The forces of evil descend on Argentina. Humanity’s best hope, a once-legendary shaman, is confined to an insane asylum from which he must escape when the battle against demonic resurrection becomes personal.
The Argentinian clime includes such wide varieties of topographies and cultures the blend of tribal with modern often goes unnoticed. That exact dichotomy sparks fierce debate over the benefits of contemporary society as younger generations leave behind their cultures in favor of convenience. No clearer is that idea underlined than in Fabían Forte’s new film “Legions.” It provides a heartfelt horror comedy aimed at the relationship between an older tribal shaman and his younger modernist daughter. Interweaving past and present “Legions” explores both the jungle and the city as the demon Kuaraya stalks the Poyju family.
Germán de Silva plays Antonio Poyju, a washed-up tribal shaman. We meet him in a detention facility designed for mentally unwell criminals. He recounts to his fellow inmates how he got there, uncovering the family tragedy that separated him from his daughter and made her the focus of an obsessive demon. As he finishes explaining his sordid past, the demon Kuaraya hunts his daughter Helena and forces Antonio’s hand. With the help of his new friends, he must escape the asylum and rescue his daughter from a demon hell-bent on revenge.
“Legions” splits the difference into a couple of different genres: horror, comedy, and family drama. It cleverly relegates the horror elements of the first two-thirds to its flashbacks, where director Fabían Forte has his fun. The flashbacks feature grotesque possessions with contortionists and plenty of black bile. We pull back from those inspired moments to longer-than-we’d-expected sequences of Antonio in the asylum telling his story to a few compatriots. The three-dumb-idiots trope never wears itself out too thin as they all take turns genuinely emoting. Lastly, the family drama leans the most on its previous two elements. As a dramatic throughline, it holds the movie together, but the family drama gets its lip service in one flashback or another before simply becoming a device to hang its story on.
The effects in this movie work particularly well from time to time as Forte’s post-production team blends practical and digital effects. One fairly harrowing sequence involves a strobing light revealing the outline of a man-turned-demon. It doesn’t over-rely on cheaper digital effects, nor are the effects they use too grand for its own good. Instead, it’s pretty grounded within the scope of the movie. The director’s clear sense of tone stays somewhat level up until the last twenty minutes, and by then, it’s expected to break the boundaries of this film for something just a little bit bigger.
“Legions” offers plenty for audiences to dig into. The comedy’s fairly light-hearted and never punches down nor demeans its serious moments. The family drama keeps the movie focused on its storytelling. The horrific moments really stand out in this film. They utilize a deft edit and camera placements meant to unnerve the audience. It’s a grand film with an ending that’s outsized from the rest of the film. I enjoyed the brisk hour and thirty minutes of cohesive storytelling and lauded the movie’s scarier moments.
Available on Video-On-Demand January 19th
