When Evil Lurks

Directed by Demian Rugna, this Argentinian horror brings some much needed originality to the possession genre. Two brothers stumble across a bisected carcass which leads them to evil itself, taking the form of a puss-ridden, bloated, disaeased man named Uriel who is then dubbed as a ‘rotten’- an unborn demon using a human body as a host. Unlike most possession films, the nature of the demon is to immobilise its host and spread like a parasite from body to body creating a demonic game of pass the parcel with no purpose other than to kill, survive and become birthed into its own body. The opening sequence of events are impressive as the director drops audiences into ‘media res’ in the most brutal way possible, despite the fluid and scenic cinematography. Goats, suicide and a barely-human sack of decay, rivalling the gluttony victim from ‘Se7en’, are just some of the horrors exposed, in well-executed graphic detail. Modern horrors naturally capitalise on the advancing force of CGI for their gore scenes, however, in some cases the injury detail is prioritised over the infliction of violence leaving the use of gore somewhat redundant. Luckily this feature does not fall into this trap every stage of every death is orchestrated with care, usually following the pattern of, tense introduction, brutal death and a full exposition of injury detail.  

In any piece of horror cinema, no matter how sensationalised, death by itself isn’t enough to sustain any audience no matter the runtime, it is merely the final blow and climax within a narrative. In this case Rugna, abides by this unspoken law by providing an original lore behind the demonic plague. Seven rules to survive the rotters are mentioned throughout the middle of the film, examples including: don’t use electricity, don’t say the name of the host and don’t kill the rotters with fire arms. As with most horror plots each and every one of the rules are broken almost as if they only existed to highlight the stupidity of the two protagonists. Additionally, the rules are scarcely mentioned till its too late for the brothers and in terms of lore it is soon recognised as the weakest component of the film despite it being the most explained. Other accompanying rules and regulations provided is that a rotter can only be banished by a cleanser and their special array of what can only be described as steampunk-plumbing utensils which are neither used or explained. The combination of the overrused theme of protagonist fatal stupidity and underdeveloped lore, although original, leaves the films strength dependant on the death scenes. Regardless, writer and director Rugma does not restrict the films range in terms of location and characters. The pacing is smooth which is crucial as the characters’ journey from place to place is mirrored with the progression of deaths. The on screen staging and grouping of characters is well executed as the close-follow style cinematography swings between the fight and flight situations from the perspective of many individuals creating an intense and engaging viewing experience. The locations themselves are beautiful, peaceful and rural emphasising the boundless grasp evil holds. There is a constant pressure of inescapability  which is made tragic by the simplicity of the initial conflict the brothers find themselves in.  

Similarly to the plot, the dialogue lacks quality and is often confusing especially in the occasional cases of overacting. This is overshadowed, however, by the range of relationships that are successfully constructed providing some depth to the script and making the death scenes more impactful as friends and family destroy themselves at the hands of a demonic puppet master. Likely taking inspiration from hereditary the tried and tested neurodivergent unsuspecting family member both adds the element of helplessness whilst providing yet another powerful death scene as they cough up the hairball of the previously undigested grandmother. In short, the film excells in crafting the perfect death scenes and balances the range of characters and locations by implementing   consistent pacing  and versatile cinematography. Had this film elborated on its originality and lore it may have reached an elevated, cult-classic level of horror cinema, a level missed only by unrefined plot devices and quality of writing.