El Dia de la Bestia (The Day of the Beast, 1995)

Spanish 20th Century Fox DVD edition






For some reason i missed this 1995 Spanish horror comedy gem by Alex de la Iglesia that was a huge success in Spain and met with a lot of
praise at international film festivals too. I had never heard of it and as i had read on the sleeve (see pic above) "a Satanic action comedy" i had
somewhat low expectations of the viewing because of Horror-Comedy being a very tricky genre to succeed with, "Re-Animator" as one of
the notable exceptions. Is Alex de la Iglesia somehow related to Eloy de la Iglesia, the man behind i.a. the 1972 La Semana del Asesino ? But
probably not as De La Iglesia may be a common name in Spain.

It's always good to have low expectations for a film and i quickly realized that i was going to have a really good time, the film Rocked! Never a
dull moment with the tremendous pace, great actors and a clever script, even though the ending was a bit confusing.

From left to right: Santiago Segura as José Maríe, Armando De Razza as professor Cavan, Álex Angulo as Angel

Grazia Cucinotta as the Professor's girlfriend (below)

A priest and professor of theology, Angel, confesses to a colleague that he has cracked the secret code.
For 25 years he has studied the text of one of the evangelists in the bible, and he has found a secret message behind the words, The Day of
The End of the World, El Dia de la Bestia
, when Anti-Christ will be born. But Basque Angel has a plan and leaves for Madrid.
He wants to do evil things he says and the priest starts by stealing the money from a street begger. Angel's plan is to sell his soul to Satan
and he looks for people to help him, as a satanist working in a record shop (Segura) and a clairvoyant professor of the occult (De Razza).

Lots of fun mayhem ensues in the Madrid night, a city that looks like the apocalypse has already started, and with great actors also in the
smaller parts. As Terele Pavez as José Maríe's tough mother, italian actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta as the professor's harassed and busty
girlfriend and Nathalie Seseña as Mina, the virgin kitchen maid. GREAT FUN.

The Spanish DVD presented the film in anamorphic widescreen 1.85:1 and with a spanish audio 5.1 DD or 2.0 with english subtitles.
Extras: an audio commentary in spanish without english subtitles, behind the scenes 21 minute without subtitles, promo stuff, cover pics,
photos, storyboard, TV spot and trailer and a 11 minutes Short Film in black & white "Mirindas Asesinas" with Alex Angulo

 

Back to Horror Films Page 1