The Day of the Beast

"A devilishly dark comedy."

Director: Álex de la Iglesia Year: 1995 Runtime: 103 min IMDb: ⭐ 7.3
Movie Poster

Synopsis

The story revolves around a Basque Roman Catholic priest dedicated to committing as many sins as possible, a death metal salesman from Carabanchel, and the Italian host of a TV show on the occult. These go on a literal "trip" through Christmas-time Madrid to hunt for and prevent the reincarnation of the Antichrist.

Ángel Berriatúa, a Basque priest and professor of theology, confesses to another priest that he intends to commit as much evil as he can. The other priest is shocked until Ángel whispers his reasoning. When the other priest agrees to help him, a large cross falls and crushes him. Ángel goes into downtown Madrid, committing various sins and crimes such as taking money from a homeless man, pushing a street performer over, and telling a dying man to go to Hell and stealing his wallet. He goes to a record store and meets José María, a self-described Satanist and heavy metal fan from Carabanchel, who gives him a tape of the most "evil" band he can think of. José María puts Ángel up in his mother's boarding house where he lives with his mother, grandfather, and Mina, a woman he is attracted to who helps his mother with the business. Ángel then attempts to steal a book written by occult TV show host Professor Cavan, convinced it can tell him how to sell his soul to Satan, believing that a secret code in the Bible says that the Antichrist will be born at midnight on Christmas Eve. He intends to sell his soul before the night is out to get into the birth ceremony and kill the Antichrist. The store manager does not believe him and he flees. The neon Schweppes sign where José María hangs from is on the Edificio Carrión. Ángel and José María team up to kidnap and tie up Cavan, who they intimidate into telling them how to complete the ritual, which requires the blood of a virgin. Ángel first tries to get it from Cavan's girlfriend Susana, but after knocking her out by mistake, Cavan admits that she is not a virgin. Ángel then goes back to the boarding house to try with Mina but José María's mother sees him and tries to kill him with a shotgun. Ángel escapes with some of Mina's blood, but accidentally kills José María's mother. Ángel, José María, and Cavan are able to burn a piece of paper, take LSD, and complete the ritual, which Cavan believes is made up. However, a he-goat appears in the room and then disappears. Ángel then finds a message in the burnt scraps of paper in which the devil taunts him, not fooled by Ángel's actions. Ángel, José María, and Cavan flee the apartment when the police arrive on suspicion of Cavan's kidnapping. De la Iglesia stages a shooting in Calle Preciados, a commercial street in Madrid, specially crowded during Christmas. Ángel and José María frantically drive around town looking for a sign to point Ángel in the right direction. Ángel first tries to get the information on the birth of the Antichrist out of a man giving a speech about the predictions of Nostradamus, resulting in a chase in which three men dressed as the Three Wise Men are shot by police by mistake. He then tries to find the information at a heavy metal show, but is beaten up by the attendees. Cavan goes on television and asks Ángel to call him, telling him that he's realized Ángel was right and he knows where the birth of the Antichrist will be. The Gate of Europe are the inclined buildings where the final fight happens. Cavan points out that the devil uses his own markings, similar yet opposite to the Christian cross, in order to mock God, and points them toward a pair of buildings in the same shape of the devil's mark: the Gate of Europe. The three men engage in a fight with an extreme-right gang that has holed up there and has been seen throughout the film murdering homeless people and spray painting Limpia Madrid (transl. clean up Madrid) everywhere. Their leader is revealed as the devil when he throws José María off the building to his death. The gang beats Cavan badly, but Ángel gets hold of a gun and kills the gang, which was also killing a baby who is the Antichrist. He then shoots the devil as well. Some time later, another actor takes over Cavan's show, and Ángel and Cavan become homeless drifters; while Cavan constantly complains that they will never be able to tell anyone how they saved the world, Ángel simply misses José María, but has accepted the events as the duo's fate. ^ a b c .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.s…

Summary adapted from TMDb and Wikipedia sources.

🎄 Holiday Cheer Breakdown

Content Warnings

⭐ IMDb Parents Guide 🛡️ Common Sense Media

an animal dies
spoiler Technically no; the rabbit is already dead
animals were harmed in the making
spoiler I can't find info online about whether or not actual animals were harmed but there is a quite graphic (though brief) scene where a rabbit is being cut in pieces preparing for it to be cooked
there's a dead animal
spoiler 23 minutes in and a dead rabbit is being butchered in a kitchen. You see the dead rabbit held by the chef and see the knife chop.
there are bugs
spoiler One roach/beetle, shown in closeup
there's child abuse
spoiler Parents are afraid of their child and yell at him. He is held down against his will while posessed by the devil.
there's domestic violence
spoiler A mother hits her adult son in the head during a meal after he says "Fuck off".
someone uses drugs
spoiler Multiple characters take LSD
someone is sexually assaulted onscreen
spoiler Rape is mentioned when someone is chastised for opening the door to strangers. It is also mentioned that someone was raped by aliens and they are slut shamed for it.
someone is drugged
Yes
someone is restrained
Yes
someone is beaten up by a bully
Yes
there's torture
spoiler The occult TV show host is tied to a chair and repeatedly struck during questioning.
someone is burned alive
spoiler Multiple people are burned alive as part of a gang of people writing "Limpia Madrid" at the scene.
someone's throat is mutilated
Yes
there's shaving/cutting
spoiler Someone cuts themselves
there's cannibalism
spoiler No, but characters do eat human blood
hands are damaged
Yes
someone has a seizure
spoiler A child is possessed and convulses similar to a seizure.
someone falls down stairs
spoiler This is like Falling Down The Stairs: The Movie for some reason
someone falls to their death
Yes
Someone becomes unconscious
Yes
someone breaks a bone
Yes
a kid dies
spoiler Spoiler: a baby is killed by the end and this the end of the world is prevented. Happens off camera.
a major character dies
Yes
someone dies
Yes
someone sacrifices themselves
Yes
a family member dies
Yes
a parent dies
Yes
someone is kidnapped
Yes
someone is possessed
spoiler A child is shown possessed by the devil.
There's audio gore
Yes
there's spitting
spoiler A kid is seen drooling
there's live gunfire
Yes
needles/syringes are used
Yes
someone dies by suicide
spoiler A character in a manic state tries to kill himself but does not succeed.
Someone attempts suicide
Yes
someone self harms
spoiler Among other things, the main character is shown burning himself with a cigarette
there's misophonia
Yes
someone says "I'll kill myself"
Yes
shaky cam is used
spoiler It's seemingly accidental, but one of the angles in (SPOILERS) the magician's apartment when they first capture him is very shaky, like the person holding it had hand tremors
there's flashing lights or images
Yes
a baby cries
Yes
there is obscene language/gestures
Yes
the fourth wall is broken
Yes
there is a baby or unborn child
spoiler The baby antichrist is in this, I don't know why people have clicked no.
there's ableist language or behavior
Yes
someone says the n-word
Yes
someone speaks hate speech
Yes
there's blackface
Yes
there's demons or Hell
Yes
religion is discussed
Yes
there is sexual content
spoiler The punk guy's grandfather repeatedly walks around nude.
there are nude scenes
spoiler "Grandad walks around starkers" as the movie puts it. You can see everything.
someone is sexually objectified
Yes
someone has dementia/Alzheimer's
spoiler Implied in the case of the grandfather
someone is homeless
Yes
the ending is sad
Yes
a car crashes
Yes
a car honks or tires screech
Yes
there's blood/gore
Yes
there's gun violence
Yes

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