Apostle review

 

One of my hypothetical passion projects is to write a book on the history of cult movies.  Not cult classics, but films that focus on the goings-on inside of a cult.  Oftentimes the setting of horror flicks, cults provide a backdrop that I believe can be given a closer look.  (I understand that I am missing a lot of cult films, but I have not discovered them yet! Give a dude a break!) Gareth Evans’s most recent film, Apostle, fits perfectly into this subcategory. Marketed as a horror-torture flick, Apostle plays more like a period piece than either of those.  Set on a desolate island off the coast of Britain in the early 20^th century, the film follows Thomas Richardson in his search for his sister, Jenifer, who has been kidnapped by the leaders of a cult.

 

First things first, Evans, cinematographer Matt Flannery, and production designer Tom Pearce did an amazing job with their focus on how dirty and brutal of a time period the early 20^th century was.  Most of the characters are filthy, with hands that perfectly exhibit the lives they have chosen, or been forced, to lead.  In the words of Damian Cockburn, it is a gritty, dirty film in every sense. The tone and feel perfectly match the world and the characters that inhabit it.

 

Dan Stevens (Thomas Richardson) and Michael Sheen (cult leader Prophet Malcolm) anchor the film in every sense.  Stevens plays Richardson with a physicality that is more important than almost every line the character mutters. (Outside his explanation of the reason he is so guarded and unwavering in his focus and action) From his eyes to his gate, Stevens completely inhabits Thomas Richardson, making this performance stand out.  While his performance is not as loud as Stevens’s, Sheen’s performance as the cult’s leader Prophet Malcolm is subtle and rather complicated in comparison to other cult leaders in film.  The performance and character both could have been stock crazy and charismatic, but Sheen’s brightest moments are when he is leaning into the character’s insecurities and moral complexity rather than when he is asked to lead a service or address the people of the island.  The supporting performances are of mixed results, a fact that is probably not completely on the cast members.  Mark Lewis Jones (Quinn), Elen Rhys (Jenifer), Kristine Froseth (Ffion), and Bill Milner (Jeremy) stand out from the rest.

 

While I was excited for Apostle, I felt as if there was something missing by the end.  It plays like a period piece was a pleasant surprise, but I wonder if that might have gotten in the way of the film’s true potential.  After thinking about it, I think that the problem is the horror aspect of the story.  The film is incredibly brutal from beginning to end. Between the bloodletting, beatings, deaths, and relationships, there is very little in this movie that does not come across as brutal.  If the desired effect of this brutality is to get under the skin of the viewer, it does just that.  It just does not do it in the ways that were advertised.  There are scenes that are seared into my subconscious for the foreseeable future, but they do not advance the story in any meaningful way. It is almost like Evans, who wrote and directed, did too good of a job with the look and atmosphere of the film.  This is a disturbing setting filled with complicated and disturbing people. Adding a jump scare here and there just does not add anything meaningful to the project. The allegorical nature of the plot also seems a bit too on the nose at times.  The focus becomes split, trying to explain why the island is the way it is when a cult movie is naturally a great sub-genre to focus on the depressing aspects of human nature.

 

With all this being said, I feel that the real problem here was the marketing.  Netflix has made a killing at making mediocre movies seem much better than they are by crafting wonderful trailers.  Remember Bird Box? Well, this is a case of the streaming service hurting its property.  Marketing this film as a horror-torture flick was a mistake because it takes away from what Evans created.  Apostle is a good period piece that features good to great acting that relies on a “high-concept” allegorical story.  Is there a number of scenes that are very brutal? Yes, of course, however, that should not be how this film is remembered.  If you feel like watching a film about the brutal existence of those who live on an island controlled by a cult, please watch this film.  If you want to watch a grueling slow burn horror-torture flick, you will defiantly enjoy certain aspects, but Apostle might lose you.  Maybe the point of this review is to show you how desensitized I really am.  See for yourself!

 

 

Score: 6.06/10

 

Thanks for reading! Curtis.