Le Jour de la bête

I have become increasingly dissatisfied with most of Hollywood's output, horror or otherwise. Too many movies are either highly cynical commercial products, aimed at teenagers with no discernment or real love of movies, compromised messes that please no-one, stale rehashes of previous works, or just plain STUPID. 'The Day Of The Beast' is none of these things! I was almost put off by the packaging with it's description of a "horror action comedy", expecting some kind of juvenile 'Army Of Darkness' crap (a movie I have no time for). Surprisingly, it DOES have horror, action and comedy, but blends them in original and exciting ways Hollywood hasn't dreamed of. Just compare this to recent supernatural themed thrillers like the brain-dead 'End Of Days' or 'Stigmata', and you'll see that director Alex de la Iglesia is working on a much more intelligent and provocative level.

'The Day Of The Beast' concerns a naive priest's attempts to summon Satan so that he can try and prevent the birth of the Antichrist and Armageddon. He befriends a hilarious acid-gobbling Metal fan (the wonderful Santiago Segura), and with the reluctant assistance of the host of a TV show dealing with the paranormal, the two comrades bumble through a series of adventures while trying to complete their task. The whacky humour and general silliness is balanced with a genuinely dark vision of Madrid and this is what gives this movie such a unique flavour. It juggles comedy, horror and social criticism marvellously, and never loses sight of it's themes of faith, evil and moral responsibility.

I can't recommend this movie highly enough as the antidote to the onslaught of contemporary asinine horror and fantasy movies. Make sure you track down the original undubbed Spanish version to fully appreciate it. 'The Day Of The Beast' ranks up with Mexico's 'Cronos' and Canada's 'Ginger Snaps' as one of the most imaginative and original horror movies of the last ten years. Don't miss it!