Thursday 3 November 2022

Everyone Will Burn (David Hebreros, 2021)

 Mourning her son a decade after his death María José (Macarena Gómez) is visited by a mysterious young girl Lucia (Sofía García) who claims to be in contact with her child.


Members of Maria’s village are suspicious of the stranger, who exhibits other supernatural abilities. They believe Lucia  fits the description of an old prophecy that spelled doom for the village.


As locals begin to die in bizarre ways, the villagers begin to form plans to get rid of the child…





This movie probably packs way more punch if you are either Catholic or Spanish.


For a story about a maybe-Antichrist, this is no simple tale of Good vs. Evil.


Instead, Everyone Will Burn complicates and blurs any separation, and delivers its horror tropes (evil children, possession, spontaneous combustion etc) with a deadpan tone.


The pawn of Satan is an outsider ostracised by the community, the members of which are riven with hypocrisy and secrets. 


There is a level of nuance to the cast of characters that makes it impossible to be fully on the side of any of the characters - instead, the film shifts between their perspectives creating a sense of tension, sadness and black comedy which is hard to nail down without replaying the movie.


Lead actress Macarena Gómez is a marvel - looking like a dead ringer for horror icon Barbara Steele. Her hooded eyes and hi-octane delivery are a major factor in maintaining the movie’s multifaceted tone.


The movie’s ending made me want to watch it all over again.


Not because it necessarily recasts the story, but because it cements the trajectory it was on.


This ending manages to include everything - the monster is slain, the bad guys are mostly punished and our protagonist is reunited with a lost loved one. It also ends on a skewed note of near-optimism as the resurrected María returns to church with her newborn as her ex-husband’s new child is being christened.


The film's willingness to avoid a pat conclusion is a big factor in why I like it so much - one can imagine a more generic version of this story where Maria turned against the forces of darkness in a more traditional climax. 

It is a rare horror movie that manages to stick the landing, and in a way that feels surprising and organic to itself.

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