‘Apostle’ Review: Dan Stevens Leads a Familiar Cult Thriller

Gareth Evans?captivated audiences this year with?The Raid, a pulse-pounding action-thriller that showcased his involvement in Indonesian fighting methods in addition to?an exceptional knack for editing and fight choreography. For his fifth feature,?Apostle,?the Welsh filmmaker ditches most of the elements with which his name is becoming synonymous in favor of a grim fable with regards to a religious cult this chair was created 20th century. It’s solid enough, though you are going to never?suspect Evans directed it if his name wasn’t from the credits.

Set in 1905,?Apostle?follows Thomas Richardson (a very game Dan Stevens) as he infiltrates?the mysterious cult that’s kidnapped his sister. Led by?self-proclaimed Prophet?Malcolm (Michael Sheen), the audience resides in isolation – and increasing paranoia – on an island over British coast. This does not require much for Thomas determine that few things are quite as it seems like, may it be Malcolm’s righteousness or his promises of bountiful harvests. There are also the strange glass jars called “receptacles,” the fact that residents fill with blood leaving outside their doors through the night. Considerably more disturbing as opposed to offerings will probably be whom they’re being offered, also to what sinister – and supernatural – purpose.

There is some action, but?Apostle is largely missing the thrills of Evans’ previous efforts. Here, he’s more preoccupied with the gruesome and visceral. As Stevens’ Thomas digs deeper in the cult’s machinations, he finds himself swimming from a literal river of s-t and blood. It’s squirm-inducing occasionally and darkly comedic at others; sometimes it’s both, as when Malcolm, rooting out a suspected spy, forces a lineup of guys to recite gospel from his holy book. It would appear that Thomas is getting ready to be observed out?until another man blows his cover, all hell abruptly breaks loose and he’s impaled by Malcolm’s guards.

Apostle is?quite watchable instead of boring, necessarily, but it is incredibly familiar.?The Wicker Man?is a visual?influence – you can find literally a wicker man in this particular movie; a weird, violent minion whose face is obscured by way of a helmet appears similar to a wicker basket. But Evans owes all the to Robin Hardy’s cult classic when he does to newer films like Darren Aronofsky’s?mother! and Martin Scorsese’s?Silence. For a metaphorical level, Apostle?cares when using the nexus of religion and nature, for a manmade cycle of exploitation, appropriation, and violence. It posits that no-one religion is any worse or distinct from the next, understanding that – such as that tired idiom about guns – gods don’t kill people. People kill people.

Sub-plots involving Malcolm’s?sister and?a romance between two teenaged lovers contribute a different thematic layer about abuses of power and?institutionalized?misogyny. These include further underscored (and honestly, somewhat confused) by the supernatural?concept behind the religious cult. You can easily lose count substantial metaphors, including self-cannibalization, the violence of consumerism, additionally, the use of religion to excuse any means of terrible deeds. Where Aronofsky and Scorsese’s films were thoughtful, multi-layered allegories (though with wildly differing approaches),?Apostle?feels too crowded with concepts for anybody to be out for a specified duration to adhere. And that is ahead of the film’s final shot, which essentially shoots all its previous thematic overtures during the foot.

Evans’ latest was created for Netflix, whose sole film interests seem like quantity over quality.?Though handsomely shot in most cases,?Apostle feels and looks just like a movie you’d watch from home over a Saturday afternoon, the?flimsier CGI components inevitably muddied further through the platform’s streaming?speeds?(mileage are vastly different according to your internet service agency). Probably the element most lacking in?Apostle, aside from?any truly?engaging action sequences, is the skillful editing showcased in Evans previous action?films. This feels clunky, along with the surplus of metaphor only exacerbates things.

Apostle is really a solid mystery-thriller,?but save for?predictably engaging?performances from Stevens and Sheen, it’s largely unremarkable. Orgasm is interesting to find out Evans tackle something more conventional, this feels almost too conventional to your man who gave us?The Raid along with its sequel. Nevertheless it’s just basic enough for a product like Netflix. Maybe be the point.