Sommerleigh Pollonais, Horror Head Writer
Plot: In a remote village, two brothers find a demon-infected man just about to "give birth" to evil itself. They decide to get rid of the body, only to end up unintentionally spreading chaos.
Review: All horror movies have a streak of meanest to them, it goes with the territory. But there are some that go the extra mile, leaving its audience with a sense of hopelessness, and that's exactly what I was left feeling after viewing When Evil Lurks.
Hey! Mumford and Sons. I love these guys!
Director Demian Rugna doesn't pull any punches with his visceral take on possession horror where two brothers come across the remains of a dead body, leading them to their neighbour's house where the son of a poor elderly woman has become "rotten", this world's version of a possessed person. Instead of leaving well enough alone they take the advice of another neighbour and attempt to move the rotten man out of town and in the process screw things up royally, leading to the downfall of, well, everyone.
Inspiration seems to have been taken from the giallo Italian films of the early 80s. Movies like Lucio Fulci's Zombie or Lamberto Bava's Demoni (Demons) come to mind. These movies were unapologetically brutal where no one was safe and Rugna goes the same route. From the first shocking moment of a pregnant woman and an axe to a scene with a very young child and a very large dog which instantly made me tense up, I very quickly realised When Evil Lurks had no intention of being subtle. And it's moments like those combined with a fresh take on possession that kept me intrigued.
I'm sorry Old Yeller. But you gots the rabies. And that means you gotsta die
Sadly, the movie loses steam as it moves along, choosing to introduce a character whose only true purpose is to dump exposition on the audience. Combined with an unlikeable lead in the form of Pedro (Ezequiel Rodgriguez) a character that makes one foolish decision after another making it very difficult to sympathise with his situation, and an unnecessary (and insensitive) side-plot involving Pedro's autistic son, all of these factors handicap what should've been a straightforward horror movie that suffers from trying to be too many things at once.
When Evil Lurks is at its best when it unleashes its ferocity with little to no explanation. The pacing would've benefited if Rugna had let things play out similarly to the giallo films he was inspired by where the focus was solely on making the audience squirm and not so much on delivering a cohesive story. As crazy as that may sound, there are horror movies that benefit from this in the best ways (Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead is a great example) as the confusion of why these crazy things are happening puts the audience squarely in the shoes of the protagonists.
You! You pooped in my yard! You yard-pooping bastard!
While it's in no way a bad movie, once the initial shock wears off When Evil Lurks doesn't do much beyond the basics with its solid premise, which is a shame because I think with a bit more polish this could've been one for the ages.
Sommer's Score: 6.5 out of 10
And you can check out more horror reviews below:
THE LAST MATINEE IS A BLOOD-SOAKED LOVE LETTER TO GIALLO FILMS
THE PUPPETMAN PULLS NEWS STRINGS IN THE POSSESSION SUBGENRE
BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO: AN AUDITORY JOURNEY INTO GIALLO TERROR
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge-Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I'll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes. Double Tap Baby! Read More
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