The Day of the Beast

1998 "A devilishly dark comedy."
7.3| 1h43m| R| en
Details

The story revolves around a Basque Roman Catholic priest dedicated to committing as many sins as possible, a death metal salesman from Carabanchel, and the Italian host of a TV show on the occult. These go on a literal "trip" through Christmas-time Madrid to hunt for and prevent the reincarnation of the Antichrist.

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Also starring Armando De Razza

Reviews

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
nexus-37 About this movie... thank god one fellow of mine told me to watch this.I love gore, horror, splatter and all, combined with such a wonderful comedy. This was totally amazing and I laughed most of the time.If you like movie of this genre and like good comedy this is for you. Incredible while old. I almost choke in the beginning because the laughs.In middle of the movie I was little bored but it just got crazier, true cult classic guys!Maybe something was missing because some boredom but anyway superb movie, you don't have to watch it for more than 10 minutes and you are totally hooked.Thank you for all the cast, I didn't spend my night with some crappy crap... loll. this is one of a kind and truly underestimated.Give it at least a shot if you like this genre, most humorous I've never seen.8/10 from me.
ma-cortes A devilishly dark comedy/horror movie about a priest who moves to a big city where happens fantastic as well as horrifying deeds . Frightening and twisted film by the king of black comedy , Alex De La Iglesia . Outrageous movie with odd characters , touches of amusing humor , surreal imagery and thrilling plot . Alex De la Iglesia is an excellent and outlandish Spanish director , he had much success as "Accion Mutante" , " La Comunidad" , "Perlita Durango" , ¨Crimen Ferpecto¨ , among others . Here deals with a Basque reverend (Alex Angulo who gives an engagingly subtlety to his strange role) finds by means of a Cabalistic study of the bible that the anti-Christ is going to be born on Christmas day in Madrid . The priest searches for clues among the lyrics of 'death metal' and the city's human detritus . There the reverend , a theological inspired madman , befriends a heavy-rocker young (Santiago Segura brings funny acting as a record-shop assistant and HM fan) and both of them confront numerous terrifying adventures . They kidnap a famous TV psychologist (Armando De Razza) and then caught up in an impeding cataclysm . Meantime , somewhere out there , El Diablo is waiting to be born . This is a full-on surreal terror movie that blends thrills , a lot of fun , suspense , tension as well as an intriguing script full of underlying seriousness , horror , comedy and embarrassing situations . Packed with scenes of fantastic nature , robust humor , this story is a exciting as well as frightening , as we follow the strange situations of a peculiar couple whose destination is dictated by terrible events . Good acting by the starring couple , Alex Angulo and Santiago Segura , who will soon discover that the Antichrist will be born on Christmas Day and then forced to face dangerous happenings . The narration is so filled with quirk characters , crazy violence mixed with diabolic elements and an underlying sense of horror , and it is so excessive and plenty of surprises, one can't help but keep watching, much as it is over the top in many an occasion . Alex De La Iglesia has created a good picture here that in all honesty is very difficult to categorize in terms of genre , as there's a little bit of gruesomeness , quite a lot of horror , a good deal of suspense and a host of amusement ; but it does not fit into any one genre very well at all, in truth this is one of the things that makes it nice . Álex De la Iglesia claims the story's origin was the image of a apparently harmless man doing horrible things . De La Iglesia reigns in his style this time around and gives an utterly watchable takedown of horror/comedy that certainly delivers a few madly inspired moments . During shoot, crew and specifically Álex De la Iglesia received various death threats from so-called satanist groups . Acting personnel all do excellent work in bizarre roles , but special notice needs to be made for Alex Angulo giving an enjoyable acting along with Terele Pavez as an unsettling landlady . Excellent plethora of secondaries as Jaime Blanch , Maria Gracia Cuzinotta , Saturnino Segura , Natalie Seseña , Antonio Dechent and De La Iglesia usual's : Antonio De La Torre , Enrique Villen , Manuel Tafalle and El Gran Wyoming as Nuevo Cavan , among others . Interesting screenplay Alex De La Iglesia and Javier Guerricaechevarria who usually work united . Excellent special effects by Reyes Abades and great production design , including the neon "Schweppes" sign on which the protagonists are hung from is at number 41 of the Gran Via in the heart of Madrid, Spain . Atmospheric as well as glamorous cinematography by Fabio Martinez Labiano with a good camera work . Suspenseful and thrilling musical score , the soundtrack flows great with the film in every way, and creates fantastic atmospheres in every moment , including satanic sounds by Def Con Dos . The motion picture was well directed by De La Iglesia . He's a cool director has got much success as ¨Accion Mutante¨ ,¨Dying of laughter¨ or ¨Muertos De Risa¨ , ¨Baby's room¨ , ¨Oxford murders¨ , ¨Balada Triste De Una Trompeta¨ and ¨Perdita Durango¨ is probably the weirdest Javier Bardem film ever made . And of course 'La Comunidad' obtained the unanimous praise of both the critics and the public and results to be a lot of fun, especially for those who enjoy surrealist humor , it won several Goya prizes and a turning point in his meteoric career ; from then on he became his own producer, beginning with '800 bullets' (2002) through the Pánico Films company . Winner of several Goyas (Spanish Oscars), however his movies have not yet reached box office in USA, but he has strong followers , as his films have a kind of comic edge to them . Nonsense, ridicule , laughters , absurdity , disturbing scenes and many other issues ; you can find everything in this flick . ¨The day of the beast¨ captures the essence of the best Álex De La Iglesia, a filmmaker who, at this point in his own story, is respected and admired worldwide and has the most committed fans in the film universe . This is without a doubt a thrilling and enjoyable movie to be enjoyed for terror buffs and Alex De Iglesia fans.
dushyant chaturvedi This is an awesomely funny take on the concept of the birth of the Anti Christ. A priest comes to know 2 days before Christmas that the Anti Christ will be born on the Christmas Day. It is the story of the two days when he searches for the devil on the streets of Madrid. Aiding him in this endeavor are a heavy metal fan and a fake clairvoyant who hosts TV show about the future. There are many ironic sequences like the search for the blood of a virgin. The scenes involving the family of the heavy metal fan are unbelievably hilarious. One of the few movies which I have seen recently where I was genuinely unhappy that the movie had to end because the experience was too freakin great. 4 out of 5 for this comic masterpiece from Spain. a must watch for the movie lovers who enjoy their foreign cinema.
insomniac_rod "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.