The Day of the Beast

Summary

As I stated in my Perdita Durango review, recently Severin Films made film fans extremely excited when they announced that their label would begin releasing certain films on 4K UHD. Like a few other niche film distributors (Kino Lorber, Vinegar Syndrome, Arrow Video, Blue Underground) Severin has decided to adopt the newest technology and allow the market place to decide if 4K UHD is ready to be purchased by the rabid film collectors that keep physical media alive. I applaud their decision to take this step. For their inaugural releases on 4K UHD they have chosen two titles that film collectors have long wanted from Spanish filmmaker Alex de la Iglesia – Perdita Durango and The Day of the Beast (El Dia de la Bestia.) 

The first film I watched was Perdita Durango, because of its relation to Wild at Heart. I enjoyed the film and was excited to see more of the output of director Alex de la Iglesia. The Day of the Beast was a major breakthrough for the director and was also a major film achievement in Spanish cinema from that time. It helped to inspire another generation of Spanish filmmakers to move towards making more fantastically themed films as opposed to serious dramas. It performed well in both Spain and abroad and proved there was an audience for this type of cinema in both areas. I watched the film the other night.

The story revolves around a priest living in Madrid named Father Angel Berriartua (Alex Angulo.) Father Angel has just made a major discovery – the apocalypse is about to take place and the antichrist will be born in Madrid during Christmas. As he tells an elder priest of his discovery, a large cross comes unhinged from the wall of the church and smashes the elder priest. This is just the first of many hurdles that Angel will face in his quest to save the world. Angel has seen that in order to stop the Apocalypse from occurring, he has no choice but to sell his soul to the devil. In order to set up a meeting with the devil, the pious Angel begins to sin at every turn (to great comedic effect.) He soon pairs up with a metal head named Jose Maria (Santiago Segura) to assist in his quest. The priest searches for signs to guide him which ultimately lead Angel to abduct a supernatural television shyster named Cavan (Armando de Razza.) As fascistic chaos spreads throughout the city of Madrid, the Priest tries to track down and destroy the antichrist with the Devil working against him.

The Day of the Beast is a great movie. I think I should start by mentioning that I am a Christian and incredibly afraid of the Devil. I am not alone in this, as even the maverick Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar refused to be involved in the production of the film due to his fear of the Devil. Watching the film, I didn’t feel like the movie was any type of an affront to Christianity, nor did the premise of the film dissuade me from enjoying it. I will say that when I heard that the incantation read by the priest in the film was a real incantation, I certainly fast forwarded as soon as he started reading it so that I would not accidentally repeat it. In college my minor was theology because I find conversations about faith and religion stimulating and enjoyable. What I like about The Day of the Beast is that the film takes ideas about the apocalypse from the Bible, but fashions a truly fantastic string of events that really have nothing to do with Biblical prophecy. The satirical elements of the film are squarely aimed at Fascism and pop culture while never actually making light of religion in general. The film aims to entertain and succeeds admirably.

Alex de la Iglesia is a Spanish filmmaker and this film certainly is a product of its environment. The setting of Madrid plays a huge part in how the film works. Spain is largely a Catholic populous and that Catholicism influences the film’s major themes and ideas. Alex de la Iglesia is literally translated as “Alex of the Church,” for example. The other factor that plays into the film is a fear of fascist ideologies. Western viewers should be reminded that it was not that long ago that Spain was under the control of the dictator Francisco Franco (until his death in 1975.) Democracy is a relatively new thing for Spain and Alex de la Iglesia was ten years old when Franco died. The director wanted to create a world for his film that is heightened – a Madrid that is being turned into a fascist nightmare on the eve of Christmas. It is funny to think that this film is technically a Christmas movie, but the imagery of Christmas time is consistently present in the film. I have enjoyed Spanish films over the years, and Day of the Beast is definitely one of the most original visions of Spain that I have seen.

The film succeeds not only as a supernatural thriller, but also as an enjoyably dark comedy. As he did in Perdita Durango, Alex de la Iglesia takes aim at television. Through Cavan’s show he is able to parody mid-Nineties TV in a great way. The death metal atmosphere of the movie is in such contrast to the sweet nature of Angel, that it consistently draws a smile from the viewer. The film is surreal by nature, but I love the way that the filmmaker heightens every scene by making them more explosive than others might have considered. For example, in one sequence Cavan is trying to locate Angel and Jose. His television producer panics and begins to shout at Cavan, and Cavan immediately punches him in the face for comedic effect. This happens so quickly, and is so unexpected, that the effect is hilarious. The film is full of these clever tiny slapstick moments that should draw some comparisons to filmmaker Sam Raimi. The script of the film is well written and leads to a satisfying conclusion that wraps things up nicely. I also really enjoyed the cinematography by Flavio Labiano.

The acting in the film is excellent across the board. Alex Angulo is perfectly cast as Father Angel Berriartua. For the central performance to work, the lead actor needed to have sympathetic and sad eyes that convey the displeasure associated with the sins committed. Alex Angulo turns in a remarkable performance that brings the character to life while never falling into a pitfall of stereotypes. He creates a deeply sympathetic character. Santiago Segura is great as Jose Maria – the Sancho Panza to Alex Angelo’s Don Quixote. He is an incredibly believable metalhead, and I was entirely surprised to find out he does not care for that type of music in the interviews on the disc. Armando de Razza is great as the supernatural impostor Cavan. He absolutely crushes the role. Every scene he appears in is better because of his presence. The women in the film are likewise excellent. Terele Pavez is a formidable and tough mother as Rosario. Nathalie Sesena is believably sweet as Mina. The gorgeous Maria Grazia Cucinotta (who is best known for her role in Il Postino) appears in a small role as Cavan’s girlfriend.

At the end of the day, The Day of the Beast is a tightrope act that balances religious fantasy, dark comedy, political satire, and horror brilliantly. The film manages to be extreme while also being unpretentious and (at least in my opinion) unoffensive. I can see how this film seemed poised to make Alex de la Iglesia an international force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, Perdita Durango was shelved and not given the attention it deserved. If it had garnered the attention it deserved, it would have been fun to see what types of films he would have made stateside. I am happy that Severin has brought this Spanish film to American audiences with a great looking 4K UHD release!

Video

Severin Films has provided a great looking transfer of The Day of the Beast in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 in 2160p. The UHD presentation benefits from well appointed use of HDR. The UHD has excellent fine detail for the most part. Cinematographer Flavio Fabiano, who would later also work on Perdita Durango, gives Madrid a very effectively stark look that largely utilizes cool blues and Christmas colors until the late apocalyptic scenes that veer towards red hues. Fans of the film will surely want to purchase the UHD for the uptick in detail, but the Blu-ray of the film also looks fantastic.

Audio

Severin has given the option of a Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1 track along with an English dub in 2.0 and a Spanish DTS-HD MA 2.0 track. I watched the film using the Spanish DTS-HD 5.1 track and felt pleased with the ways in which the sound field was utilized. There is a lot going on in this film and I feel that the surround track is probably the best way to go.

Supplements:

The 4K disc offers two trailers as its sole supplements. All of the other supplements are located on the second disc. This was no big issue to me.

• Heirs of the Beast – this feature length documentary by Diego Lopez and David Pizarro discusses in great detail the filmmaking climate of Spain prior to the release of The Day of the Beast. Alex de la Iglesia’s film opened up the doors for a lot of other filmmakers in Spain, and this is an excellent documentary that dives deep into the early years of the filmmaker and how he was able to gather support financially and create his early films. This is a really interesting piece that is well worth your time.
• Antichrist Superstar – director Alex de la Iglesia discusses his work on the film, the difficulties of filming long hours mainly at night in frigid cold conditions, and the performances that made the film special. 
• The Man Who Saved the World – actor Armando de Razza reminisces about his time on the film.
• Beauty and the Beast – actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta
• Shooting the Beast – cinematographer Flavio Martinez Labiano
• Mirindas Asesinas – this 1990 short film by Alex de la Iglesia helped him secure financial backing for Accion Mutante.
• Trailers

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

The Day of the Beast is an excellent film from Spanish filmmaker Alex de la Iglesias. Despite its somewhat worrisome subject matter, the film is much more lighthearted than one would expect. The central performances in the film are all excellent and the film is as funny and biting as it is exciting and interesting. Due to my Christian faith, I was a little bit scared to check this film out to be honest, but I am very glad that I did. The new 4K UHD release from Severin Films is absolutely fantastic. The excellent documentary Heirs of the Beast is well worth your time as well. Highly recommended.