Sitges Festival 2023: “When evil lurks”

One of the main attractions of the Sitges Festival is the bringing together of the best representations of international horror cinema. However, fewer and fewer films are seen that deal with horror in a classic and traditional way, tending to introduce components from other genres (science fiction, comedy, fantasy…) with an innovative desire. For that reason when a movie like When evil lurks arrives in Sitges and is celebrated all over the world. Many are already talking about the best horror film of the year, and The truth is that the new film by Demián Rugna, who already surprised the festival audience in 2017 with his work Terrifiedis a delight for lovers of the genre.

The film begins in a rural Argentine area whose peace is interrupted by the appearance of an “incarnate”, a body possessed by a demon and that can only be eliminated through a very complex instrumental mechanism used by a healer. The demonic evil quickly spreads to the nearest city, where two brothers do everything possible to protect their family and put an end to the evil. The great success of the film is in a display of simple rules with which the demonic universe is constructed.. Rules as simple as “incarnates are attracted to electric light” or “never shoot an incarnate” turn the adventure into an agony where the margin for error is very limited. Being consistent with these established rules, Rugna does not hesitate to dispatch characters with terrifying crudeness. The “realistic” approach to a disaster of this magnitude makes the film horrifying as well as heartbreaking. Only the measured humor, conducted through the mother of the protagonist brothers, will offer a small breath of air that will quickly be interrupted by the frenetic pace of the film.

It cannot be said that Damien Rugna is a new director, he has the experience of having made several feature films behind him, but as the director himself confirmed in the preview of the film, it seems that things are finally starting to work out in his career. . Terrified has already conquered the hearts of the Sitges public but When evil lurks It is a more serious and consolidated proposal of the talent of a director who seems to still have a lot to offer us.

When evil lurks (Demián Rugna, 2023) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️