Alex de La Iglesia’s 1995 cult classic horror/comedy is a remarkable slice of celluloid madness. Filmed two years before Perdita Durango, Day of the Beast tells the story of a Catholic priest who teams up with a heavy metal fan and an Italian paranormal investigator/ occult writer to thwart the antichrist’s plans to manifest on earth on Christmas Day.

Father Ángel Berriartúa (Alex Angulo of Pan’s Labyrinth fame) believes he had deciphered a code that points to the antichrist being born in Madrid on Christmas Day. The only way he can see to stop this from happening is for him to travel to Madrid on Christmas Eve and commit as many sins as he can in order to sell his soul to the devil, thus preventing the antichrist from being born. Once he arrives in Madrid he enters a record store, searching for clues among the heavy metal records that are on display. This is where he meets José Maria (Santiago Segura, Blade II and Hellboy) an extreme metal fan who the Father enlists into his scheme to contact Satan. The pair watch popular paranormal investigator/occult writer Cavan (Armando De Razza) perform an exorcism on live TV and decide that he is the man to assist them in their quest. This leads to some hilarious moments where the pair kidnap Cavan in order to convince him of their higher purpose. Ultimately, this leads our unlikely trio of heroes into a series of hilarious, drug-fuelled, violent and at times gory scrapes as they attempt to raise the devil and save humanity.

Original and innovative, Alex De La Iglesia’s movie is a non-stop thrill ride that keeps on giving. It is funny, blasphemous, violent and at times shocking, but above all, it is a very good movie. The cast are terrific, our three main protagonists played by Angulo, Razz and Segura lead the way with performances that are larger than life, yet believable. You get the feeling they are each having the time of their lives making this movie, which truly comes across in their performances. Santiago Segura in particular is outstanding as the metal head, José Maria. The supporting cast are also excellent, in particular the three main female characters, Rosario, José Maria’s mum and the owner of the boarding house who is ably played by Terele Pávez, Mina who works for her played by  Nathalie Sesena, and Cavan’s girlfriend, Susana, played by Maria Grazia Cucinotta. Overall, I found Day of the Beast to be a masterpiece of Spanish cinema. A perfect, clever, cult horror/comedy that takes the genre in a new direction.

This new 4k Ultra HD set from Severin features a second disc that contains a standard blu ray disc of the movie and a host of cool bonus materials, including a frank and insightful interview with Iglesia himself, as well as others with various members of the cast and crew. The new 4k restoration looks great and the whole package is a joy to behold. I can think of no downside other than the fact I would love to return to the world peopled by these amazing characters. If you love horror, comedy or even just heavy metal this film is for you.