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.

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.

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.

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 in a recent review I did for 'Locke' - I mentioned I happened to see this movie at the same festival and, as with the other British indie 'Locke', I was transfixed for 80 odd minutes. While this doesn't hold the star power of the previously mentioned film (it does have Terri Dwyer in it and after a quick IMDb search, she is a Brit TV actor) the actors in the movie are strong and believable. Directer, Andy Dodd has written a sharp little movie (he also lens'd and edited it among other things) which keeps the viewer guessing until the end. Lance Cooper (Jay Bryhan) is a man who wakes up with no understanding of who he is or how he came to be there (there being a dingy bathroom in an underground car park) - Yes, the premise isn't original and it's a little 'SAW I' - but that didn't put me off (or anyone else watching, it would seem). What follow is a series of flashbacks and Police interviews with Lance and we slowly piece together the mystery. A film which keeps you guessing (and it does, and the revelation is unexpected) is always interesting as long as it doesn't treat the audience like 'fools' - this doesn't. It MAKES you want to know what happened. If I wanted to be critical, the ending wrapped up a little too quickly for me - but it's a small criticism.