At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

A devilishly dark comedy/horror movie about a priest who moves to a big city where happens fantastic as well as horrifying deeds . Frightening and twisted film by the king of black comedy , Alex De La Iglesia . Outrageous movie with odd characters , touches of amusing humor , surreal imagery and thrilling plot . Alex De la Iglesia is an excellent and outlandish Spanish director , he had much success as "Accion Mutante" , " La Comunidad" , "Perlita Durango" , ¨Crimen Ferpecto¨ , among others . Here deals with a Basque reverend (Alex Angulo who gives an engagingly subtlety to his strange role) finds by means of a Cabalistic study of the bible that the anti-Christ is going to be born on Christmas day in Madrid . The priest searches for clues among the lyrics of 'death metal' and the city's human detritus . There the reverend , a theological inspired madman , befriends a heavy-rocker young (Santiago Segura brings funny acting as a record-shop assistant and HM fan) and both of them confront numerous terrifying adventures . They kidnap a famous TV psychologist (Armando De Razza) and then caught up in an impeding cataclysm . Meantime , somewhere out there , El Diablo is waiting to be born . This is a full-on surreal terror movie that blends thrills , a lot of fun , suspense , tension as well as an intriguing script full of underlying seriousness , horror , comedy and embarrassing situations . Packed with scenes of fantastic nature , robust humor , this story is a exciting as well as frightening , as we follow the strange situations of a peculiar couple whose destination is dictated by terrible events . Good acting by the starring couple , Alex Angulo and Santiago Segura , who will soon discover that the Antichrist will be born on Christmas Day and then forced to face dangerous happenings . The narration is so filled with quirk characters , crazy violence mixed with diabolic elements and an underlying sense of horror , and it is so excessive and plenty of surprises, one can't help but keep watching, much as it is over the top in many an occasion . Alex De La Iglesia has created a good picture here that in all honesty is very difficult to categorize in terms of genre , as there's a little bit of gruesomeness , quite a lot of horror , a good deal of suspense and a host of amusement ; but it does not fit into any one genre very well at all, in truth this is one of the things that makes it nice . Álex De la Iglesia claims the story's origin was the image of a apparently harmless man doing horrible things . De La Iglesia reigns in his style this time around and gives an utterly watchable takedown of horror/comedy that certainly delivers a few madly inspired moments . During shoot, crew and specifically Álex De la Iglesia received various death threats from so-called satanist groups . Acting personnel all do excellent work in bizarre roles , but special notice needs to be made for Alex Angulo giving an enjoyable acting along with Terele Pavez as an unsettling landlady . Excellent plethora of secondaries as Jaime Blanch , Maria Gracia Cuzinotta , Saturnino Segura , Natalie Seseña , Antonio Dechent and De La Iglesia usual's : Antonio De La Torre , Enrique Villen , Manuel Tafalle and El Gran Wyoming as Nuevo Cavan , among others . Interesting screenplay Alex De La Iglesia and Javier Guerricaechevarria who usually work united . Excellent special effects by Reyes Abades and great production design , including the neon "Schweppes" sign on which the protagonists are hung from is at number 41 of the Gran Via in the heart of Madrid, Spain . Atmospheric as well as glamorous cinematography by Fabio Martinez Labiano with a good camera work . Suspenseful and thrilling musical score , the soundtrack flows great with the film in every way, and creates fantastic atmospheres in every moment , including satanic sounds by Def Con Dos . The motion picture was well directed by De La Iglesia . He's a cool director has got much success as ¨Accion Mutante¨ ,¨Dying of laughter¨ or ¨Muertos De Risa¨ , ¨Baby's room¨ , ¨Oxford murders¨ , ¨Balada Triste De Una Trompeta¨ and ¨Perdita Durango¨ is probably the weirdest Javier Bardem film ever made . And of course 'La Comunidad' obtained the unanimous praise of both the critics and the public and results to be a lot of fun, especially for those who enjoy surrealist humor , it won several Goya prizes and a turning point in his meteoric career ; from then on he became his own producer, beginning with '800 bullets' (2002) through the Pánico Films company . Winner of several Goyas (Spanish Oscars), however his movies have not yet reached box office in USA, but he has strong followers , as his films have a kind of comic edge to them . Nonsense, ridicule , laughters , absurdity , disturbing scenes and many other issues ; you can find everything in this flick . ¨The day of the beast¨ captures the essence of the best Álex De La Iglesia, a filmmaker who, at this point in his own story, is respected and admired worldwide and has the most committed fans in the film universe . This is without a doubt a thrilling and enjoyable movie to be enjoyed for terror buffs and Alex De Iglesia fans.

being a horror films fan when i went through IMDb users good rating i thought this would be a good horror movie for sure , but believe me i would like to warn all the horror fans that if u r intending to download this movie u better kick ass ... its one of the most worst horror film / film in any way and all the way .the name el DI DE la ... gives a big kindaa impression but its a hell to watch this fu****g movie . it shows nothing according its name there is no such beast and even nothing at all....i don't understand why these morons gave huge high rating and good comments ? so its a total waste of time ....... i would like to rate - 0 / 10

"El Día de la Bestia" is a transcendental movie, maybe that important that it's hard to admit that it started a revolution. To begin with, Spanish Horror cinema is one before and after this movie.Let's think about the same situation that happened with "Evil Dead". This film is a diabolical mix of black humor, gore, a scary plot, plenty of action, and a look of a comic book.With the aforementioned description, it seems that the film shouldn't be taken seriously because most of the mentioned elements make a hint to black humor cinema. But the movie doesn't concentrates specifically on any of those aspects; no, it follows an intense pace with the purpose of solving a sinister plot through black humor and horror. It executes those elements as complements without keeping in mind it's objective.We got scenes of black humor that tend to be cruel, hilarious, and sinister. For example, the giant cross crushing a priest. Or what about the priest chasing Jose Mari's sister and dispatching his mother? The scenes with most tension and terror deal with the satanic ritual where a black goat appears and when the devil makes a terrifying appearance (standing up confronting José Mari and throwing him out of the tower and then confronting the priest) I understand now how "Drag Me To Hell" got inspired in the use of shadows and the talking goat. You saw it first here! ;) The on-screen duo conformed by the priest and José Mari is hilarious and gives you an idea of a very sui-generis friendship based on religious obsession, heavy metal, insane dialogs, and more.The dialogs have a little for something. For some moments the demonic references may creep you about because most of them are very accurate. Other moments will make you laugh out loud mainly because of the irreverences of the crazed priest and José Mari, or because of their physical humor (it plays an important part).But those elements couldn't be accomplished without a talented cast. The three principal actors were born for their roles. Álex Angulo delivers a comedic, creepy performance filled with anxiety but conviction to follow his ideals. He is in charge to change the pace of the movie when it reaches levels of surrealism. Armando De Razza is perfect and believable as Professor Cavan, a charlatan in disguise who enjoys making money and success (and hot women) through the ingenuity of the audience. A versatile actor. Santiago Segura becomes an instant favorite of the audience as the loyally obsessed partner of the priest. He delivers the perfect dosis of humor and with his heavy metal knowledge he gives you an idea of how irreverent he is.Special mention for the extreme hottie María Grazia Ciconotta. Wow, she is very hot, extremely sexy. And those are real ;) The score is great. The movie has an official soundtrack with songs of heavy metal, rap, hip-hop.The Direction by Alex de la Iglesia is spectacular, great. We got dynamic sequences, other elegant takes that need a high budget, and the movie always looks dynamic, radiant. The world never looked this dark before the Apocalypsis.The Cinematography and Art Direction is perfect. Just very rich and dark.This is a prime example of black humor, horror, and quality. Other films like these? I can only think about "Evil Dead", "Drag Me To Hell", and "Mucha Sangre". The word "cool" better describes this movie.To sum it up, this movie is an entertainment production, it's funny, and rough for any Horror fan. It's a black comedy that should please any fanatic of Horror.

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.