The Apostate

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.

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.

First of all - this movie isn't going to win any Oscars. Let's get that out of the way. Secondly, it won't get a BAFTA for production design. If you haven't got any cash and you want to make a movie, what do you do? Well, you do what Andy Dodd did. Make one anyway. You don't need a lot of money to make something that keeps people intrigued.

Man wakes up. Man doesn't know who or where he is. Man needs to find out. That's the idea. Jay Bryhan, who plays the 'man', plays him with a lot of gusto and effort, even if he feels a little 'forced' occasionally. The story is told in flashbacks and to's and fro's between a police interview and the man trying to make sense of his surroundings. It's intriguing. It MAKES you want to know what the heel has happened. AND nothing prepares you for the second half of the film - I just didn't see it coming.

The Apostate is a low budget movie. But a pretty darn good film. I don't understand why this isn't on VOD or something - maybe that's to come.

Bravo.

"Was Lance telling the truth?" is all I could think of when the movie ended. The Apostate takes you through a maze of craziness you'll be having flashbacks about the flashbacks for weeks afterward. Each turn takes the viewer down a different path. I questioned the mind of the writer when Lance eats somebody's stomach for dinner! What kind of sick depraved mind could come up with this stuff? The characters were believable, the gore was disgusting and this viewer was left wishing she'd gotten a "vomit bag" before the movie - oh the 'eye'! My 2 daughters are HUGE horror fans and they loved it. She has a collection of horror films so I know she must be just as sick as Andy Dodd who Directed and wrote this multi-layered horror film. It's too bad this isn't being released generally. Clever and slow-burning.

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.