Demián Rugna’s “When Evil Lurks” is a gruesomely unsettling take on the paranormal horror genre that subverts expectations and takes inspiration from Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” Franchise along the way.
Demián Rugna, also known for his bone-chilling film, “Terrified” is an Argentinian filmmaker who has been breathing new life into the supernatural horror genre by combining elements from other genres that wouldn’t normally be associated with the supernatural.
Pedro (Ezequiel Rodríguez) and Jimi (Demián Salomón) are two brothers who discover that a man in their town is infected with a demon after finding the lower half of the body of a cleaner while investigating a nearby forest. A cleaner is essentially a government-employed exorcist who is supposed to kill the possessed in a particular way to stop the demon from spreading to others.
The two brothers and their paranoid neighbor Ruiz (Luis Ziembrowski) dump the possessed man’s body on a road away from their properties causing the evil within him to spread to others. The brothers go on a journey to try to get their family members to head into the city, so they can get away from the possessed and stop along the way to meet a former cleaner.
Rodríguez’s Pedro is the main focus with him trying to keep his family safe, but inadvertently making everything worse with every action he takes. Rodriguez plays the role very well as a good-intentioned but distant father to his kids.
The film shies away from the religious aspect that many demonic possession movies are built around, instead, the demonic possessions in the film are more closely related to a viral outbreak, and have their own set of procedures to follow to ensure the demon doesn’t spread.
The cinematography, mainly during the scenes at night, had a dreary and cold feeling. The practical effects were handled extremely well and added to the film’s dreary feel. The film has plenty of shocking moments that would even make the most hardcore horror fans turn away, notably a scene involving a possessed dog.
Rugna’s “When Evil Lurks” creates an unsettling atmosphere with its shocking moments, dreary cinematography and detailed practical effects along with realistic characters making it a must-watch for any fan of the horror genre.