Sort of a surprise hit of the year for me, I only heard about “When Evil Lurks” a couple of weeks before it came out and I’m glad I did. It’s probably the best horror movie I’ve seen this year, in part because of its pure commitment to cruelty. On a surface level, it sounds bad, but in an age of slow, empathetic, “elevated” horror, it’s nice to see a movie so committed to its atmospheric dread and feel-bad filmmaking.

The film follows two brothers in a small, remote village as they attempt to stop the birth of a demon, seen as evil itself, as it transfers from being to being and chases them around. An intense sense of dread envelops their nightmare-filled road trip, as the brothers try to escape and stop the demon through a series of locations and scares.

A continuously escalating series of nasty, goopy, gore-filled setpieces consistently kept me shocked and engaged throughout. It’s the most I’ve ever been disgusted in the theater this year, even beyond Saw X’s traps. The practical effects keep it grounded and tangible and add to the nastiness. From the massive, bloated possessed man to the absurd child ragdoll to heads spilling with blood, the horrific sequences are brutal and effective.

The digital cinematography is frequently solid and in service of the scares. Even in the black of night, everything is visible. The camera always lingers directly on the action, almost never cutting away, leaving little of the disturbing imagery to the imagination.

The performances are good, with Ezequiel Rodriguez as Pedro being the standout. He does an incredible job of capturing the bleakness and despair of the situation as everything around him continues to fall apart.

When Evil Lurks is an excellent horror film well worth your time, even if it mostly functions as a vehicle for its atmosphere and gore. There’s some solid lore beneath the surface here, culminating in a great, strange finale.