The Day of the Lord is a horror movie directed by Santiago Alvarado Ilarri and written by Ramón Salas and Santiago Alvarado Ilarri. The film stars Juli Fàbregas, Ximena Romo and Hector Illanes.
Can we not?
I am tired of watching movies about priests who have lost their faiths and are trying to get back their shabhang through “one last exorcism”. However, gracing us this Halloween season is The Day of the Lord, which follows every other horror tropes and clichés, but turns out more disturbing than spine-chilling.
The Day of the Lord follows Menendez, a retired priest with a tragic past. His last exorcism didn’t go as planned and it landed him in jail. Living a life in seclusion locked away in his old house, he is visited by a friend who tells him that the Devil has possessed his daughter. Will Menendez be able to exorcise the demon out of Raquel?
<spoiler> Nothing about this movie is good, and the last exorcism scene is too drawn-out and disturbing for my liking. Not disturbing because of the horrors that the girl endures due to her exorcism. It’s because the director and scriptwriters thought that it was a good idea to (very graphically) show a daughter giving his father a blowjob and then having sex with him while possessed, and the father making… pained and pleasured (?) faces. I am all for the Devil doing people a dirty, but good god there has to be a limit. Also, said daughter is supposed to be a teenager, so I mean, I’m not sure where I stand with all of that combined. </spoiler>
The movie starts off with so much panache that you will immediately understand that it’s taking itself too seriously. And for what it provides to the audience when it comes to the story, that would be an absolutely correct observation. There’s nothing in this movie that screams terrifying, or mildly scary even. The first half of the movie has too many dialogues and too less action (or, no action at all). And don’t get me wrong, I love dialogue-heavy movies, but The Day of the Lord isn’t that type.
When it does try to deliver some action, it’s still not scary, and thus makes you squirm in your seats uncomfortably. It’s too drawn out and boring. Additionally, Menendez is portrayed as this disturbed man with an unfortunate past, but comes off as extremely creepy. There’s no reason for you to root for this man. Although the movie tries to give you some form of a background to him, it’s nothing spectacular, and doesn’t help anyway.
The acting in The Day of the Lord is fine, nothing spectacular. I think with a better story, these people could’ve been better. Cinematography, direction, and background score are also pretty average. You know where I am going with this – the movie is nothing spectacular, it isn’t anything we haven’t seen before. However, rebranded horror sometimes delivers something interesting, The Day of the Lord, however, doesn’t and is instead a snooze-fest with some jump scares.
Talking about jump scares, the movie has that annoying end credit scene that ends with a jump scare and I swear if I see one more of those I’m going to lose my mind. And there’s also a reveal at the end that he may be suffering from a mental health issue, but again, it’s not clear and by the end of the movie, you don’t care either.
Summing up: The Day of the Lord
The Day of the Lord is that annoying horror movie that pops up every now and then. It’s probably coming out with a second part, I don’t know why. There’s nothing new or horrifying here, and Menendez is too much of a creep for you to root for. Why should you care about this movie? You shouldn’t – that’s the point I’m trying to make.
The Day of the Lord is streaming on Netflix.
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