The Day of the Beast (1995)

Bent on committing as many sins as possible to avert the birth of the beast, a Catholic priest teams up with a Black Metal aficionado and an Italian connoisseur of the occult. Now, he must become an unrelenting sinner. Is there still hope?

Director:

Álex de la Iglesia (as Alex de la Iglesia)

Writers:

Jorge Guerricaechevarría (screenplay), Álex de la Iglesia (screenplay)

Stars:

Álex Angulo, Armando De Razza, Santiago Segura

16 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Álex Angulo	...	Cura (as Alex Angulo)
Armando De Razza	...	Cavan
Santiago Segura	...	José María
Terele Pávez	...	Rosario (as Terele Pavez)
Nathalie Seseña	...	Mina
Maria Grazia Cucinotta	...	Susana
Gianni Ippoliti	...	Productor
Jaime Blanch	...	Toyota 1
David Pinilla	...	Toyota 2
Antonio Dechent	...	Toyota 3
Ignacio Carreño	...	Toyota 4
Saturnino García	...	Sacerdote Anciano (as Saturnino Garcia)
El Gran Wyoming	...	Nuevo Cavan
Pololo	...	Abuelo Terminal
Higinio Barbero	...	Satán

Storyline

Determined to commit as many sins as possible after deciphering the code behind Saint John's cryptic Book of Revelation, the dedicated Catholic priest, Father Ángel Berriartúa, heads to Madrid to avert the birth of the beast and the end of the world. According to his calculations founded on a numerical transcription of the Apocalypse, the birth is going to take place somewhere in the Spanish capital on Christmas Day; however, time is running up, and the good father needs to pinpoint the exact birthplace. Without delay--although uncertain on how to get started--Father Berriartúa teams up with the enthusiastic Black Metal aficionado, José María, and the Italian TV show host and connoisseur of the occult, Professor Caván. Now, the once-pious man must become an unrelenting sinner to foil the arch-enemy's plans. Is there still hope?

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Plot Keywords:

heavy metal | death metal | murder of family | burned alive | priest | 

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Taglines:

A Comedy of Satanic Action!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal violence, language, drug use and brief nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

The neon "Schweppes" sign on which the protagonists are hung from is at number 41 of the Gran Vía (Capitol building, formerly known as Carrión building) in the heart of Madrid, Spain.

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Goofs

The last scene takes place nine months after Christmas, but the flowers and trees in the park show that it's early spring.

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Quotes

Cura: Well, it's fundamental. lt inspired me to see the Apocalypse not as an allegory but as an equation. Each letter has its own number. So, for example... Daleth is worth four, and Synn is worth three hundred, so we can...

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Crazy Credits

Jaime Blanch's, David Pinilla's, Antonio Dechent's and Ignacio Carreño's characters are listed as "Toyota". These characters were replaced in later drafts of the scripts as "assailants". In the movie, they are called "Limpia Madrid", but credits still call them "Toyota." This is because they drive a Toyota car.

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Connections

References Dinosaurs (1991)

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Soundtracks

El día de la bestia
Performed by Def Con Dos

User Reviews

Clearly underrated

A complete cult film in Spain.

I think Alex is one of the most original talents in nowadays cinema. And not only in Spain, all over the world.

You have to realize what it means to issue such a film, and what a danger you take. How he uses black humour and keeps tension on every scene is incredible. And he has shown that in every one of his films, specially in The perfect crime (a pearl of how to use black humour), 800 bullets and Common Wealth. These are films to take with an open mind, no previous thoughts of what are you going to find. I'm still surprised at each one of his new films.

A masterpiece, but not a film for everybody.

Details

Country:

Spain Italy

Language:

Spanish Italian

Release Date:

23 December 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Day of the Beast

Filming Locations:

Edificio Capitol-Callao, Gran Vía, 41, 28013, Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

EUR2,100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+ España, Iberoamericana Films Producción, Sociedad General de Televisión (Sogetel)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1