Azrael Angel of Death - FrightFest UK Premiere Review
Director: E.L. Katz
Starring: Samara Weaving, Vic Carmen Sonne, Katariina Unt, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Eero Milonoff
Written by: Simon Barrett
Produced by: Simon Barrett, Dave Caplan, Dan Kagan
Cinematography by: Mart Taniel
Original Score by: Tóti Guðnason
Synopsis:
In a world where no one speaks, a group of religious zealots hunt down a young woman who has escaped her imprisonment.
Thoughts:
The writer of 'You're Next' and 'The Guest' does religious cults in the aftermath of the rapture and starring one of Hollywood's fastest rising female stars? Yes please, sign me up! I didn't even need to see a trailer to be excited for this one and while it wasn't flawless, it was certainly a tense and gory entertaining 95 minutes.
When we're first introduced to Samara Weaving's Azrael she is trudging through a forest, picking berries, looking at the trees, concerned about their movement. Something she does alot of in this film. She comes across a man burning a fire and resting at the foot of a tree. This angers her deeply and she quells the flames. Then we learn that the man is her lover. Both Azrael and her partner are quickly captured by a group of madmen and brought as prisoners to their leader of sorts. She is then tied to a large tree stump. A sacrifice. But to who? Or what?
E.L. Katz' post apocalyptic nightmare begins in a thrilling and mysterious fashion and essentially keeps rolling on in that trend for the entire picture. An entrallling cat and mouse chase through a dense wooded landscape. But something's different here. No one speaks.
The rapture has come and gone and whatever survivors are left have taken a vow of silence. Words are thought to be a sin and the world only exists now within the confines of religious beliefs.
Azrael escapes her sacrificial throne but not before we witness what her end would have looked like. A black humanoid creature lurks in the distance. She can see it. We can see it. But we're not sure what "it" actually is. It moves closer. It's skin charred. And although it walks slowly and almost like a drunken old man making his way out of the bar after last call, it attacks with venom, biting its victim. Sucking blood. Chewing flesh. But this is no vampire. Azrael runs back into the forest and the group pursue. The hunt begins.
It's a hell of a premise and a hell of a way to start a movie. Katz and Barrett have zero hesitancy in showing the malevolent, cannibalistic creature from the outset, so the intrigue and mystery isn't so much about what they are and what they can do but more about how Azrael can escape her apparent imprisonment. Much of the film consists of Azrael running away through the forest from her pursuers and then being caught again. And alot of it happens in real time. It reminded me a lot of 'The Walking Dead' in how it looks and feels, with the fenced off campsites hidden amongst the trees and beat up cars and everybody wearing dirty, tattered coats. They clang pots and pans to alert each other and they whistle too.
There's an interesting religious angle of course that's never really fully explained. At the centre of the main camp is a makeshift church led by a mysterious female clad in all white, who just happens to be pregnant. I won't say much more about that. But the huge take away from Azrael is the extremely bloody violence and gore. I had no idea I would witness these evil, charred creatures literally rip a man's head away from his shoulders and feast on his bloody stump like a puppy gorging from its food bowl.
Samara Weaving is an amazing final girl and proves yet again that she is an iconic modern day scream queen. Ok she doesn't exactly scream in this but you get my drift. Her performance is incredibly physical and probably one of her best from an emotional sense, particularly towards the finale when she kicks into full revenge mode. She really has to go places with her facial expressions too because of the lack of dialogue. But this is much more than just a gimmick film. It's full of really tense moments that are elevated by the sound design, which has to be top notch. There's lots of creaking floorboards and swaying gnarled branches and crunching earth underfoot and it all adds to the intense atmosphere. There always a lingering dread present and it's a hell of a fun ride.
Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
-Gavin Logan
'Azrael: Angel of Death' received its UK Premiere at FrightFest '24 on August 25th and is available on Digital September 30th and DVD & Blu-ray October 7th Distributed by Signature Entertainment
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