When Evil Lurks follows the story of the residents of a small town who discover that a demon is about to be born amongst them forcing them to evacuate. But is it too late already? The story here is pretty interesting given that the ‘evil’ in the drama here doesn’t quite have a face. So the element of mystery and uncertainty revolving around it is a real thing, something that instantly raises the stakes in the drama. The screenplay standing at just about a 100 minutes is taut and well paced while completely going all out with the gory body horror which is in store for you. Yet the gore does have an underlying emotional thread as well which adds another layer to the already intense drama which in many ways is shocking.

The drama begins with a gunshot followed by the introduction of the two protagonists who venture in the woods to find the answer for the same. There is a sense of mystery which is instantly thrown in the narrative with the discovery of a hand that is cut-off from the body. On further inquiry with a family in the woods, the protagonists get to know a startling fact of a demon about to be born. With time fast running out, chaos ensues! The writers do well in creating the atmosphere of chaos that doesn’t overpower the calming vibes of the town. Yet, with every passing scene, there is urgency that is shown to be incorporated with the antics of various characters.

The proceedings are engaging and engrossing while keeping the thrill element intact with respect to the uncertainty in the drama. The horror element here is in the slasher/body violence kind of space but the killings are so shocking and sudden that you are often taken aback with a hand covering your mouth in disbelief. There were atleast two instances in the first hour that had me really startled and all credit to the writing and execution for the impact created in those scenes – one involving a wife axing her husband to death before committing suicide, and the other, a dog chewing the head of a little girl.

There are a good number of twists and turns in the drama with the core emotion being of a damily trying to escape the town from an unknown evil. There are certain events in the second hour that may follow a standard horror trope of working with the atmospherics but that is again where the excellent execution comes into the picture. The elaborate final act is very well staged while building the fear element at a school with possessed children brilliantly, something that deftly blurs the lines with a truth and a lie. But it is the conclusion of the film that will really give you nightmares, something that I did not see coming. It is raw, brutal and something completely out of the box that leaves you with a lingering fear after the film has ended. Overall, the screenplay is really well written and makes for a brilliant watch.