Once more I found myself confronted by a movie I had never
heard of with no clue of what to expect. It was Spanish so that meant I’d be
dealing with subtitles, something that I am not averse to but that makes what
you see and what you hear a bit difficult since you’re reading. But I was
willing to give it a go and try. I’m glad I did because I honestly hadn’t
laughed this hard during a movie in some time.
A Basque priest and theologian named Angel discovers secrets
hidden away in manuscripts for centuries. The secret is the date and location
of the birth of the anti-Christ. He entrusts this information to a fellow
priest who is then crushed when a giant cross in the chapel falls on him. Did I
happen to mention this film is a dark comedy?
Angel heads to Madrid with the intent of finding the cult
that will be responsible for the handling of the birth. Know that he could
never enter among them on his own he has determined that he must become evil
and do wrong in the name of Satan to be accepted among this group. So he plans
on becoming bad in order to infiltrate them and once there prevent the birth.
This results in some of the most hilarious items in the film as he commits
little crimes that for the most part would go unnoticed thinking he’s being
bad.
In Madrid he visits a record store hoping to pick up some
truly satanic music. Managing the store is Jose who professes to be a Satanist
and heavy metal expert. He provides Angel with the most evil music he knows
which happens to be a band he is friends with who are set to perform that week.
Befriending the priest he takes him home to meet his mother and gives him a
place to stay in her boarding house.
Seeing TV host and occult expert Professor Cavan, Angel
attempts to steal the man’s book from a bookstore, another of those lame
attempts to be bad. Caught he tries to explain what he is doing to the store
manager who doesn’t believe him but he escapes before being arrested. But now
he has a plan in mind that will help him reach his goal.
Angel and Jose come up with a plan to kidnap Professor Cavan
so that he can help them perform a ritual that will sell Angel’s soul to the
Devil. The only problem is they don’t know that Cavan is a charlatan, a
huckster who uses his position to make money rather than do any actual good for
people. What follows in his apartment is almost Keystone Kops like material as
they try and convince him to join their cause.
All of this sets in motion a chain of events that is both
funny and frightening. Hilarious in the way things take place and frightening
in the fact that perhaps Angel isn’t wrong at all. Perhaps this is the date
that the anti-Christ will be born. And if that’s the case how can these three
unlikely people prevent the end of the world?
The humor here is indeed dark and absolutely hilarious. I
won’t bother telling you the things that are funny because it would ruin it for
you and this needs to be seen to get the full effect. What works even more is
the three main actors here. These characters are so flawed and sympathetic that
you find yourself rooting for them to succeed while at the same time thinking
that perhaps they’re all crazy.
Once more director Alex de la Iglesia does an outstanding
job. Severin has also released his film PERDITA DURANGO that I’ve written about
as well and after viewing both of these films it will make you want to seek out
more that he has done.
As with that film Severin has outdone themselves beginning
with a new 4k scan of the original negatives making the film pop on screen. The
extras are solid as well including “Heirs of the Beast” a feature length
documentary by Diego Lopez and David Pizarro on the making of and cultural
impact of the film, “Antichrist Superstar” an interview with Iglesia, “The Man
Who Saved the World” an interview with actor Armando De Razza, “Beauty and the
Beast” an interview with actress aria Grazia Cucinotta, “Shooting the Beast” an
interview with director of photography Flavio Martinez Labiano, “Mirandas
Asesinas” a 1990 short film by Iglesia and trailers.
As I said I wasn’t sure what to expect with this film. After watching I found myself loving it and thinking of adding it to my list of all-time favorite films. Maybe not the long term list but for now this is one I can whole heartedly recommend.
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