When Evil Lurks
IFC Films | Release Date: October 6, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
IGNMatt DonatoOct 12, 2023
When Evil Lurks is a capital “H” horror film that risks it all and hits the jackpot, pummeling its audience into submissions and still leaving us asking for more. Read full review
89
PolygonTasha RobinsonOct 6, 2023
With this project, Rugna breaks plenty of horror rules and literally writes his own, turning his film into 2023’s most unnerving horror release — and a welcome revival for a subgenre that seemed like it was on its last spindly, clawed, wall-climbing legs. Read full review
83
The PlaylistCharles BarfieldOct 28, 2023
Perhaps it’s the fact that the first 45 minutes of “When Evil Lurks” is so great, but the dopamine rush does fade quite a bit in the second half of the film. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesAmy NicholsonOct 6, 2023
This is a film that delights in unspoken terrors and audience misdirection. Read full review
80
The Daily BeastNick SchagerOct 5, 2023
Delivering scares at a pace that rarely allows one to catch their breath, and with enough gruesome surprises to consistently startle. Read full review
80
SlashfilmRafael MotamayorSep 28, 2023
This is a movie that is both familiar and fresh. Scary, yes, but mostly disturbing, gory, smart, quite expansive, and all around created in the bowels of hell itself.  Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerOct 4, 2023
Demián Rugna's debut feature, Terrified contains one of the most eerily disturbing scenes in recent cinema history, a moment involving an unwanted guest at a dinner table. His follow-up, When Evil Lurks, confirms that the Argentinian filmmaker knows exactly how to get under your skin. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineSteven ScaifeOct 13, 2023
Demián Rugna’s harrowing film spares no one from the cruelty of its world. Read full review
75
ColliderChase HutchinsonSep 17, 2023
Even when you then think it may have all settled down, the film twists the knife even further. Read full review
70
We Got This CoveredScott CampbellOct 26, 2023
It's not going to be for everyone, but if you've got the stomach for it, then When Evil Lurks is easily among the year's most gruesome, unrelenting, and unforgettable horrors. Read full review
70
The New York TimesErik PiepenburgOct 5, 2023
This is a dark and timely parable about what happens when trust — among community members, within families, between a government and its people — disintegrates. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreOct 11, 2023
When Evil Lurks is still one of the most original horror films of recent memory and a pretty convincing argument to turn out the lights when you’re not using them, no matter how scary the dark is, especially out in the sticks. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoSep 18, 2023
It’s an admirably vicious piece of work when it wants to be—although arguably could have gone even further and more frequently. Read full review
50
IndieWireWilson ChapmanSep 14, 2023
A fun premise can get a horror film far, and “When Evil Lurks” has one that could be taken to interesting, terrifying places. But rather than lean into what makes its world of demonic diseases intriguing, the film squanders its own potential by leaning into its worst qualities and instincts. Read full review
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