When Evil Lurks(2023)

(Cuando acecha la maldad)
Pooper:
Pedro is tricked into abandoning Mirtha during the exorcism, leading to the possessed schoolchildren killing Mirtha. With Mirtha not having finished the exorcism, the demon is born. Pedro returns home, where he learns that his son Jair had also been possessed and ate his mother.

Long Ending:
In Argentina, people designated “Rottens” are individuals possessed by demons. The demon gestates inside the bodies of the Rotten and, if left un-exorcised, will be born from their host’s bodies. It is difficult to properly eradicate Rottens, so the government sends out specially trained “Cleaners” to exorcise the demons. If a Rotten feels threatened or is not killed correctly, the demons will also possess other people, corpses, and nearby animals to protect their hosts and spread their evil. Children are especially susceptible to possession by a Rotten. If a Rotten is killed pre-exorcism, it will immediately possess another person in the vicinity.

One night, in a small rural village, brothers Pedro (Ezequiel Rodríguez) and Jimi (Demián Salomón) find the body of a dead Cleaner on their property. This leads them to discover that their neighbor Uriel (acted by Pablo and Gonzalo Galarza, voiced by Berta Muñiz) has turned into a Rotten. He’s been hidden away by his mother and younger brother. The dead Cleaner was sent to exorcise Uriel but was killed before he arrived. The demon is clearly close to being born, so the family cannot wait for another Cleaner. After the police refuse to help, the brothers tell a wealthy nearby farmer named Ruiz about the Rotten. Ruiz, Pedro, and Jimi force Uriel into Ruiz’s truck and try to drive him out of their town (in hopes that its evil will, therefore, not infect them). They are unsuccessful, however, as they lose the body en route (it falls out of the back of Ruiz’s pickup truck). With Uriel now threatened, it possesses one of Ruiz’s goats. Ruiz shoots the demonic goat, but this only causes his pregnant wife to become possessed, and she kills both Ruiz and herself.

Trying to flee from the evil force, Pedro and Jimi leave the town and hide out at Sabrina’s house (Sabrina is Pedro’s ex-wife). She lives with her two sons with Pedro – Santino (Marcelo Michinaux) and autistic son Jair (Emilio Vodanovich) – as well as her new husband Leo and their young daughter Vicky. Their plan to escape is unsuccessful. After sniffing Pedro’s outfit, Sabrina’s massive family dog brutally attacks and kills Vicky, dragging her body down the street. Pedro and Leo chase after the dog. Pedro tries to stop Leo, but Leo ends up killing the dog and becomes possessed himself, along with Vicky’s corpse. Vicky’s corpse lures Sabrina outside, where Leo kills her. Pedro and Jimi are able to flee with Santino and Jair. On the way, they also pick up their mother (fearing that Sabrina’s corpse may try to attack her as she lives nearby). They drive to the home of a woman named Mirtha (Silvina Sabater) – a former lover of Jimi’s and a retired Cleaner. Mirtha explains that the evil is able to follow Pedro and Jimi by the scent of their fear. She also says that unless they exorcise Uriel, they will continue to be pursued. Finally, Mirtha notes that Jair has been possessed, but due to his autism, the demon hasn’t yet been able to take full control of the boy.

That night, Sabrina’s corpse arrives at Mirtha’s house. She grabs Santino and jumps off a balcony with him, then runs away. Jimi pursues Sabrina (in hopes that Santino is still alive) while Mirtha agrees to go with Pedro to try and find Uriel and exorcise him. They leave Jair with his grandmother, but after they leave, the demon is able to take full control of Jair. Jimi eventually finds Sabrina and discovers that Santino was killed in the fall from the balcony. A heartbroken Jimi runs over Sabrina’s corpse.

Mirtha and Pedro are eventually able to track Uriel down to a nearby school. Uriel has possessed numerous children to protect it. They eventually find Uriel’s body, and Mirtha begins the exorcism ritual, asking Pedro to protect her from the schoolchildren. However, the schoolchildren trick Pedro into leaving the ritual and, while he is gone, they kill Mirtha. Pedro tries to kill Uriel himself, but he is too late. The demon is born. It smirks at Pedro, but lets him live as it walks away with all the possessed schoolchildren.

The brothers return home with Jair after being unable to locate their mother. While outside, Jimi suddenly runs into Uriel’s younger brother weeping in their barn. The brother explains that he was possessed at the beginning of the movie and that it was he who killed the Cleaner who was sent to exorcise Uriel. He then admits that while possessed, he also killed and ate his mother. The tearful boy tells a horrified Jimi that he believes the same fate befell Jimi and Pedro’s mother. Meanwhile, inside the house, Jair begins vomiting. When Pedro goes to help, he sees his mother’s hair and necklace in Jair’s vomit. Pedro collapses to the ground in tears as the credits roll.

Order of Deaths:

• The Cleaner – Killed offscreen, although his body is later found torn to pieces. Later revealed to have been killed and eaten by Uriel’s possessed younger brother.
• Uriel’s Mother – Although not revealed until the end of the film, Uriel’s younger brother killed and ate her while possessed.
• Ruiz – After shooting a possessed goat, the demon possesses his pregnant wife. She immediately kills Ruiz with an axe to the head.
• Ruiz’s wife – After she murders Ruiz, she takes the axe and turns it on herself, chopping it into her head several times until she dies.
• Vicky – After her massive family dog gets possessed, it brutally attacks the young girl – biting her face, breaking her neck, and dragging her down a street. She returns as a possessed corpse to trick her mom into being killed by her possessed dad.
• Santino – Sabrina’s possessed corpse convinces Santino to embrace her. Once she has her young son in her arms, Sabrina jumps off a balcony and Santino is killed in the fall.
• Sabrina – A possessed Leo hits her with his car, smashing her into the wall of her home. She later comes back as a possessed corpse and Jimi kills her again by running her over with his truck.
• Mirtha – She is killed by the possessed schoolchildren after the schoolchildren trick Pedro into abandoning her. The children bash her head in with a hammer.
• Uriel – Pedro beats his head in, but it’s too late, and the demon is born from his body.
• Pedro and Jimi’s Mom – Revealed to have been devoured by a possessed Jair. After eating ice cream, Jair pukes out some of his grandmother’s hair and jewelry.