WARNING: This article mentions suicide and extreme violence.
Summary
- The Exorcist: Believer, a high-profile sequel, failed to live up to its predecessor and has received negative reviews, unlike an Argentinian film called When Evil Lurks.
- When Evil Lurks has been praised for its unique approach to demonic possession, focusing on pure evil instead of heavy religious themes, and its unrelenting violence and disturbing imagery.
- When Evil Lurks is considered a true spiritual successor to The Exorcist, pushing the boundaries of horror with shocking and terrifying moments.
The previously demonic possession subgenre of horror might have been revitalized in the fall of 2023, but it was not by the high-profile sequel The Exorcist: Believer. The sequel to 1973's horror classic The Exorcist failed to even approach the heights of its predecessor, and has been universally panned by critics and fans alike. However, another demonic possession movie released around the same time pushed the boundaries of horror much like how The Exorcist did way back in the 1970s.
While The Exorcist: Believer has registered a ghastly 22% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, a limited-release Argentinian film is sitting on a 98% critics score since its debut. After debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023, the movie hit theaters on October 6th, the same day as The Exorcist: Believer. Slated to stream on Shudder just before Halloween, When Evil Lurks is one of the best horror movies of 2023.
When Evil Lurks Is The Best Possession Horror Movie Of 2023
From Argentinian director Demián Rugna, When Evil Lurks (Cuando Acecha La Maldad in Spanish) takes an entirely different approach to demonic possession, eschewing the typical heavy religious overtones in favor of a more grounded form of pure evil. When Evil Lurks centers around two brothers who run afoul of a "Rotten", which is a person who has been possessed by a demon that is aiming to be physically born from the body of its host. As they attempt to dispose of the possessed individual, they unwittingly release the demon upon their small Argentinian town, which allows the demon to spread like an infection.
What sets the subtitled When Evil Lurks apart from the typical American possession movies of the last twenty years is the unrelenting violence and disturbing imagery on display. There is no possessed character speaking in tongues, or recoiling from holy water and crucifixes--instead, the demon's victims appear largely as themselves, if not slightly off. From there, the possessed engage in horrific violence, including murder, suicide, and most disturbingly, cannibalism. With a bleak ending that leaves no room for hope, When Evil Lurks stands head and shoulders above any demonic possession movie in 2023, or in the last couple of decades.
When Evil Lurks Is More Like The Exorcist Than The Exorcist: Believer
The Exorcist: Believer was intended to revitalize the Exorcist franchise after a number of disappointing sequels. In fact, it was intended to be the first of an Exorcist trilogy that continued the story that began with The Exorcist. It completely missed the mark as a spiritual continuation of the iconic movie; instead of pushing the boundaries of horror like its predecessor, it simply hit on many familiar tropes while breaking with much of the established lore of the original. When Evil Lurks is the true spiritual successor to The Exorcist given that it does attempt to move the subgenre forward.
Where The Exorcist terrified audiences in the 70s with shocking imagery and genuine scares, When Evil Lurks follows suit for the modern horror audience. It pulls no punches when it comes to shocking and scaring the audience, particularly in how it handles violence and gore involving children and animals. Some of the body horror and gruesome images are enough to make even the most hardened horror fan squirm. When Evil Lurks pushes the boundaries of horror just as The Exorcist did, and has revitalized the demonic possession subgenre in a way The Exorcist: Believer failed to.