El Día de la bestia (The Day of the Beast) poster & wallpaper
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Terele Pavez, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Álex Angulo, Armando De Razza, Saturnino Garcia ... see more see more... , Gianni Ippoliti , Santiago Segura , Nathalie Sesena , Jaime Blanche , David Pinilla , Jaime Blanch

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 inten... read more read more...sive 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

Flixster Users

85% liked it

5,459 ratings

Critics

80% liked it

10 critics

R, 1 hr. 43 min.

Directed by: Álex de la Iglesia

Release Date: June 18, 1999

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DVD Release Date: November 23, 1999

Stats: 336 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (336)

  • fernandorafael
    September 1, 2009
    fernandorafael
    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 ... read moreRazza play a triad of unique characters that compliment each other perfectly, bringing the amazing story by De la Iglesia and Jorge Guerricaechevarría to life.
  • kiriyamakazou
    August 29, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    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 pl... read moreace 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.
  • pier007
    March 9, 2009
    pier007
    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.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    January 7, 2008
    DragonEyeMorrison
    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.
  • Hellshocked
    September 23, 2009
    Hellshocked
    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 embark... read mores 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.
  • PumpkinGetsASnakeBite
    August 1, 2010
    PumpkinGetsASnakeBite
    A great satrical black comedy about a priest who believes that by committing acts of evil (such as robbery, murder, and toture) he will learn the exact place of birth of the Antichrist which he suspects will happen in Madrid on Christmas day. To help him in his fight to stop the ... read moreend of the world he enlists two people: (one by force, the other seems to have nothing better to do) the host of a psychic televison show, who doesn't believe in anything he says, and a heavy-metal biker who works in a record shop. Violence, chaos, and comedy ensues as the trio race against the clock to save the human race. A very cleverly written and executed action, comedy, horror hybrid. Check this fucker out!
  • karenshaub
    October 29, 2009
    karenshaub
    This is what horror comedy is all about! A true masterpiece of demented, twisted, and probably perverted and ocassionally tasteless humor that never forgets its a horror movie but at the same time isn't all about the gross-out and the gore althought it does earn its R-rating. Its... read more still awaiting its DVD release but I was lucky enough to buy my VHS copy as soon as Blockbuster marked one down for sale. I had already seen it and I wasn't going to let somebody else get it before I did--I paid the whole $9 they were asking and it was worth it. I was doubly lucky because it is the subtitled version rather than the dubbed and that's the only way to see any foreign language film. If you every have the opportunity to see DAY OF THE BEAST-- BY ALL MEANS SEE IT!
  • werejustaminorthreat
    October 3, 2009
    werejustaminorthreat
    This movie was pretty rockin'. Jose' Maria was really funny to me.
    I got really amped whenever I recognized metal bands throughout this movie, like in the record store scene (I'm a dork...).
  • iansubordinate
    September 14, 2009
    iansubordinate
    Creepy and funny movie. Best part is the priest trying to become the Antichrist buy committing sin. ahhaha

View All El Día de la bestia (The Day of the Beast) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Adam Lippe
May 1, 2011
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. Full Review

Daniel Eagan
January 10, 2007
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. Full Review

Michael Dequina
October 23, 2006
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. Full Review

David Rooney
September 16, 2009
David Rooney, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Lawrence Van Gelder
August 30, 2004
Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Kevin Thomas
February 14, 2001
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Edward Guthmann
January 1, 2000
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

Click to read the article Full Review

Gary Dauphin
January 1, 2000
Gary Dauphin, Village Voice

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December 6, 2005
Film Threat

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 4, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

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