| “ | Kill me, Ruiz. Please, you coward, kill me. Before I move to [your wife]'s belly, and posses the life growing inside of her. | „ |
| ~ The demon |
The Rotten is the main antagonist of the 2023 Argentinan horror movie Cuando se Acercha la Maldad (When Evil Lurks). It is a demon that possessed the body of a man in rural Argentina so it could be incarnated in the physical world. Throught possession and physiological manipulation, it was successful in its goal and reborn as a demonic child.
Its host, Uriel, was portrayed by 2 different actors (Pablo and Gonzalo Galarza) inside a suit and was voiced by Berta Muniz.
Description[]
These demons lack physical forms. To acquire one, they must possess someone and wait until the host dies to be reborn as a demonic child. They can also influence others to kill the host, known as the Rotten, speeding up the process. When a Rotten manifests, seven specific rules must be followed to avoid strengthening the demon or succumbing to its manipulation. Since conventional weapons are ineffective, a special exorcist called a Cleaner must eliminate the host using a peculiar mechanical device and a precise cut at the nape.
During the "birth process," the demon can manipulate its surroundings, possessing people and animals to achieve its goals. Victims exhibit ravenous hunger for human flesh, as observed with Sabrina and her son and Jair with her grandmother.
The existence of demons and Rottens is widely known. Many people are familiar with them through lullabies warning against breaking the seven rules. These occurrences seem more frequent in large cities, which have strict protocols, such as cutting off electricity, to prevent infections from spreading.
Biography[]
In a small rural town in Argentina, a demon manifests by possessing a young man named Uriel. His mother and younger brother try to alert the authorities, but their pleas are ignored because the mayor fears labeling the town as "tainted" and driving away residents. A year later, a Cleaner—a specialized demon-exorcist—is sent to Uriel's home. However, under the demon's influence, Uriel's younger brother kills the Cleaner.
The Yarluzo brothers, living near Uriel’s house, hear gunshots and decide to investigate. They find themselves face-to-face with the Rotten. When they try to report it to the police, they are dismissed due to Pedro Yarluzo’s criminal record. Left without options, they seek help from Ruiz, a landowner. Ruiz suspects that the State planted the Rotten on his land to decrease its value for future purchase. Together, the brothers and Ruiz plan to relocate the Rotten and abandon it far from their property.
One day later, Ruiz’s wife notices one of their goats behaving strangely. She begs Ruiz not to kill it with a firearm, reminding him of the seven rules. Ruiz ignores her and shoots the animal, only for his wife to axe him in the face before taking her own life.
The day after, the Yarluzo brothers fled their home and went to town to pick their mother and Pedro's ex-wife and children. Arriving there, he removes his clothes to burn it since it touched the Rotten, but before he could dispose them, his ex-wife dog's sniffed and became infected. The dog proceded to maul Sabrina's daughter Vicky, prompting her father Leo to shoot it and spread the demon's influence futher into the town.
As the chaos unfolded, Pedro and Jaime took his sons and mother to the house of Mirta, Jaime's old flame and also a retired Cleaner. That night, a possessed Sabrina kidnaped her son Santino, while Jair, hers and Pedro's other son, was also infected, but as he is autistic, it only took his body for now. Mirta explained to the brothers that the Rotten still alive and that all the madness they are experiencing is part of his birthing process and they must locate and abort it quickly. While Jaime tried to rescue Santino, Mirta and Pedro went after Uriel.
TBA
Victims[]
- Uriel Gomez - infected host; later killed by Pedro under the demon's provocation
- Unnamed Cleaner - shot, chopped in half and fed to the pigs by Uriel's younger brother under its influence
- Maria Helena Gomez - eaten by her younger son under its influence
- Vicky - killed by the infected dog Roger; later run over by her possessed father Leo
- Sabrina - run over by her husband Leo; later run over by Jaime
- Leo - crashed the car into his house under its influence
- Santino Yarluzo - brains eaten by his possessed mother Sabrina
- Adults from the Rural School - killed by the possessed children
- Mirta - hammered in the head by the possessed children
- Mrs. Yarluzo - eaten by her possessed grandson Jair
Trivia[]
- Pedro and Jaime's mother says that the Evil has many names, such as Luicfer, Azrael and Beelzebub, and that by saying it out loud one would attracte the demon to itself.
- Its implied that the demon that possessed Jair, Pedro's autistic son, is Azrael, since the boy repeated his name many times.
- Mirta suspects that this Rotten saw her in Jaime's head, since they dated in the past, and infected the town to go after her.