escape. This is a foreign horror film that is in its approach and execution somewhat reminiscent to last year’s incredible ‘Speak No Evil’, but unlike that masterful feature this one failed to include a more sophisticated social commentary.
It was a very intriguing and sound idea to turn what is a possession tale into basically a plague narrative. It fits the concept well and the execution was one full of dread and terror. The movie also tried to be psychological in its approach, but that only partially worked given that the character development is essentially only serviceable.
When you have what is basically a family drama within the horror narrative, you should at least make sure to develop your characters properly, which unfortunately this film did not manage to do. The performances are solid and the characterization is passable, but not as strong as the approach demanded.
With that being said, When Evil Lurks largely worked in spite of all those flaws. That is because it was so visceral in its imagery, kinetic energy and brutal violence. Undoubtedly the thrills were there and the unpredictable nature of its plot made for a very entertaining and twisty viewing experience.
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Demian Rugna directed the film with a lot of panache. He has so much potential that I do hope that he gets to work with a better script in the future. He should direct and not write in my opinion. The script is messy because the movie turned into a psychological drama only in the second half while in the first one it was this plague-focused narrative. Both worked to a degree, but the thrills and the pure horror in the first half were unparalleled and so was its immense energy in execution and some imagery that sticks with you how horrifying it was.
When Evil Lurks is an Argentine horror flick that is undeniably flawed in its execution, buts its approach was quite interesting. The first half is basically this devil possession story contextualized as a plague narrative while the second one was a psychological thriller. The characterization needed to have been much stronger for this type of film and the violence was too gruesome, but the flick made for an undeniably kinetic and visceral viewing experience.
My Rating – 3.5
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