When Evil Lurks Trailer Teases New Film From The Director Of One Of The Scariest Movies Ever

Between "Talk To Me" and "Evil Dead Rise," you'd think the superlative for 2023's best horror movie trailer would've already been won by now, but there's a late contender this week in the form of the horrifying new promo for "When Evil Lurks." It's no surprise this movie looks scary as hell, as it comes from Demián Rugna, the filmmaker behind 2017's downright freaky Buenos Aires-set horror flick "Terrified." Not to be confused with killer clown movie "Terrifier," "Terrified" is a disturbing movie about a suburban investigation of a demonic presence that goes frighteningly, unforgettably wrong.

"When Evil Lurks" is Rugna's long-awaited follow-up as a writer-director (he directed last year's "Satanic Hispanics" but didn't pen the script), and it's poised to move the thrills and chills from a seemingly peaceful neighborhood to a rural landscape plagued by freaky goats and the promise of a looming evil. According to the official synopsis, "When Evil Lurks" takes place in a small town where the residents discover — perhaps too late — that a demon will soon be born among their ranks. Watch the tension-soaked trailer two-and-a-half minute trailer, though, and it's clear that this is a lot more than a simple Antichrist tale.

The trailer begins with an anxious-looking woman pointing a man to a goat amongst her herd, one that apparently needs to be put down. Is this goat meant to birth a demon baby? It's unclear, but killing it doesn't staunch the flow of evil already leaking into the town. Right after he shoots, the man is massacred by the previously meek woman behind him. Yeah, evil is definitely afoot. From here, the trailer presents an assortment of haunting images — hopefully this isn't a situation where it gives away the entire film. Among them: Black panthers eating a body, a man driving his truck full-speed into the side of a building, a ball of hair being pulled from a young man's blackened mouth, and a bloated, still-breathing body that looks like something out of David Fincher's "Seven."

"When Evil Lurks" premiered earlier this month at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it's so far received both positive and mixed reviews. Bloody Disgusting's Meagan Navarro says the movie succeeds thanks to its "dread-soaked atmosphere and a commitment to fearlessly bludgeoning, biting, and bone-shattering taboos," while RogerEbert.com's Brian Tallerico, giving the film 2.5 stars, says it's "an admirably vicious piece of work when it wants to be." You can judge "When Evil Lurks" for yourself when the IFC film hits theaters on October 6, 2023.