Azrael is a 2024 American action horror film directed by E. L. Katz, and the cast includes Samara Weaving, Vic Carmen Sonne and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett.
In a world in which no one speaks, a mysterious, devout community hunts down a young woman named Azrael (Samara Weaving) who has escaped their imprisonment.
Recaptured by its ruthless leaders, she is to be sacrificed to pacify an evil which resides deep within the surrounding wilderness, but Azrael will stop at nothing to ensure her own freedom and survival.
Azrael is a post-apocalyptic film that tells its silent story via Biblical themes, and is filled with blood and some unexpected supernatural moments, all without any spoken dialogue.
Interesting, right?
Samara Weaving plays Azrael, wandering through woods while avoiding mud-covered creatures with twisted bodies as well as other humans who want to sacrifice her to these monsters, and most of the humans, except for one, have had their vocal cords cut, leaving a cross-shaped scar on their throats.
As the movie plays, you don't actually learn much about what’s really going on, and other than some on-screen text and the excellent acting, I found it hard at times to grasp the plot fully, but is yet still incredibly interesting at the same time with questions you want answered.
The religious themes in Azrael become more prominent as the story unfolds, leading to an intense and wild climax in the third act, and the film isn't shy about being brutal as Weaving is chased through the woods.
In between the lulls in the film, and when some action does hit, it hits well and some scenes are pretty intense, with the antagonists pretty creepy and they are mostly kept in darkness and obscured, which I liked.
I need to re watch this one as I am still not sure what I really think, on one hand, it's a survival horror that really doesn't have much to say (Literally) and doesn't answer much at all and I was still left with so many questions at the end, but on the other hand I did find it pretty interesting and respected a lot about it, too.
Oh, and Samara Weaving is brilliant as Azrael, cannot fault her much at all and you can see why she is an actress in very high demand. (She was also brilliant in 2019's Ready or Not, among others)
This must have been such an interesting part to play, with her emotions needing to shine through above anything else, and she does it well as her frustrations become your frustrations.
The film will definitely alienate a lot of people, but I have a feeling it will get a cult status in time.
Is it a good movie? Again, sorry to be vague, on one hand it is, but on another it's also a frustrating experience but is certainly not a film I regret watching.
I liked it more than I disliked it, that's for sure.
I would rate this film 60% on my horror movie nerd-o-meter.
[Azrael on IMDB] [Where to watch Azrael]
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