The Day of the Beast

Alex de la Iglesia's clever, more assured follow-up to Acción Mutante is a devilishly funny horror-comedy in which Angulo's priest becomes convinced that the Antichrist will be born in Madrid on Christmas Day. Immersing himself in evil, he searches for clues among the city's human detritus and in the lyrics of 'death metal' songs, before kidnapping, with the help of a gonzoid record-shop assistant (Segura), a famous TV para-psychologist (De Razza). Meanwhile, somewhere out there, El Diablo is waiting to be born. This is essentially a black comedy about two hapless individuals caught up in an impending cataclysm way beyond their understanding. Responding to the robust humour and underlying seriousness of the script, Angulo brings an engaging subtlety to his theologically inspired madman, Segura's HM fan is likewise bonkers yet oddly loveable.