Apóstolo

It has been a while since I saw a good horror movie. Considering this is a very exploited genre and is hardly going to be something new, this movie is pretty good. It has an interesting and gripping plot, and reasonably unexpected turns. Overall entertaining.

I was really hyped up for this one - I loved both "Raid" parts & folk/cult subgenre is one of my favorites in all things horror. I was expecting a sort of mashup of "The VVitch" and "Wicker man" (the original, of course), but what I got is a sort of a Lovecraftian "Wicker man", which is totally not bad. Let's start with the pros: amazing cinematography, decent acting, intriguing settings and well-done gore & fight scenes. That's enough pros to make a movie average or better than that. But what was wrong? Mainly pacing & plot. This could've easily been a 90minutes long horror flick, without losing much of the atmosphere. "The Apostle" was shook by a set-up too long, consisting of many uninterrupted long shots, walking, watching, staring etc., they were making suspense and doing an overkill at that. What about the plot? It's engaging enough (just enough), but ultimately fails to deliver some answers to some burning questions. To sum it up, it's an above-average Netflix original, a very decent horror film, average mystery drama & an entertaining watch for any folk/cult/religion/Lovecraftian loving horror fan. I give it a solid 7/10.

I cannot believe there are any bad reviews for this film. I'll keep this brief.

This film is an absolute gift for anyone who loves true horror. Much like The VVitch it is a beautifully acted and written period piece set in the early 1900's. The pacing is perfect, the tone is driving and rhythmic, never was there a point during this film where I was bored. The characters were fleshed out and easy to empathize with. Overall I thought this was fantastic. I think it's almost a waste that its a netflix film and did not get a theatrical release.

Anyone who loves the idea of paganism, cults, religion without pandering to Christians (which is what The Conjuring does, even though I am a fan of those films), or period pieces will love this film. Do your self a favor and give it a chance.

The people giving this film 10/10 are being too nice and those giving 1/10 are being overly critical. The truth, for whatever my opinion is worth, is somewhere in between. The acting is actually quite good, with Michael Sheen giving a particularly extraordinary performance. The setting is beautiful and the film overall beautiful to look at.

The concept is interesting as well and the first 45 minutes actually seem to fly by because the premise is so compelling; you'll want to know what's going to happen. Unfortunately, the plot seems to slowly deteriorate after that as Gareth Evans remembers that he needs to throw in a healthy amount of gore to please his greatest fans and the storytelling takes a serious hit in the process. It ends up somewhat confused and chaotic and not in an interesting way.

It really does surprise me that this film didn't get a big theatrical release, logically I don't really understand why. Its original, has a great cast and boasts a terrific story line. The cinematography is terrific, it had superb production values, it really looks slick and very well made. I can't decide who stands out in particular, but the acting in general is exceptional, with Michael Sheen perhaps ending the charisma stakes.

It's a very macabre storyline, possibly the reason for its lack of release, if you've seen The Witch, that's a good idea of the tone you'll get here, very dark to the point of being bleak.

This isn't for everyone, but I loved it. 8/10