30 Best Hidden Gem Horror Movies Perfect For Halloween
3. The Day of the Beast
Álex de la Iglesia has been Spain’s most consistent genre filmmaker since the 1990s, yet he seems to be more overlooked internationally as the decades pass. From the anarchistic brutality of Dance with the Devil, to the sharp satirical comedy of Common Wealth, to the Euro-Western love letter of 800 Bullets, he’s proven versatile, but for many fans, de la Iglesia has yet to top his breakthrough film, the hilariously pitch-black and gory take on the apocalypse that's The Day of the Beast.
A timid Catholic priest (Alex Angulo) becomes convinced the Antichrist will rise on Christmas Eve in Madrid, and his surefire plan to find it is to begrudingly commit as many sins as possible. He ends up joined by a heavy metal lowlife (Santiago Segura) and a TV psychic (Armando De Razza), as the trio dive into the city’s bizarre underworld to try and save civilization.
Horror and comedy are never an easy mix, yet Iglesia nailed it on only his second film. It’s funny, shocking, and filled with real dread for its three unlikely heroes, whilst executed with a punk rock energy that the director seamlessly delivered in his early years. The biggest strength lies in that central trio, though, whose chemistry carries the chaos, with Angulo especially standing out as the good-hearted priest forced to embrace darkness for the greater good.
If you want a horror film unlike anything before or after, The Day of the Beast is one to rediscover before the end of October.