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