Reseñas de la crítica

What makes Demián Rugna’s film so effective is not the gore (which is appropriately gross!) or the idea of a demonic contagion — it’s the way that the weaknesses of human nature, on both a personal and a systemic level, make stopping the corruption almost impossible once it appears.

Incredibly disturbing and absurdly entertaining... “When Evil Lurks” is easily one of the very best horror films of 2023.

With grisly violence visited upon animals and children, When Evil Lurks spares no one from the cruelty of its world. But Rugna comes by his shocks honestly—as natural extensions of character and context that contribute to a bleak and desperate atmosphere.

When Evil Lurks is not necessarily more gory than the average horror film, but its whole ethos is different, making it much more deeply uncomfortable to watch... Yet it is neither gratuitous nor overplayed, showing us only enough to make its point.

This is a film that delights in unspoken terrors and audience misdirection... Rugna taunts us with danger. The gore almost never comes as a shock. Instead, he dangles the anticipation of death until the actual carnage is a relief... The only problem with the action is it’s so skillfully done that you’re frustrated that there isn’t more of it.

Stunning... Strong performances, huge shocks, and a heavy sense of inevitability make this horror movie terrifying. Rugna offers up some tremendous foreshadowing designed to get his audience squirming, then crosses lines that few horror filmmakers are willing to cross.

It’s commendable how Rugna is truly trying to make this film his own, carving a place for himself in the subgenre without falling into generic trappings.

When Evil Lurks, confirms that [Rugna] knows exactly how to get under your skin... That transition [between] and combination [of the terrifying and the heartbreaking] is Rugna's signature, and When Evil Lurks writes that in broad, memorable, suitably upsetting but utterly captivating strokes.

Rugna’s film is at its most electric when it delivers jolts of stomach-churning violence to push the action forward and build its brutal world... [When Evil Lurks] is a dark and timely parable about what happens when trust... disintegrates.

If the effect is a bit wayward, [When Evil Lurks] has the virtue of being unpredictable. In refusing to tie up loose ends or even explain exactly what our protagonists are up against, the writer-director doesn’t frustrate expectations so much as whet appetite for future installments where those concerns will presumably be addressed.

Rugna takes his premise to its extremes, pushing past traditional horror tropes and into increasingly uncomfortable territory. It is a gory and, at times, very unsettling watch, but Rugna has a striking vision that stands apart in the overstuffed demonic possession sub-genre.

[When Evil Lurks] announces itself as serving up a “bad time” almost from the opening moments, and viewers primed for that sort of experience will get what they came for. It’s only a question of whether you’ll be hiding your eyes or if your face is already in the palm of your hand.