New Films: The Day of the Beast

Director: Alex de la Iglesia. Starring: Alex Angulo, Armando de Razza, Santiago Segura (18) (subtitles)

Even before the opening credits of this Spanish horror movie, a priest has been crushed by a gigantic stone cross. And, as you'd expect from the director of the gruesome Accion Mutante, there's barely a frame of film here that's not dripping with blood. No opportunity to depict a massive head wound, or a bone-shattering fall down several flights of stairs, is avoided. If as much attention had been paid to plot and tone as to makeup effects, this story of a theology professor (Angulo) who invokes the devil could have been a neat and nasty take on The Omen.

Gallows humour is the order of the day, though nobody seems to have realised that black comedy is still required to be funny.