The Day of the Beast (1995)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Day of the Beast (1995) – A. de la Iglesia

This Spanish “horror-comedy” appears to have a cult following, so I checked it out.  Remarkably, it holds up well, treating its supernatural content as matter-of-fact (having people respond as they might really), creating characters that you feel warmth towards, not letting the (dry) humour get in the way of the narrative and action, and tying up all of the loose ends. Special effects (used sparingly) are not too bad, although the protagonists do end up pretty bloody by the end (even if there isn’t gore per sé). The plot involves a priest who believes he has discovered the day when the Anti-Christ will be born and the apocalypse will begin – Christmas 1995 (the film takes place on that Christmas Eve).  In order to locate (and presumably kill) the baby, the priest (Álex Angulo) feels he needs to contact the Devil himself and the only way to do this is to sin as much as possible (hence he begins stealing change from panhandlers, pushing street mimes off their pedestals etc.).  Attracted by the Satanic symbols in a local record store’s window, he recruits the heavy metalhead clerk (Santiago Segura) to his cause.  Together, they make contact with a charlatan TV show host who claims paranormal abilities (Armando De Razza) and solicit his help to conjure up the Devil.  Although chaotic at times, the plot does flow logically (more or less) while offering up a few surprises (funny or disturbing).  The director, Alex de la Iglesia, seems to have had a sustained career in this genre, though perhaps nothing else with this much acclaim.