El Día de la bestia (The Day of the Beast) (1995)

80% of critics liked it
(10 reviews)
85% of users liked it
(5,459 ratings)

Spanish filmmaker Alex de la Iglesia followed his outlandish sci-fi/horror debut, Accion Mutante, with this colorful apocalypse fantasy about Father Angel (Alex Angulo), a scholarly priest whose intensive research into cabalistic "Bible Code" prophecies leads to a horrific discovery: the exact… More Spanish filmmaker Alex de la Iglesia followed his outlandish sci-fi/horror debut, Accion Mutante, with this colorful apocalypse fantasy about Father Angel (Alex Angulo), a scholarly priest whose intensive research into cabalistic "Bible Code" prophecies leads to a horrific discovery: the exact birthdate of the Antichrist. Convinced that Satan's spawn will be born somewhere in Madrid on Christmas Day, Father Angel embarks on a bizarre journey down the path of sin, committing the foulest possible acts against God and humanity in order to worm his way into the Devil's inner circle and face the ultimate foe on his own turf. Comprised of equal parts high-concept horror and scathing social satire (in the mode of the director's peer and former collaborator Pedro Almodovar), this ambitious horror film has garnered a sizable cult following. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 43 min.
Directed By: Álex de la Iglesia
Written By: Álex de la Iglesia, Jorge Guerricaechevarría
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Horror

In Theaters: Jun 18, 1999 Limited
On DVD: Nov 23, 1999
Studio: Trimark Pictures

Critic Reviews

Adam Lippe, Examiner.com
The film is aware that the plot points are absurd, and de la Iglesia visually tells the story as if it were a mean spirited comic book, but it all plays straight, with no irritating winking.
Daniel Eagan, Film Journal International
Its mildly blasphemous subject matter, weak special effects, and at times murky storyline make it a tough sell to mainstream audiences anywhere.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
One key difference between the film industries in America and Spain: America would never honor a horror comedy with multiple Oscar wins, let alone nominations.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Fernando Rafael Q

Exceptional dark comedy from Almodóvar protegé, Alex de la Iglesia. Shocking, violent and hilarious, EL DIA DE LA BESTIA is endlessly entertaining. De la Iglesia takes a classic formula and sets it in Madrid to interesting results. Alex Angulo, Santiago Segura and Armando de Razza… More
Exceptional dark comedy from Almodóvar protegé, Alex de la Iglesia. Shocking, violent and hilarious, EL DIA DE LA BESTIA is endlessly entertaining. De la Iglesia takes a classic formula and sets it in Madrid to interesting results. Alex Angulo, Santiago Segura and Armando de Razza play a triad of unique characters that compliment each other perfectly, bringing the amazing story by De la Iglesia and Jorge Guerricaechevarría to life.
Luke B

How has this film been around for 14 years without me hearing of it? This is exactly my cup of tea. Original, funny, exciting and dark. The Day of the Beast is about a priest that begins committing sins so that he can contact Satan and trick him into revealing the future birth place… More
How has this film been around for 14 years without me hearing of it? This is exactly my cup of tea. Original, funny, exciting and dark. The Day of the Beast is about a priest that begins committing sins so that he can contact Satan and trick him into revealing the future birth place of the Antichrist. Thus, allowing him to kill the child and prevent the apocalypse. The film begins with our "hero", a very loose term as he must be evil to save the world, doing stuff such as stealing change from beggars, pushing mimes off high platforms and keying peoples cars. As the end of days approaches, his acts become even more dark, but are always handled with a dark sense of humour. On his way he picks up two followers and the three of them create a very memorable cinematic trio. The film succeeds with a spot-on tone. It's never cheesy, too far-fetched or too serious. It knows when to drive the plot forward and when to sit back and have some fun. It also has some kickass music and memorable death scenes.
Pierluigi P

De la Iglesia's perfect blend of horror with the most crazy, outrageous humour. the "three wise men" are superb in their roles, but Santiago Segura is the one who steals the show. Apocalypse will never be this fun.
Tsubaki S

Could bennefit from a better resolution (the one it has makes no sense at all) but all the film up to that point is very fun to watch. A "Don Quijote" spoof with a heavy metal fan instead of Sancho, and and all the demonic imagery you could ask for.
Eduardo C

There has never been a film quite like "El Día de la Bestia" before. Hot on the heels of his surprisingly successful "Acción Mutante", Alex De La Iglesia decided to go all out and craft an irreverent, satirical, angry, violent and hillarious masterpiece about a… More
There has never been a film quite like "El Día de la Bestia" before. Hot on the heels of his surprisingly successful "Acción Mutante", Alex De La Iglesia decided to go all out and craft an irreverent, satirical, angry, violent and hillarious masterpiece about a Priest who embarks on a mission to save Madrid from the upcoming apocalypse only to find a city on the verge of imploding under the weight of its own hypocrisy and inequity. Confronted with the fact that she Satan he so fervently wishes to banish may very well not be as literal as the one he prepared himself to face, our Priest has a series of decisions to make. The movie is impeccably acted with Santiago Segura as the standout in the role that made him a superstar. His chemistry with our other two leads is what keeps the film chugging and his combination of self effacting humor, childish tantrums and ridiculous appearance provide the film with both its biggest laughs and its heart. Laced with biting social commentary, near-gratuitous levels of violence and a sense of humor that can best be described as offensive, "El Día de la Bestia" is a journey well worth undertaking.