The Day of the Beast (1998)

Touches You

Good concept, poorly executed.

A Masterpiece!

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

being a horror films fan when i went through IMDb users good rating i thought this would be a good horror movie for sure , but believe me i would like to warn all the horror fans that if u r intending to download this movie u better kick ass ... its one of the most worst horror film / film in any way and all the way .the name el DI DE la ... gives a big kindaa impression but its a hell to watch this fu****g movie . it shows nothing according its name there is no such beast and even nothing at all....i don't understand why these morons gave huge high rating and good comments ? so its a total waste of time ....... i would like to rate - 0 / 10

This movie is definitively awful. I watched it on Easter evening in 2011, hoping to see a good movie, after I had seen films like L'Aldilà of Lucio Fulci, They live of John Carpenter and The Brood of Cronenberg, but all I found is a mix of a comic movie and horror elements. These, however, aren't in the typical style of "Splatters" or "Bad Taste" (by Peter Jackson), made up as comic and horror movies. I think this was a pathetic tentative of the author of making a good horror, after felt in the comicality. The first scene, as I saw in the commercial, showing a big crucifix falls on a priest, made me think about a good movie, but the crescendo was awful: Maria Grazia Cucinotta seems idiot, and the Italian magician is totally pathetic. In a second you can even see a picture of a young Berlusconi. Don't see it.

"El Día de la Bestia" is a transcendental movie, maybe that important that it's hard to admit that it started a revolution. To begin with, Spanish Horror cinema is one before and after this movie.Let's think about the same situation that happened with "Evil Dead". This film is a diabolical mix of black humor, gore, a scary plot, plenty of action, and a look of a comic book.With the aforementioned description, it seems that the film shouldn't be taken seriously because most of the mentioned elements make a hint to black humor cinema. But the movie doesn't concentrates specifically on any of those aspects; no, it follows an intense pace with the purpose of solving a sinister plot through black humor and horror. It executes those elements as complements without keeping in mind it's objective.We got scenes of black humor that tend to be cruel, hilarious, and sinister. For example, the giant cross crushing a priest. Or what about the priest chasing Jose Mari's sister and dispatching his mother? The scenes with most tension and terror deal with the satanic ritual where a black goat appears and when the devil makes a terrifying appearance (standing up confronting José Mari and throwing him out of the tower and then confronting the priest) I understand now how "Drag Me To Hell" got inspired in the use of shadows and the talking goat. You saw it first here! ;) The on-screen duo conformed by the priest and José Mari is hilarious and gives you an idea of a very sui-generis friendship based on religious obsession, heavy metal, insane dialogs, and more.The dialogs have a little for something. For some moments the demonic references may creep you about because most of them are very accurate. Other moments will make you laugh out loud mainly because of the irreverences of the crazed priest and José Mari, or because of their physical humor (it plays an important part).But those elements couldn't be accomplished without a talented cast. The three principal actors were born for their roles. Álex Angulo delivers a comedic, creepy performance filled with anxiety but conviction to follow his ideals. He is in charge to change the pace of the movie when it reaches levels of surrealism. Armando De Razza is perfect and believable as Professor Cavan, a charlatan in disguise who enjoys making money and success (and hot women) through the ingenuity of the audience. A versatile actor. Santiago Segura becomes an instant favorite of the audience as the loyally obsessed partner of the priest. He delivers the perfect dosis of humor and with his heavy metal knowledge he gives you an idea of how irreverent he is.Special mention for the extreme hottie María Grazia Ciconotta. Wow, she is very hot, extremely sexy. And those are real ;) The score is great. The movie has an official soundtrack with songs of heavy metal, rap, hip-hop.The Direction by Alex de la Iglesia is spectacular, great. We got dynamic sequences, other elegant takes that need a high budget, and the movie always looks dynamic, radiant. The world never looked this dark before the Apocalypsis.The Cinematography and Art Direction is perfect. Just very rich and dark.This is a prime example of black humor, horror, and quality. Other films like these? I can only think about "Evil Dead", "Drag Me To Hell", and "Mucha Sangre". The word "cool" better describes this movie.To sum it up, this movie is an entertainment production, it's funny, and rough for any Horror fan. It's a black comedy that should please any fanatic of Horror.

DAY OF THE BEAST is a film that I've had in my possession for quite a while but just never got around to. Thanks to the prompting of a few adamant friends, I finally threw this one in. Having only seen de la Iglesia's ACCION MUTANTE (which I wasn't a real big fan of...) and PERDITA DURANGO (aka DANCE WITH THE DEVIL - which I did like very much...) I wasn't sure what I was in for with DAY OF THE BEAST. I must say that although flawed, it is one of the better horror/comedy hybrids that I've ever seen.It's Christmas-time, and a priest has learned through his studies the day of the anti-Christ's birth. His goal is to invoke the Devil by performing whatever bits of Satanic mayhem he can in order to eventually "realize" his goal of summoning Satan and killing his spawn. In his quest, the holy-man calls upon the knowledge of a death-metal obsessed record-store clerk, and a cheezy talk-show host to further his cause...A truly funny and well-made production - DAY OF THE BEAST is a fun and twisted black-comedy that should appeal to most horror fans. It's not a graphically gory or sleazy film - but the solid performances, excellent camera-work and solid story-line should keep your interest. The ending is a big anti-climactic which was the only real drawback to me. An otherwise great film that should be at the top of your list...8.5/10