Review: ‘Belzebuth’ is a merciless, unnerving bloodbath -

Often identified as Prince of Demons, Beelzebub is a figure of great prominence in the Hebrew Bible. Later, in the Christian version, Jesus Christ is accused of driving out demonic forces through Beelzebub’s power. A 16th Century text from occultist and demonologist Johann Weyer suggests the Devil ranked much lower than Beelzebub, then cited as being the chieftain of Hell who led a successful revolution against his adversary. Director Emilio Portes appears to excavate a similar thematic arc with his return to feature filmmaking. Belzebuth, which clocks it at nearly two hours, is a dark and wildly disturbing picture that rarely gives its viewers a moment to breathe. It’s a relentless, throat-grabbing tour de force of child slaughter; fair warning, the opening scene is one of the year’s most brutally unnerving and squeamish sequences. And that’s only the beginning.

Portes, whose previous film was a devilish, fantastical comedy called Pastorella (2011), makes the audience so uncomfortable from the outset that you imagine it can’t possibly get any more gruesome. Oh, but you’d be dead wrong. There will be blood! Tobin Bell (Saw franchise) casts a diabolical glow over the entire runtime, even when his husky, dominating presence is nowhere to be seen or heard. He’s the connective tissue to keep the storyline afloat, yet it’s the commanding performance from Joaquín Cosio (The Strain, Blue Demon, Narcos: Mexico) as the emotionally fraught lead detective Emmanuel Ritter, who must contend with the violent slaying of his infant son, that guts you from the inside out. Along with Tate Ellington (The Brave, Shameless) as Ivan Franco, Giovanna Zacarís (The Legend of Zorro) as Leonor and Aida López (Ingobernable) as Elena, the cast roots the otherwise ghoulish, otherworldly happenings to the ground.

Set upon the U.S. and Mexico border, a rather timely-constructed avenue to explore physical and metaphysical boundaries, a storm of mysterious and altogether barbaric mass murders unfurl at an alarming rate. Ritter desperately mounts a police investigation that leads them to a priest, whose instincts outline a connection to ancient and perhaps unconquerable evils. When conflicts between the here and there escalate, seeking to rip the earth into a shell of its former majesty, the emotional stakes are rich and tense and seem to drive a message of mayhem right into your skull. From flashbacks depicting a child suicide to a reenactment of the crucifixion of Christ, as well as a possession of statuesque Christ likeness, Belzebuth never kowtows the savagery and is only extended through raw camera work and a score that penetrates to the core.

Portes undeniably sticks the landing here in every possible way ⏤ and you’ll likely never sleep ever again.

Belzebuth officially lands on Shudder this week.