Legions, an Argentinian film written and directed by Fabian Forte, tells the story of Antonio Poyju (German De Silva), a self-proclaimed sorcerer who comes from a long line of self-proclaimed sorcerers. Antonio is locked away in an asylum after a battle with one of the demons ends in death. He spends his days writing stage plays about his experiences as a sorcerer and watching the rehearsals of those plays. Things change, however, when a demon from his past who has already claimed his wife comes back for his daughter. Antonio must break out of the asylum in time to help stop the demon once and for all.

While certainly having some flaws and areas of improvement, Legions is a mostly fun demon movie. The story shifts between the jungles of Argentina and the halls of the asylum, and director Fabian Forte does well at setting the sense of place and atmosphere in both settings equally well. The jungle is muggy and rife with sinister forces. The asylum is claustrophobic and populated with an array of colorful and unique characters, each one memorable in their own way. 

The emotional center of the movie is between Antonio and his daughter, Elena (Lorena Vega). After the death of his wife, Antonio is left to raise Elena on his own and does the best he can with what he knows. He attempts to keep the traditions of his bloodline alive through his daughter, but as Elena grows into an adult, she rejects the mystical aspects of her family’s history. Soon, Antonio has abandoned a life living in the jungle and practicing magic in favor of a more urban existence. He lives in a city with Elena, who just wants to be a normal teenage girl whose father doesn’t keep “demons” locked up in their one bedroom. It’s the conflict between Antonio and Elena that sets the stakes for the story.

While Forte does well in setting up the foundation of the relationship, there was certainly a lot more space for exploration and development of this relationship. Mining the father-daughter dynamic, and perhaps Antonio’s shortcomings as a single father could have added an interesting character arc for both Antonio and Elena. As it stands now, we only get a few flashbacks that give us a superficial look in to that conflict between father and daughter, the ancient and the modern. 

The film is anchored by a solid performance by German De Silva as Antonio. His face displays a well-worn weariness and fatigue, the result of a lifetime spent battling some powerful evil forces. De Silva brings the right amount of seriousness and sadness to the role, making for an extremely magnetic, watchable performance. Without De Silva as Antonio, things might not work quite as well as they do. The other great performances come from the patients at the asylum, too numerous to list here. Not only do they become an important support system to Antonio in his quest to escape, but they also provide some much-needed comic relief throughout. Rather than being treated as an afterthought, the supporting cast is one of the more memorable aspects of Legions.

There are a lot of fun and gross practical effects that will please fans of the genre, on top of the great character work and acting. While Legions could have done with a little more character history, as it stands, it’s a fun genre movie with great performances and detailed settings. 

7 out of 10