Apostle

Gareth Evans, director of The Raid , serves up uncompromising period horror on an isolated island with a religious cult. Dan Stevens (The Guest) travels to an island to free his kidnapped sister, but the local religious fanatics are up to no good and there's plenty of danger ahead. The only downside is the running time of 2 hours and 10 minutes, with the first hour being considerably slower, but the second is so full of gripping scenes that Apostle becomes a definite genre gem and a tribute to the original The Wicker Man. Bleak atmosphere, with solid gore, it's incredibly raw with an excellent villain, where besides Michael Sheen I think his buddy Mark Lewis Jones shone more (I had respect for the guy), and the music is also great. The scariest scene in my opinion is the grandma who appears in a tunnel full of sh*t. I loved the nice dose of mystery and mystique at the end. Evans showed that not only action is one of his triumphs, but he has no problem making an atmospheric historical horror film. If it wasn't for the weaker first half, it would be a clear five stars. 85% (15/10/2018)

Dan Stevens ventures, with a psycho frown, into a quirky sectarian community on a secret island where his sister has been abducted. The film maintains its atmosphere and pace from the very beginning and becomes more interesting with the arrival of the main protagonist on the island, where the rules of the local population and particularly the special mythology, according to which the community was built on the island, are slowly uncovered. But then the sectarian colony begins to collapse from the inside (unfortunately), the supporting characters begin to come to the forefront, and the story of the main protagonist falls by the wayside. Because of this the film loses steam slightly in the second half, which it tries to save with grateful scenes with a medieval lobotomy and a meat grinder. Except for the juicy gore scenes, there's nothing much reminiscent of Evans's previous films in this historical horror movie. (05/10/2018)

Gareth Evans partly returns to the theme that made him shine with his part in the horror anthology V/H/S/2. Funnily overplaying, Dan Stevens arrives on an island ruled by a sect of dangerous fanatics whose leader is the eccentric Michael Sheen. The hero’s goal there is to find his kidnapped sister. However, things are considerably worse than what he had expected and most of the islanders are facing a catastrophic fate. Although Apostle is more than two hours long, it gets into a brisk pace right from the first minutes, then, without fiddling around, throws us into a thrilling life ’n’ death game. Unfortunately, it doesn’t spare us from some cliché towards the end, where the main villain has to explain all the motives that led him to his crimes. Nevertheless, the flick nicely entertains and its fiery finale is totally worth seeing. What’s more, Apostle boasts an incredible stage set and all outdoor scenes look truly magnificent. Gareth Evans achieved great heights, and I’m definitely not going to miss his next piece of filmmaking. [Sitges 2018] (05/10/2018)

The British movie Apostle proves that the subject of fanatical religious cults is by no means exhausted. Movies like this still have a very strong potential, and you can definitely squeeze some great stuff from their potential. Apostle is a depressing, gritty, and sometimes even brutal movie that also tugs at your heartstrings and pulls it off quite well. (18/12/2020)

Dan Stevens goes to find his sister, who has been abducted by a strange cult from a remote island. But he discovers that this community has some ugly secrets that will soon raise hell. Action director Gareth Evans (The Raid) delivers a slow and very gritty film that isn't afraid to shy away from scares and relies on an interesting plot, good actors and a very uncomfortable atmosphere. Don't expect a classic horror film, though. (30/10/2018)