The poster is really well done - reminds me of horror movies from the '70's.

one thing that really stood out to me in the worldbuilding of the film is how they imply that big cities are already infested with this evil and how smaller rural communities are aware and fearful of it, but still live their lives day to day hoping it stays away. im argentinean and grew up in such a rural community in the early 2000s as rising crime and poverty rates affected the city of Buenos Aires. We watched the news report on all of this and grew up thinking big cities were a gigantic and horrifying lawless place governed by darkness and violence, were murders, kidnappings and r4pe were common and almost accepted by the population. so this movie taps into very real fears and anxieties of its country of origin.

The dog scene blew my socks off. Also, I recommend you check out this filmmakers first film “TERRIFIED.” After that, check out Bryan Bertino’s “The Dark and the Wicked” if you’re looking for a similar-vibe with shocking twists and turns. The ending of the dark and the wicked is INCREDIBLE.

Thanks for the review, James. Hope more critics review this movie and spread the word. Horror fans deserve new original movies, instead of remakes and endless sequels. Thanks again

This proves that you don't need cheap jump scares to make a good horror movie.

you need to watch his previous one - terrified (aterrados) it's such a banger

This just premiered today on Shudder and hopefully it'll get more eyes. It deserves it. Glad I steered you in its direction and that you had a blast with it. On par with Birth/Rebirth for my favorite genre film of the year.

"When Evil Lurks" won the grand prize at the Sitges Film Festival, one of the great fantasy and horror film festivals. An earlier film by Demian Rugna is "Terrified", very different but also excellent.

This just came on my radar yesterday, so I hope a local theater near me will get it. I really want to see it! And I'm glad you personally had a good horror experience after that... last one. Thanks for another great review!

I saw it tonight as I have a Regal Unlimited pass. I knew nothing about it. Absolutely Awesome. Shocking scenes, breaks taboos in films related to children. Think closer to Evil Dead w multiple people getting possessed and animals. Im totally buying it. I agree Exorcist Believer was just meh. This one deserves a much larger audience.

Another thing thats worth mentioning is the off screen deaths so later on when your wondering what happened to this person they show you just enough that you realize what happened to the victim was a hundred times worse than you thought.

Just watched Terrified by the same director. Definitely interested in seeing this.

Your opinion is refreshing on horror movies

The little girl laying on her grandma’s lap while asking questions is actually a little boy. But aside from that, the movie is fantastic! Great review!

best horror movie of 2023 and its definitely not gonna dethroned

You've sold me... I'm gonna check it out.

Glad you were able to cleanse your palette. I know this is a tough question but what specific subgenre of horror do you think is sorely lacking today? I'm glad to here you found this film so original. I'm shocked there's any of that left in the creative world.

Have you seen Talk to Me it’s more original then most horror movies made by American directors. It’s directed buy Australians and they are KZfaqrs it would be awesome to hear your thoughts and criticisms.

Sounds perfect for the season. Thanks for the heads up!👍🏻

James - new sub here as of yesterday when I watched your review of the turd that is Exorcist: Believer. Gotta say you are a breath of fresh air as it relates to KZfaq movie reviewers. Love your approach, style, and insights. Please keep it up and I will be spreading the good word here on my end. Thanks

Your video is an everlasting wellspring of motivation! - "Every setback holds a valuable lesson..."

gracias por la recomendación, nunca se me hubiera ocurrido ver esta película

I watched it in the theatre last night - I don't understand the hype unfortunately. For me it was an interesting concept, with some shocking moments, executed in a way that felt like a long Walking Dead episode, with poor tension building and about zero actual scares.

Well, I know what I will be checking out tonight. I will not watch the entire review because I want to go in blind. Thnx for the heads up. Btw Cruising was a blast to see on the big screen.

Saw it at beyond fest. Great movie

This cut out people are called Gauchos, like American cowboys more or less in Argentina,Paraguay….etc Can’t wait

@GeekinWithJamesHancock huge fan of the channel and I’m a big horror fan but a lot of my family and friends aren’t so, unless it’s a big franchise release like Alien: Romulus in a few weeks that me and my dad are both excited to see, me more so I think, then it’s hard to get them out to the theater or watch them at home on streaming, I’m about to check this out on Hulu at home by myself this morning because, I don’t think the way you are describing this that I could get my family to watch it, hell I’m not sure as a big horror fan that, I’ll be able to get through it without shitting my pants. We will see though, I have seen Bryan Bertino’s The Dark and the Wicked that the audience member of the channel below me mentioned, and it’s been awhile but from what I remember it’s absolutely terrifying, if you haven’t seen it yet.

Absolutely one of the best horror films I've ever seen! I enjoyed this critical reaction very much.

cheers. loved it

This movie is a mixture of The Evil Dead, The Wailing & The Dark And The Wicked.

Just saw it tonight on your recommendation. Absolutely riveted by it. Loved every second. And had the entire theater to myself!

Loved this movie, and loved even more the previous Terrified, I'd even say When Evil Lurks is a sequel of Terrified because the seem to be happening in the same universe (King style)

It took the trope of possession, and probably for the first time since the original Exorcist, broke new ground.

This commentary is spectacular. Well done sir.

Glad you had a positive experience after Believer. Sounds like When Evil Lurks is a worthy reason to cash in my Shutter free trial. Thanks to Jake C. for assist.

Ok, James, let’s have it: I’ve seen Baskin and Terrified. Will I be able to handle this one!? 😂

I liked this movie but the gore was way over the top for me. In some scenes it was competing with the movie itself. I like minimalist but realistic movies. Terrified was better but suffered logical issues. Have you seen It Shall Not Be Named? It's nowhere near this movie's caliber but it has its own moments. A nice watch if you're into paranormal witch horror movies.

Yours was the best review yet. This movie was a breath of fresh air in the horror genre.

I’m going watch this today.

Evil is alive again. 😂

This was the most frightening film I’ve seen this year even over the nun 2 and exorcist :Believer .

Thanks for the recommendation, I'm gonna check it out. I recommend you Never Look Away by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. It's not an horror film but it's very good and so underrated.

Actually your pronunciation on those spanish proper names was pretty damn good

Thanks for the review. Sadly, I can't share your buoyant enthusiasm. The production value, acting and premise came across as cheap, gimmicky and using tropes we've seen 100's of times over (except done infinitely better). My personal opinion, of course. Was watching it with friends and couldn't wait for it to finish. Found out later they shared my sentiments. Regardless, glad some people appreciated it out there.

Just watched it. It's good enough, I didn't need to understand the dialogue. It got em all.

This was great! Have you seen the movie The Borderlands?

I couldn’t believe how much I loved this movie.. it definitely didn’t hold back at all.

Thank you for recommendation. You are succeeding with your mission to expose small movies to new audience 🦉 Here - 🏅

Is this better than Terrified cause boy that was a rough watch for me.

Where can i watch this? Im in the UK and cant find it on shudder.

You also need to check Rugna's other masterpiece - Aterrados (Terrified). Man, the first 5 minutes will blew your socks off.

This is a movie John Carpenter could have directed at the summit of his carreer.

OH yes thanks for reminding about the rules from nursery rhymes.

With so little on my radar that im interested in im glad there is something to look for. I need people like James to sift through the sht and present me the few gold nuggets.

i don't think Excorcist Believer was terrible. It's not great, but it's not trash.

Regal Paseo?

BTW, that wasn't a "little girl" in the car. It was a boy.

Great review as always just a quick question about the movie, is there animal horror/torture in the movie? Just for the heads up. Thanks

This sounds like a very scary movie. I hope I can see it. I like the premise and the world the film presents.

Is there a lot of animal cruelty in this? The “does the dog die” site just says a dog dies but nothing else yet!

Were real animals killed for this film? Or did they use effects, cuts and sounds to avoke the killings? Because if real animals were harmed for the making of this film i am not gonna watch it.

This movie was amazing. Saw it last night and told my boss to go watch lol

I thought it was stale af. The ending reveal scene was anticlimactic as well. Overall a solid bore fest. 5/10. Meh

It was a pretty good movie but idk if i need to watch it on an edible id be tweaking out lol

I couldn't believe all the children acting

That was a boy on her lap

Hella disturbing. Just watched today and damn. Possessed mama walking down the road with her son effed up

This movie is better than talk to me… i said what i said

I wish i could see the movie these youtube reviewers watched, becuse i saw this and was bored as hell, the gore was not as bad as they say it wasn't scary it seemed like it was filmed with an iPhone. don't believe the hype.

Yeah that marital argument scene was one of the most fucked up things I've ever seen. Loved this movie. It is very bleak, but I kind of laughed throughout it just at the sheer audacity of the distasteful things we see. Maybe I'm just a sick fuck... I agree with you about the last scare/reveal being underwhelming, especially because we know to some extent that something has happened, but I also kind of like that the final blow was more of an emotional blow than a flat out terrifying one. It's certainly a choice and not for everyone, but I think ending with another crazy scene like the argument would have almost cheapened the emotional impact of the film overall?

Man I think I need to eat an edible as well before watching a movie

LOL edible.

This one was a miss for me. Wish I didn’t watch any KZfaqr opinions first. Big let down for me 😔 That dog scene you could smell a mile away and the argument scene was cringe. Didn’t like this one. Didn’t do it for me. I Don’t get it. Would not recommend. Waste of time 🤷‍♀️

Hated this movie so much. Plrase stop promoting it.

One of the most boring horror movies I've ever seen. Just horrible. Not even slightly scary relying on gore horror and it wasn't even all that. This one is way overrated. 🥱