When Evil Lurks

When Evil Lurks (Cuando acecha la maldad) is a 2023 supernatural horror film written and directed by Demián Rugna. An international co-production of Argentina and the United States, the film stars Ezequiel Rodríguez, Demián Salomon, Luis Ziembrowski, Silvia Sabater and Marcelo Michinaux.

When Evil Lurks premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 16, 2023. It received a theatrical release by IFC Films on October 6, and debuted on the streaming service Shudder on October 27.

Plot
The morning after hearing gunshots in nearby woods, brothers Pedro and Jaime discover half the body of a man which leads them to a nearby shack, where María Elena, an elderly woman, and her two sons are in hiding. The eldest, Uriel, has become a Rotten, a being possessed by an unborn demon awaiting physical birth. The corpse was that of a "Cleaner", who was supposed to kill Uriel and abort the demon before it possesses others.

The authorities dismiss the demon as not their problem. The brothers inform the landowner Ruiz, whose solution involves dumping Uriel away from his land. They realize too late that Uriel has fallen off the truck somewhere along the way. Unable to find him, Ruiz declares the matter resolved and returns home.

The next morning, Ruiz's wife Jimena discovers one of their goats has become possessed. Despite her warning against using guns because they help to spread the possession, Ruiz kills the animal. Jimena immediately kills Ruiz then commits suicide with her axe.

Jaime and Pedro plan to leave town with their family members and escape to safety. Jaime gets their mother, while Pedro goes to his ex-wife Sabrina and his two children, Jair and Santino. In Sabrina's house, while Jaime argues with Sabrina and her new husband Leonardo, the family dog, who previously licked Pedro's demon-mucked clothes, savagely attacks Vicky (Leonardo and Sabrina's daughter) and drags her outside. The two men chase the dog and Leonardo shoots it despite Pedro's warning. Pedro returns to Sabrina but sees Vicky is back, seemingly normal. As Pedro steals a car and drives away with his sons, he sees a possessed Leonardo crash his truck into Sabrina and Vicky, who later dances gleefully.

After Pedro picks up Jaime and their mother, the assembled family leaves town. They meet Mirta, a former Cleaner and Jaime's acquaintance, who invites them to stay overnight. Mirta warns Jaime about Jair, who is autistic, as exhibiting signs of possession, which Jaime dismisses. The possessed Sabrina kidnaps Santino. Jaime chase after her while Mirta and Pedro search for Uriel. As Jaime approaches Sabrina, Jaime discovers that she has brutally killed Santino. In a fit of rage, he runs her over and pins her to a tree. The brothers' mother stays at Mirta's house and waits with Jair, who now speaks clearly and without impediment.

Pedro and Mirta's search leads them to a schoolhouse filled with possessed children who had killed the adults and hidden Uriel. The pair find Uriel under the stage in the small auditorium; while Pedro tries to properly unearth him, Mirta sets up the exorcising ritual. Losing his patience and believing one of the children's lies about a fire axe nearby that might help, Pedro runs to the office only to get locked in. While he is away, the children kill Mirta and dismantle the equipment. As he returns, a desperate and angry Pedro beats Uriel to death. The demon is born out of Uriel's corpse. After taunting Pedro by sparing him, the demon walks out into the morning sun followed by the children.

Pedro, Jaime, and Jair return home. Jaime finds Uriel's possessed brother Eduardo who admits to killing and eating the original Cleaner four days ago. He also reveals he did the same to his mother and alludes that Jaime's mother has suffered the same fate. Inside, Pedro feeds Jair ice cream but he chokes and coughs up Pedro's mother's hair and necklace. Pedro walks outside, collapses, and wails in grief.

Cast

 * Ezequiel Rodríguez as Pedro Yazurlo
 * Demián Salomon as Jaime "Jimi" Yazurlo
 * Silvina Sabater as Mirta
 * Luis Ziembrowski as Armando Ruiz
 * Marcelo Michinaux as Santino Yazurlo
 * Emilio Vodanovich as Jair Yazurlo
 * Virginia Garófalo	as Sabrina
 * Paula Rubinsztein	as Sara
 * Lucrecia Nirón Talazac as Vicky
 * Isabel Quinteros as María Elena Gómez
 * Desirée Salgueiro as Jimena Ruiz
 * Federico Liss as Leonardo "Leo"

Production
In 2021, the screenplay for When Evil Lurks won the Runner Up Prize at the Sitges Pitchbox, an international pitch event hosted by Filmarket Hub and the 56th Sitges Film Festival.

When Evil Lurks is produced by Shudder and La Puerta Roja, the latter a joint venture partnership between the Argentine-based Aramos Cine and Machaco Films. It is Shudder's first Spanish-language production. Filming took place in 2022.

Release
During the film's post-production, an early market screening was held for the film at Ventana Sur in Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires, where it won the Blood Window Screenings Award.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 13, 2023 as part of the festival's "Midnight Madness" section. Paris-based company Charades managed international sales for the film at the festival.

The film was theatrically released by IFC Films on October 6, followed by a release on the Shudder streaming service on October 27.

Reception
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 75 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.