Cuando Acecha La Maldad/When Evil Lurks

Movie Name: Cuando Acecha La Maldad/When Evil Lurks
Year of Release: 2023
Director: Demian Rugna
Starring: Ezequiel Rodriguez, Demian Salomon, Silvina Sabater, Luis Ziembrowski, Marcelo Michinaux, Emilio Vodanovich, Virginia Garofalo, Paula Rubinsztein, Lucrecia Niron Talazac, Isabel Quinteros, Desiree Salgueiro, Federico Liss, Ricardo Velazquez, Jorge Prado, Diego Sampayo, Pedro Larrabide, Cleo Diaz, Agostina Aguilera
Genre: Horror
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis and Review

Following the success of "Aterrados/Terrified", writer/director Demian Rugna returned with "Cuando Acecha La Maldad/When Evil Lurks", which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2023. The film follows the story of two brothers, Pedro and Jaime, who live by themselves on a farm, rather isolated from everyone else. One morning they hear gunshots, and while tracing the sound, they eventually discover a corpse. As they try to understand what happened, they go to a nearby shack, where an elderly woman lives with her two sons. She explains that the corpse belongs to a "Cleaner", someone who had been sent to kill and exorcise one her sons, Uriel, who is being possessed by an unborn demon who is awaiting physical birth. Pedro decides to communicate with the authorities what is happening, but they dismiss his warnings. Ruiz, who is the landowner for the farms, is terrified, and decides with the help of the brothers to grab the infected Uriel, and drop the body far away from they are. However during their trip the body falls from the truck and they can't locate it. The following morning one of Ruiz's goats is possessed, and without thinking twice he shoots it, not realizing that it will only spread the possession further. Ruiz's wife also becomes possessed, killing him and then herself. Uriel's brother lets Pedro and Jaime know what has happened. The brothers decide to leave town, fearing the possession will affect everyone and spread further and further. They pick up their mother, and Pedro goes to Sabrina's, his ex-wife, to grab his children, and warn her and her new husband about leaving. They have a strained relationship, and as they argue, Sabrina's pet dog who has licked Pedro's contaminated clothes, becomes possessed, attacking Sabrina's daughter. As Leonardo (Sabrina's new husband), goes in pursuit of the dog, Pedro grabs a car and his two sons, in order to pick up Jaime and their mother and leave town. As they leave, they soon realize things are only going to get worse.

There's much to admire in Demian Rugna's "When Evil Lurks". It's a film that immerses us in rural Argentina, one where the characters feel vivid and authentic, particularly considering the fact they're facing a supernatural menace (hence the film being tagged in some websites as "folk horror"). The film brings to mind certain aspects of Guillermo del Toro's "El Espinazo del Diablo/The Devil's Backbone", since it balances a depiction of reality with events that are fantastical, but whereas Mr. del Toro usually goes for a gothic perspective on his films, Mr. Rugna opts to maintain a perspective that is deeply rooted in the locale, in the reality that his characters live in. The writer/director manages to efficiently position and describe the lead characters, with Pedro being the brother with a lot of emotional baggage, and a past that still haunts him, and his brother Jaime who supports and cherishes him as much as possible. As the situation escalates, and more and more characters are impacted by it, Demian Rugna manages to keep a fine balance between the despair of the characters who do not understand what is happening and the brutality of the supernatural occurrences that are taking place. It's a film that continuously surprises, much of it because of its unadorned approach (and its refusal to abide to the typical horror clichés), how it attempts and succeeds in marrying the realistic view of where these characters exist and also the brutally visceral aspects tied with the supernatural aspect of the narrative. The cast is solid, particularly Ezequiel Rodriguez, whose portrayal of Pedro really takes us on a journey of frustration, failure, and possible redemption. The production team is solid, particularly Mariano Suarez's cinematography and Laura Aguerrebehere's production & costume design. It's a film worth watching.