When Evil Lurks Review: A Cruel, Bloody Possession Movie For Sickos, By Sickos [Fantastic Fest 2023]

Possession movies, much like zombie movies, are a dime a dozen. They follow most of the same tropes and aesthetics established in part by William Friedkin's "The Exorcist." This is to say, there are not many movies that can make the sub-genre feel fresh. 

"When Evil Lurks" is one such movie. Demián Rugna's follow-up to "Terrified" is a bigger, more ambitious movie, and one that is quite cruel and gory. Most impressively, the film has quite a robust worldbuilding that becomes more complex and terrifying as the film reveals more. There's not much in terms of exposition, but you know just enough about what is going on beyond our protagonist to be interested in learning about this messed-up, bleak, Fulci-esque nightmare world where no adult, child, or dog is safe.

Set in rural Argentina, "When Evil Lurks" follows two brothers (Ezequiel Rodriguez and Demián Salomon) who find a mutilated corpse on the edge of their property. The search for the man's missing torso leads them to a man infected by a demon and waiting for a specialist to dispose of him, because that's apparently a common enough occurrence that there are specialists. Though they try to get rid of the man, they merely help deliver pure hell on earth, as the demon's infection spreads out, wreaking havoc. From there, it's a race against the clock to save the brothers' family and get the hell out of town before true evil is born.

Speaking after the film's U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest, director Demián Rugna talked about being inspired by Argentina's history of industrialization and the way it poisons the fields and the people living there, the toxins and waste dumped on rural areas causing sickness in the inhabitants. Although not a huge part of the film (which quickly evolves into demonic carnage) it helps set "When Evil Lurks" apart in its cultural specificity. The film's portrayal of rural religious beliefs and the way the white-passing main characters all treat the only indigenous family living on the farms all hint at a more human evil. Like the standout "Star Wars Visions" short, "In the Stars," Rugna's "When Evil Lurks" uses genre, particularly a well-known and established subgenre, in order to shine a light on topical issues in South America. The script (also by Rugna) manages to smoothly marry the two.

Indeed, this is a different kind of possession movie, one that does away with the priests (there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to the entire Church collapsing and dying off) and tied-to-a-bed kids. Instead, the film feels like the messed up hate child of Lucio Fulci's "City of the Living Dead," Narciso Ibáñez Serrador's "Who Can Kill A Child?" and, if you can believe it, M. Night Shyamalan's "The Happening."

This is a demonic infestation that jumps around quickly from one person to the next, making them instantly violent, especially toward loved ones, which results in some delightfully disturbing moments. As he did with "Terrified," Rugna shows himself to be adept at crafting gory, sick imagery that instantly gets stuck in your head and never lets go. Embracing the bleak, unforgiving tone of Lucio Fulci with Rugna's own exquisite sense of mythology, this is a movie for sickos, made by King Sicko.

Rugna's biggest ace up his sleeve is his delightful world-building. He crafts a story firmly set in a fascinating world much larger than what we see in "When Evil Lurks," one that a lesser director and writer would spend much of their time setting up in order to explore in sequels, but this is not that film. While there is a tiny bit of exposition, it is delivered naturally, with the characters stopping before explaining things the rest should already know. 

It is clear that the events we see in the film are nothing new, but part of a new normal: an unforgiving pseudo-post-apocalyptic world where demonic possessions are as normal as the flu (the film does not hide its COVID influences) and everyone knows the rules to avoid making things worse. Every hint of this, even just the subtle way the two brothers instantly recognize what is happening and what they need to do, is exciting and also quite scary in its mundanity.

If "Terrified" was a spooky calling card of a director telling the world he could play in the same sandbox as others, then "When Evil Lurks" is Demián Rugna proclaiming that he will not just play in the same sandbox, but destroy it and build it up himself. This is a movie that is both familiar and fresh. Scary, yes, but mostly disturbing, gory, smart, quite expansive, and all around created in the bowels of hell itself. 

/Film rating: 8 out of 10.