AzraelThe latest horror with scream queen Samara Weaving, comes from the minds of director Al Katz and screenwriter Simon Barrett. The movie follows a relatively simple premise: a young woman is hunted by a terrible cult and demonic creatures in a post-rapture world. Their evil plan for her is unclear, but one thing is certain – she will survive at any cost.
The premise is one that many horror fans will recognize, as it is the basis of many classic horror films. The rapture and its aftermath have been a playground for science fiction and horror creatives for some time now, and with the popularity of dialogue-free horror on the rise, Azrael comes to us as the child of the theme intersecting.
Those who enjoy the community experience of watching horror will be thrilled by Azrael. It is designed to latch onto our senses and drag them into a bloody, heart-pounding experience. The sound design alone is enough to shock or cause nausea. Without words to convey the dark and disturbed atmosphere, the use of tense and intentional breathing, the sound of nature, and the creepy screams of our seemingly non-human predators are greatly amplified and perfectly executed.
Katz is aware that for a film that puts its foundation on any dialogue, the sound design and overall filmmaking technique need to compensate tenfold. Taking cues from the massive success of A quiet place, Azrael Certainly earns its place in the niche corner of horror, but it has its fair share of shortcomings.
Azrael spins her wheels until it comes to an inevitable dead end
A frustrating aspect of the film is the repetitive nature of the pacing and story structure. Our protagonist is on the run. She gets caught, demonic creatures come after her, she survives, there are casualties, and then the cycle continues. There is a gradual building of stakes as the character gets closer to the heart of her issues, an ominous Mary-like figure that resides in the church in the cult’s camp.
There is a lot to suggest that those who survived the rapture are the God-fearing type, but the forces they placard to suggest a more evil route, the repentant fools have taken after rapture. The finale kind of clears up the situation, but the vagueness of the story is only enhanced by the lack of narrative progression and character-building.
Azrael is unable to build its story around its main character, the cult following her, and the demonic creatures that chase her down.
There is nothing learned or gained by the situational repetition of the horror film, nor the ambiguity of our protagonist’s role. Is there something specific about you that draws the cult to you? And what is a civilization like beyond the forest? It is difficult to imagine that someone should challenge M. Night Shyamalan The Village In any situation, however AzraelUnfortunately, there is some narrative familiarity that illuminates why Shyamalan got it right when crafting the suspicious society that is packed into our world.
in AzraelThe story feels so small and poorly established, with the creators too hung up on the pieces of a dialogue-free movie. The who, what, when, where and why are actually valid aspects that the film fails to answer efficiently or effectively.
Samara Weaving’s storm-filled performance Heliz Azrael
Azrael Loses much of its appeal without Samara weaving. The recently anointed scream queen became popular because of her blood-curdling scream and star-making performance in Ready or not. Azrael Takes full advantage of the appeal weaving has in the horror space; However, she is mute here. It’s an intriguing choice for someone whose vocal prowess has been praised in the past, but the choice doesn’t diminish Weaving’s overwhelming talent for playing a physically demanding role. Her character’s palpable fear, anxiety, heartache and rage are so cleanly defined by her facial movements, entrancing eyes and an overall impressive commitment.
The film falls short when it fails to build the story beyond the obvious details. of course Azrael Would have been better as a short film rather than a feature. Aside from Weaving’s evolving performance as her unnamed heroine pivots from desperate survival mode to judgment-seeking revenge mode, the film itself maintains the same scenarios and predicaments. This causes the film to lose steam when Weaving’s character loses something dear to her, and the shift from victim to predator is activated. The film relies so much on weaving that it forgets to build you up with a concrete story and background.
Unlike a film like A quiet placeWhere the premise also relies on the actors not speaking, Azrael is unable to build its story around its main character, the cult following her, and the demonic creatures that chase her down. The film forgets a fundamental question: Why should we care about her? The lack of specificity around the situation and the underbaked character development reduces Azrael To be nothing more than horror with an interesting premise.
Azrael Now playing in theaters. The film is 85 minutes long and rated for intense bloody violence and gore.
Many years after the apocalypse, a pious cult of dumb zealots hunt down a young woman, Azrael, who has escaped from her prison. Captured by his cruel leader, Ezrael must be sacrificed to pacify an ancient evil that resides deep in the surrounding desert – but she will stop at nothing to ensure her own survival. In what follows, Azrael makes a wild bid for freedom as their escape accelerates into a vicious, revenge-fueled showdown.
- Ezrael is not able to build a story around his main character
- The film would have been better as a short film
- There is nothing gained by the situational repetition