The Night Diver

It has been a while since I’ve added a new movie to my repertoire, so I decided to watch a movie that looked quite intriguing as of late. ‘When Evil Lurks’ is an absolutely terrifying movie about a possession running rampant in a small rural community in Argentina. Now when I say possession, it immediately conjures images of corpse-like girls, floating chairs, and priests. But this is something entirely different, and I really enjoyed this new twist on the “possession” genre. The first thing that really pops out is the sheer visceral horror it conveys through the practical effects. One main example being the first possessed person the main characters encounter, which is a man who is obese to the point of being a practical blob, riddled with all these disgusting sores, that nearly made me gag. The practical effects used here were beyond convincing, and they really shook me. This was just the beginning of the movie.

Another very interesting part of the movie was the setting and worldbuilding. This wouldn’t be something you expect from a horror movie, especially about possessions. But there are hints and tidbits dropped about the world, which make it much different than what we expect. For example, possessions and supernatural events follow certain rules that people know about, and law enforcement has a process set in place on how to deal with such supernatural events (Success and effectiveness of such processes is debatable). This is an interesting way to subvert expectations, as the world itself does not necessarily lend itself to typical tropes and expectations one may have for such a genre. This made me much more intrigued about the story as the movie unfolded.

The main draw for this movie is the sheet amount of horrifying gore and violence, which is brought to life with clever camerawork, and practical effects to really sell it all. The camerawork is is very focused, and is used to great effect with all of the scares, even when dealing with dark environments. Finally, the characters are very well-realized in the story, especially with their flaws. The actors do a phenomenal job in bringing these characters to life within this dark and twisted world, making it a very immersive experience overall. I think it’s very interesting as to how it challenges the somewhat common idea that a rough, grizzled, independent man in a rural environment might be best equipped to deal with a bad situation. Instead, their rigid and determined nature becomes the greatest flaw, causing them to stumble into more problems even in the face of useful advice.

Overall, I think this movie is an interesting watch. It really excels at crafting a dark world with interesting lore that really keeps the mind thinking about what else might be possible. The overarching evil that drives the story is terrifying, since it does not hold back on any of the characters in the slightest. The characters are very interesting, but may also come off as frustrating to some watchers because of their flawed approach to events in the movie. For myself, it seems to be a deliberate choice for the theme of the movie, but I could see why it might not be enjoyable for others.

My final rating for this movie is: 4/5 stars