“When evil stalks”: Demián Rugna’s new release arrived on Netflix
Those who have not been able to see the Argentine’s latest film on the big screen Demián Rugnaa new milestone in national horror cinema, or those who wish to see it again, have the opportunity to do so through Netflix, since “When Evil Stalks” arrived this Friday, June 14, in the streaming platform’s catalog.
During the 56th edition of the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival (Spain), held in 2023, the new film by Argentine filmmaker, Demián Rugna, won the highest award, the award for Best Feature Film, becoming the first Latin American film to receive this mention. “When evil lurks“, which was part of the Official Selection of the Catalan festival, also took the Blood Window Award to the Best film.
From there, the film began to be released in the main movie theaters in Argentina, with notable box office success. In Santa Fe, for example, Rugna’s work had a long stay on the billboard of the Cinema America (Cinema Club Santa Fe).
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By Hernán Ceccato
Demonization syndrome: Argentine rural terror and hatred of the unknown
The new production from the director of “Terrified” (2017) demonstrates that the Argentine filmmaker knows and knows how to manipulate the elements that make a good film of the genre. Moving away from easy scares, but highlighting violence and gore, Rugna He has managed to deepen his vision as a creator, and those who seek it will find in his new project subtexts and allegories present in the most notable Argentine horror films.
The “incarnated” or “embichado” are the concepts used by the characters of “When evil lurks” to refer to those who have been overtaken by the mysterious forces of evil. Oscillating between a demon and the antichrist, it is not clear exactly who – or what – the protagonists of the film are facing, but the presence of evil causes a series of violent events and each person reached by these forces will try to “infect” to their loved ones, in a kind of terrifying epidemic. Although the concept of a person invaded by dark forces seems something assumed by everyone in the reality that the film proposes, some doubt and others directly choose to ignore the signs. Rugna manages to construct the idea of a seriously ill, fragmented, unequal, broken population suffering from low morale..
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The concept of “demonization syndrome was used by Jesus Diaz in a remarkable essay on the film “A Cuban fight against demons“, directed by the Cuban Tomás Gutiérrez Alea (1971) and based on the book of the same name by Fernando Ortiz Fernandez (1959). The idea is that, long before the arrival of the Spanish, “demons” were entities already present in Latin communities. Those original demons accompanied the Indians and served as means to obtain answers to the various enigmas that the forces of nature unleashed, including the meaning of life and death. However, he points out Diaz“Demonization itself, that is, understood as a systematic resource of power to crush the different, came with the successive waves of conquistadors – Spanish colonizers, at the hands of the Catholic Church and its secular arm, the Inquisition.“. In this way, the author proposes to study demonization as an ideological procedure that consists of “deny to the other his human condition, and identify him with the causes of evil and even with evil itself if he does not voluntarily or under torture abdicate his own faith, religion or belief, adopts those of the master and agrees to work for him as a servant, snitch or slave“.
In this sense, “When evil lurks” proposes a double treatment of the demonic question. On the one hand, following in the footsteps of films like “The Exorcist” either “The prophecy“, eradicating evil from the town is extremely necessary once its inhabitants begin to succumb to violence; but at the same time, a view completely crossed by a national situation is evident where “evil” appears linked to those who do not belong to a certain territory, foreigners, “those from outside“. In the rural Argentina that Rugna reflects, that which comes from outside, the unknown, is an enemy of the natural order and must be eliminated, even if that implies our own destruction..
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Argentine cinema marked its presence in Sitges
The Latin American fantasy genre left its mark at the last Sitges film festival. The Chilean film stood out with a good reception from the public “Witchcraft“, of Christopher Murray, a denunciation of colonization on the remote island of Chiloé; or Brazilian production “Property“, of Daniel Bandeira, a story of class struggle and violence in rural Brazil; in addition to a special mention for the Spanish-Argentine co-production “Flies” of Aritz Morenoheld by the international jury.
After having been awarded the highest award of the contest, the Argentine Demian Rugna expressed his pride and happiness, and celebrated the Catalan festival as “the mecca of the fantasy genre“. “I think a lot about my colleagues in Argentina, who are going through a difficult time, and I hope that this award helps defend culture“said the Argentine director.
Likewise, he noted that “In the last year (2023) almost no films have been produced through the Institute” so he considered that ““Next year (2024) the decrease will be noticeable” in the Argentine film industry. ““A regrettable fact”according to the award-winning director, because “there is talent” and “In recent times there has been a lot of filming in Argentina, but now there are many economic problems”.
