The Day of the Beast

This article is about the film. For other uses, see The Day of the Beast (disambiguation).

The Day of the Beast
Theatrical release poster by Oscar Mariné
Directed by	Álex de la Iglesia
Written by	Jorge Guerricaechevarría Álex de la Iglesia
Produced by	Andrés Vicente Gómez
Starring	Álex Angulo Armando De Razza Santiago Segura Maria Grazia Cucinotta
Cinematography	Flavio Martínez Labiano
Edited by	Teresa Font
Music by	Battista Lena
Production companies	Canal+ España Iberoamericana Films Producción Sociedad General de Televisión (Sogetel)
Distributed by	Trimark Pictures (USA)
Release date	20 October 1995 (1995-10-20)
Running time	103 minutes
Countries	Spain Italy
Language	Spanish
Budget	$1,500,000

The Day of the Beast (Spanish: El día de la Bestia) is a 1995 Spanish black comedy horror film co-written and directed by Álex de la Iglesia and starring Álex Angulo, Armando De Razza and Santiago Segura. Both Maria Grazia Cucinotta and El Gran Wyoming have small roles in the film as well. The film was well received by critics and audiences in its country, and sparked interest in de la Iglesia's filmography and style of directing.

Plot summary

The story revolves around a Basque Roman Catholic priest dedicated to committing as many sins as possible (Angulo), a death metal salesman from Carabanchel (Segura), and the Italian host of a TV show on the occult (De Razza). By committing multiple sins, the priest hopes to sell his soul, so that he can be at the birth of the Antichrist and kill it before it can destroy the world.

The priest and the death metal salesman kidnap the host, so he can help them in summoning the devil. The ritual requires the blood of a virgin, and, while on his quest to get it, the priest accidentally kills the salesman's mother and a close friend of his. During the ritual, in which the main characters go on an "acid trip", the devil manifests and, not being fooled by the priest's actions, he does not reveal the location of the Antichrist. Following two marks that Satan supposedly leaves in its signature for all the satanic pacts and contracts, the trio eventually track down the birthplace of the Antichrist. The salesman is killed by the Antichrist and the devil's minions attack and badly burn the host, but the priest is able to kill them and the Antichrist. After the events, the priest and the host become homeless drifters.

Cast

• Álex Angulo as Father Ángel Berriartúa
• Armando De Razza as Professor Cavan
• Santiago Segura as José María
• Terele Pávez as Rosario
• Nathalie Seseña as Mina
• Maria Grazia Cucinotta as Susana
• Jaime Blanch
• Antonio Dechent
• Saturnino Garcia
• Ramon Agirre
• El Gran Wyoming
• Jimmy Barnatan, as possessed child

External links

• The Day of the Beast at IMDb
• The Day of the Beast at AllMovie