Azrael – SXSW Review

Samara Weaving excels in a dialogue-free role, as survival horror is stripped down to its desperate, violent basics, and then garnished with a bonkers religious twist in E.L. Katz’s post-Rapture bloodbath Azrael.

★★★★

There’s an entire sub-genre in American fiction of stories set after the ‘Rapture’, in which the deserving have been scooted off to heaven and the rest of us have been left behind to deal with… well, whatever there is to deal with after that. Left Behind and The Leftovers are the better-known examples, but Azrael might just be the most savage, unsettling, blood-spattered example yet.

Set many years after the Rapture, a young woman named Azrael (Samara Weaving) and her lover (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) race through a wood, on the run from a devout cult of mute zealots hunts. Our heroes are mute too. Have they taken a religious vow of silence, like the cultists that pursue them? Were they excommunicated for their love? Or were they captured and their voice-boxes ritualistically destroyed? Azrael is happy to leave such questions unanswered, in favour of a more immediate focus on their desperate escape.

In any case, when Azrael is recaptured by the cult, she is to be sacrificed to a horrific presence that resides deep within the surrounding wilderness – a charred, howling ghoul, anmed in the credits as a “Burned One.” With everything stacked against her, Azrael must make a savage bid for freedom, survival, and revenge – in that order.

This vicious new feature from E.L. Katz (Cheap Thrills) is set in a near-silent world, emphasizing the importance of empathy, freedom, and determination even as it uncovers the bestial worst of humanity’s inner nature. Through her physicality and expressiveness, even without dialogue Weaving forcefully conveys a wide range of emotions – sometimes love, pity or joy, although mainly resilience, desperation, terror and rage – as befits someone named after God’s angel of death.

This evocation of silence, violence, and spirituality is enriched by the cinematography of Mart Taniel. Known for his work on the visually stunning Estonian horror November, Taniel brings an eerie ambience to Azrael, and the mud, blood and character design of the “Burned Ones” all combine with the dynamic camera movements and punchy editing to bolster Azrael‘s visceral impact. Azrael is a visual storytelling masterclass, relying on the potent combination of atmosphere, performance, and precise technical craft to convey its narrative and emotional arcs.

Simon Barrett, the screenwriter behind notable works like You’re Next and The Guest, brings his penchant for unconventional B-movie horror-thrillers to Azrael. His storytelling is characterized by a blend of offbeat narratives with unexpected twists, particularly evident as the film delves into its religious themes with ferocity in the third act. Barrett’s narrative, combined with Katz’s unpretentious yet robust direction and the cast’s committed performances, crafts a unique and fundamentally strange horror experience.

The religious undertones of Azrael move into the forefront as the story progresses, culminating in a ferocious and bonkers third act climax. It’s not afraid to get down and dirty as Weaving is violently pursued through the woods, and her face-offs with the post-Rapture “Burned Ones” and the pregnant cult leader (played by Vic Carmen Sonne of Godland and Holiday) should have grindhouse audiences whooping. This would make a great double-bill with Immaculate; it’s another religious B-movie horror with a wonderful finale.

Azrael‘s bold concept may alienate some, but I loved the way it combines an experimental edge with a full-bloodied embrace of gonzo grindhouse thrills.

Azrael is a nail-biting white-kunckle bloodbath. Samara Weaving is electric. A cult smash in the making. Recommended!

Azrael played at the SXSW Film Festival, and is eyeing a release later in the year.