When Evil Lurks Review (2023): Possession Horror Gets a Gruesome, Brutal Makeover

Genre – Horror
Director – Demián Rugna
Writer – Demián Rugna
Cast – Ezequiel Rodríguez, Demián Salomon, Silvina Sabater, Luis Ziembrowski, Marcelo Michinaux, Emilio Vodanovich, and Virginia Garófalo.
Runtime – 99 Minutes
My Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½☆☆

Where To Watch/Stream When Evil Lurks

You feel like you are running with Pedro throughout, with your heart pounding as if you’re there witnessing it all yourself

When Evil Lurks is a film I always recommend, and a film that needs to be seen by every horror fan.

Here’s why.

Plot Summary of When Evil Lurks (Spoiler-Free)

When Evil Lurks takes place in a quiet, rural town where two brothers, Pedro and Jimi, stumble across a man who is quite literally rotting away. Turns out, he’s “infected” with something evil.

Not a virus, not a curse, but something worse. The town has been ignoring it, hoping it’ll just go away (classic move), but it doesn’t. Instead, it spreads, fast. The brothers then try to deal with it on their own, and of course, everything goes sideways.

What follows is a heart-wrenching spiral into fear, violence, and desperation. There’s no hero with a cross here. No exposition dump to make things easier. Just two men trying to do the right thing and failing in increasingly horrifying ways.

When Evil Lurks Review: Is It Worth Watching?

If you’re a horror fan who’s sick of cheap jump-scares and boring, paint-by-numbers exorcism movies, this is a film you have to watch, well, you should watch it anyway regardless, as it’s brilliant. Director Demian Rugna completely throws out the rulebook and drops you straight into a world where evil has already won.

I do love it when horror films take familiar themes and just flip them on their head. We’ve all seen possession movies before I am sure, but When Evil Lurks treats possession like its an infection, something physical, and yet unstoppable, and an evil where you can’t just pray it away.

The acting is the major reason this film works. Ezequiel Rodríguez gives Pedro this weight of a man constantly trying to outrun his past mistakes. He’s broken but trying hard, and that makes every decision he makes feel so painfully human.

And Damián Salomón as Jimi is the perfect counterbalance. He’s not necessarily smarter, just more skeptical, and watching them both unravel as the evil spreads is incredibly devastating.

What will really surprise you though is how natural it all feels.

There are no forced exposition scenes, and no awkward characters explaining the rules of the universe. Rugna trusts you to figure it out as you go, and that makes it all even scarier. You will feel like you are in the dark alongside the characters, trying to understand this nightmare as it unfolds.

The gore and violence is brutal, as when people get hurt here, it feels permanent, and there are a few scenes (you’ll know when you see them) that you won’t be able to get out of your head.

When Evil Lurks is a film that doesn’t hold your hand. It doesn’t care if you understand the lore right away. It gives you just enough, then throws you into all with everyone else. And I loved that. It’s a film that respects your intelligence, which is more than I can say for a lot of horror out there.

The pacing is generally good too, but maybe a little uneven at times, but nothing major. And while some character decisions are your typical dumb horror film decisions, I did find myself asking myself ”Well, in that situation, would I have done that”, and yeah, I might have done.

It’s a deeply emotional film that will probably wreck you in all the worse ways. There’s a deep sadness running throughout the film, and it’s not just about surviving the evil, it’s about watching people you love fall apart and being powerless to stop it. That’s where the real horror lives.

It’s a horror film that doesn’t just try to scare you, it wants to mess you up a little, too. And it does. It’s ugly, tense, occasionally absurd in how dark it gets, and yet deeply human at the same time.

It’s bleak and brutal, and well worth a watch.

What I Liked (And What I Didn’t Like)

Pros

The Acting Is Incredible

Ezequiel Rodríguez and Damián Salomón absolutely carry this film. Their chemistry feels incredibly authentic, like actual siblings who have dealt with years of baggage, and you will believe every panic attack, every emotional breakdown, every impulsive (and bad) decision they make.

Grounded Storytelling

No flashy rituals. No over-the-top mythology. Just people trying and failing to survive something they don’t understand.

The Gore

Nothing ever feels gratuitous in the film. Every wound, every broken body serves the story.

Unpredictable Narrative

I genuinely had no idea where the story was going. And in horror, that’s rare. No one felt safe, and nothing unfolded the way I expected.

Real Emotional Stakes

When Evil Lurks is not just about the evil out there, it’s also about the damage already inside these people. The past haunts them almost as much as the supernatural stuff.

Direction and Cinematography

Rugna knows how to build tension visually. The way he frames certain scenes, and lets the silence linger is genius.

Cons

Minor Plot Holes

There are a couple things that don’t totally track if you think too hard about them. Luckily, the film’s momentum helps you ignore most of that.

Minimal World-Building

I liked the mystery, but I wouldn’t have minded a little more clarity on the rules of the possession. Some basic context would’ve helped.

Who Might Like When Evil Lurks

• People who can stomach gore and a real emotional intensity
• Horror lovers tired of the same possession tropes
• People who appreciate brilliant direction
• If you like films that don’t hold your hand or sugar coat shit

Who Might Dislike When Evil Lurks

• Anyone looking for a happy ending
• If you’re sensitive to violence involving children
• Those who need a lot of the lore explained
• Folks turned off by subtitles

Final Verdict: Did I Enjoy Watching When Evil Lurks?

Yes. It messed me up, but in the way I like.

When Evil Lurks is the kind of horror film you will not forget about in a hurry. Not because it’s perfect, but because it’s fearless.

It takes risks, it hits hard, and it doesn’t give you any room to breathe. It’s angry, sad, violent, and real.

If you’re tired of glossy horror movies with PG-13 tension, cheap jump scares, and cheesy CGI, this film will remind you what fear actually feels like.

And if you end up liking it, make sure you check out Terrified (2017) from the same director. Not quite as good, but still very good.

And in recent days, news of When Evil Lurks 2 has dropped as well!

When Evil Lurks Trailer