The Day of the Beast

A streak of social commentary that ultimately collides with the story’s religiosity in bitterly ironic fashion...

This second feature by naughty Spanish director Alex de la Iglesia turns out to be a splendidly blasphemous horror-comedy about nothing less than the birth of the Antichrist.

At two hours, the gore is thick but the fun is spread thin. Gallows humour is the order of the day, though nobody seems to have realised that black comedy is still required to be funny.

It's de la Iglesia's wicked sense of humor that proves to be the picture's greatest strength.

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.

Its mildly blasphemous subject matter, weak special effects, and at times murky storyline make it a tough sell to mainstream audiences anywhere.

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.