Mini Film Review – Apostle

Yesterday I watched Apostle; and it was rather Interesting! Directed by Gareth Evans, and starring Dan Stevens, Lucy Boynton, Mark Lewis Jones, and Michael Sheen; Apostle is a Gothic Folk Horror movie, about a man who travels to a remote Welsh island, to save his sister from the religious cult that occupies the island. I would like to begin proceedings by addressing the Elephant in the room: Yes; it’s basically The Wicker Man. There are several differences between the two, but you will find yourself looking deep into the screen thinking it, and so yes, it is that, but with a closer eye on the supernatural, than the belief of the supernatural. It is an interesting film, and you will find yourself captivated by it’s enthralling choices of direction. It’s fascinating, in the same sense as it is eerie. Basically, Michael Sheen portrays a delightful villain, but he is holding back a bit, which could be a fault in the script; but it means that his character is not living up to the full potential. So, we get a good villain, but not the iconic villain he very nearly is (in essence, he is a more down to earth version of the villain from Far Cry 5). The ending is rather odd too, as we have a fanatical cult, jumping ship as everything goes wrong, rather than sticking to their chosen devotion. The supernatural element in the film is pretty cool, and the right level of mystery is maintained throughout, but possibly a bit too long though, as it means that it’s not fully explained, leading to an ending which will require further reading to fully understand. And whilst it’s not entirely the point of the film, it’s rather odd, given the amount of visual blood spilling, that the fight scenes are neither well choreographed, long, or visually entertaining. It’s a visually gross movie with more blood than the first few Mortal Kombat games had, but given that it is the same director as both The Raid, and The Raid 2; you’d sort of think the fight scenes would have a bit more in them, rather than wrapped up quick as a flash. I am not saying it’s a totally bad film. The human side to the story, the culture of the island’s society, and the mystery in the supernatural do prop this film up, and it is overall an engrossing experience; but it is lacking/holding back it’s true potential. I’m not saying its pants, nor do I want to say it’s outright bad. But, it’s not exactly good either, it’s more comfortably in the realm of…OK!