The Apostate

The story is a strong, emotional one filled with plenty of melodrama, suspense, and stark realism. "The Apostate: Call Of The Revenant" is a slow burning, fluid piece that tales Cooper's story in a serious of gritty, horrific flashbacks shrouded in mystery, all of which are framed around an interrogation upon Cooper being brought back to police headquarters. The cast give powerful, invoking performances that pull you into the film. There is a witty approach that attempts to mask the truth, giving view to both the reality of the evidence, and the reality of Lance Cooper's belief of events leading up to the truth.

The special effects used in "The Apostate" are practical, raw effects that give plenty of blood and gore. The flashback scenes offer up a bit of "Saw" styled grue that for the most part work perfectly. The atmosphere surrounding these affectual moments is one of true horror. They are on the cheaper side of indie budgeted effects, but due to careful choices by Cooper, and his team, all uses are believable. The soundtrack and music score are stripped down, expected instrumental tones and melodies that push the macabre of the story to chilling levels.

Overall "The Apostate: Call Of The Revenant" gives us a strong, indie true life crime in gory, dramatic honesty. Andy Cooper's directing shines as does the talents of the cast and crew bringing this nightmare to life. The story is captivating and the special effects are choice. There are moments when the effects-when shown straight on-look cheap. Very few moments but I would be remiss not to point them out. The beginning does move slowly so fans of high energy horror will be bored. The big reveal that gives us truth doesn't stay elusive beyond the 40 minute mark, and even before that there are hints to the truth visible. That of course is to all who are not familiar with the crimes in this film. "The Apostate: Call Of The Revenant" is, however, a worthy film that warrants watching.

But better. The first half of the Apostate plays like the Adrian Brody movie 'wrecked' - same scenario. Man trapped and is bleeding - no memory of how he got there etc.

But. Halfway through, the film changes and it's quite shocking. There's something not right about 'the man' - then we find out why. Jay Bryhan plays the 'man' very well. A physical performance. It's the script and great direction by Andy Dodd that really pulls it through. We never miss a moment and can feel the 'hopelessness' of the mans' situation.

Terri Dwyer (hollyoaks, loose women) - plays the detective, who we see in flashback, trying to coax the true story from the trapped man. There are a few gory bits (well, it's a horror/thriller) and maybe a few slower moments at the beginning, but it always captivates.

The Apostate. Low budget. But very well done.

As some of us know, "apostasy" or "an apostate" is a recognisable phrase that dates all the way back and means "somebody who has lost their faith" either in religion or in a cause etc.Throughout the centuries this has taken many different forms and I think it's safe to say that Director/Producer Andy Dodd has set a new tone for its meaning.

The story follows Lance, who wakes up in a 'rest-room' with no idea of who he is or how he got there. Flash-forward to a police interview room where inspector Andrews is interviewing him, trying to 'coax' out the truth.

This is when the movie takes a completely different twist than what you would expect out of an indie film of this ilk. The truths that come out during the course of the movie will shock you. This movie not only f**ks with your mind psychologically making you do double takes and shake your head in a mixture of disbelief and disgust while saying to yourself "You gotta be kidding me...really?!" but it also hits you right afterward with a good dose of blood and gore.

Why not a 10 you ask? Well that's mainly because to see a 10 usually sets off the alarms that a review has been submitted biased. Me, I enjoyed this film from beginning to end, as I love my psychologically disturbing films just as much as I love my torture gore movies...and the Apostate delivers a blissful combination of both. I am an opinionated curmudgeon, and ALWAYS have something negative to say about where an indie horror flick could have tightened up this or that, but at the end, every end was tied up, the conclusion was satisfying "now I know why Lance was in that damn room!" -it was easily the best indie horror film I have seen in the past few years. Zero budget - great inventiveness. Some of the digital effects were not great, but the practical effects looked real enough. It could do with a 'trim' at the beginning.

Jay Bryhan who plays Lance deserves a standing ovation and a projectile vomit or two for the fantastic performances he gives, which make the film as genuine as it is.

This film is getting good ratings. And there's a reason why. Within the first 10 minutes, this film establishes the core of the film, and then doesn't let up until the end. But while most horror films stick to the, "more gore less story" ideals, Andy Dodd has crafted a story that makes you want to care for the main character of Cooper. But, while I was watching the Apostate, another movie came to mind that shared a similar premise, and that was the first SAW movie. While the Apostate shares some similarities to James Wan's, the Apostate refuses to let the audience turn away, and even though there's a lot of blood and violence in the film, you can tell Dodd wanted to tell a good story as well, and there's a lot of character development, and well crafted dialog throughout the film. But what makes the film so twisted, beyond the gore and violence, is what I'm not including in this review. You'll have to see it for yourself...around the 40 minute mark.

But, at the end of the day, even though I liked it, would I recommend it to others? And that is a yes, and no. Yes, it is a very cool film, and has things that every horror fan would love, but not for everyone. There's a lot of adult content that younger horror fans just wouldn't get, as the beginning is quite slow.

The Apostate is a great feature directorial debut for Andy Dodd, and I'm excited to see his future works. The Apostate is a violent, monolith of an indie film, but it's also very smart, respecting the fans of the genre. And if you get a chance to see it on the big screen, I highly suggest it! I noticed Andy Dodd has done some recent work on the 'force awakens' - fair play.

it looks like summit have found a new Ramirez for the Highlander remake, rumoured to be unknown actor James Bryhan. It appears that Tom Cruise has not agreed to taking part has he has other commitments. Bryhan a talented actor and I had the pleasure of watching award winner Andy Dodds The Apostate where he and co-star ,Terri Dwyer gave a fantastic performance which if you get the chance SEE IT!! YOU WON'T BE Disappointed!! It's more thriller than horror, but boy when those gruesome scenes hit, they hit HARD!! Bryhan has made appearances in Red 2, Peaky Blinders and starred in award winner Andy do dd's thriller/horror The Apostate with holly oaks Terri Dwyer.