Apostle

Dan Stevens goes to find his sister, who has been abducted by a strange cult from a remote island. But he discovers that this community has some ugly secrets that will soon raise hell. Action director Gareth Evans (The Raid) delivers a slow and very gritty film that isn't afraid to shy away from scares and relies on an interesting plot, good actors and a very uncomfortable atmosphere. Don't expect a classic horror film, though. (10/30/2018)

Gloomy, mysterious, brutally dark and finally after a long time also anoriginal film about something mysterious, evil, but also provocative and compelling you to learn more about it. After a long time, Apostle made me experience fear. Revulsion, too, but the fear was stronger. It was caused by a religious sect, from which I didn’t know what to expect, so I was gaping at the screen, bowing down before the director and director of photography at places, because the pictures of terror they came up with sent shivers down my spine. I wondered when was the last time something on TV made me feel like this and I think it was when I watched the first season of True Detective. And that was quite a few years ago. (12/11/2019)

The British movie Apostle proves that the subject of fanatical religious cults is by no means exhausted. Movies like this still have a very strong potential, and you can definitely squeeze some great stuff from their potential. Apostle is a depressing, gritty, and sometimes even brutal movie that also tugs at your heartstrings and pulls it off quite well. (12/18/2020)

Gareth Evans partly returns to the theme that made him shine with his part in the horror anthology V/H/S/2. Funnily overplaying, Dan Stevens arrives on an island ruled by a sect of dangerous fanatics whose leader is the eccentric Michael Sheen. The hero’s goal there is to find his kidnapped sister. However, things are considerably worse than what he had expected and most of the islanders are facing a catastrophic fate. Although Apostle is more than two hours long, it gets into a brisk pace right from the first minutes, then, without fiddling around, throws us into a thrilling life ’n’ death game. Unfortunately, it doesn’t spare us from some cliché towards the end, where the main villain has to explain all the motives that led him to his crimes. Nevertheless, the flick nicely entertains and its fiery finale is totally worth seeing. What’s more, Apostle boasts an incredible stage set and all outdoor scenes look truly magnificent. Gareth Evans achieved great heights, and I’m definitely not going to miss his next piece of filmmaking. [Sitges 2018] (10/05/2018)

The Wicker Man 1905, where one would expect that based on the style and the course of the movie the screenwriter and director would be S. Craig Zahler rather than Evans. Despite many flaws (especially the unjustified length and not used holiday masks), this is a very nice movie, which does not bring much new to the sectarian thrilleroid-horror subgenre, but is so well captured, played out, intense, bizarre and packed with uncompromising atmosphere what we can hardly view as a bad thing. (01/12/2019)