Apostle: A truly savage Horror Film which only falls down on it's excessive running time. Thomas (Dan Stevens) goes to an isolated island to track down his sister who has been abducted by a strange religious cult, they worship She, the Goddess of the Island. The religion was founded by three men who claim to be escaped felons, imprisoned for treason. The leader (and Prophet) of the Cult is Malcolm (Michael Sheen), he preaches a gospel of sharing and equality, the island is presented as a refuge for the down trodden. It soon becomes obvious that Malcolm has a group of enforcers who see that his orders are carried out and who seek out dissent and blasphemy.
Thomas saves Malcolm from an assassins dagger and gains his trust. Wounded in the attack, thomas is nursed by Malcolm's daughter Andrea (Lucy Boynton) who is independent minded. As Malcolm and his deputy Quinn (Mark Lewis Jones) discover the conveyor of the ransom is on the island and seek him out. Getting crazier and crazier, going from mere repressive Theocrats to mad Prophets.
Apostle is reminiscent of The Wicker Man at times with the need to appease a Deity to secure the harvest and also has Lovecraftian influences involving the worship of a Sea Goddess; it even made me think of the recent Cold Skin. Torture, murder and ritual execution abound and this is not a film for the squeamish. The tension builds but at times Thomas (an ex-priest) goes into asides regarding his lack of belief. But he does become a one-man army determined to rescue his sister and vanquish the Cult leaders and their thugs.
A good Horror Film rather than a great one is delivered by director and screenwriter Garth Evans. Apostle might well benefit from a cut of perhaps 20 minutes in the 130 minutes running time. 7.5/10. On Netflix.
Thomas saves Malcolm from an assassins dagger and gains his trust. Wounded in the attack, thomas is nursed by Malcolm's daughter Andrea (Lucy Boynton) who is independent minded. As Malcolm and his deputy Quinn (Mark Lewis Jones) discover the conveyor of the ransom is on the island and seek him out. Getting crazier and crazier, going from mere repressive Theocrats to mad Prophets.
Apostle is reminiscent of The Wicker Man at times with the need to appease a Deity to secure the harvest and also has Lovecraftian influences involving the worship of a Sea Goddess; it even made me think of the recent Cold Skin. Torture, murder and ritual execution abound and this is not a film for the squeamish. The tension builds but at times Thomas (an ex-priest) goes into asides regarding his lack of belief. But he does become a one-man army determined to rescue his sister and vanquish the Cult leaders and their thugs.
A good Horror Film rather than a great one is delivered by director and screenwriter Garth Evans. Apostle might well benefit from a cut of perhaps 20 minutes in the 130 minutes running time. 7.5/10. On Netflix.