Inspired Azreal a Rampaging, Blood-Soaked Fight for Survival
After the Rapture has whisked away the bulk of humanity, many of those who have been left behind eke out a meager existence outside of the crumbling remnants of the major cities and within the dark confines of a secluded forest. Some have taken an oath to never speak again, believing their piously steadfast silence will make them finally worthy of salvation. Or so they hope.
Azrael is a real-time thriller featuring Samara Weaving as a young woman who, for reasons best left a mystery here, is being hunted by members of this voiceless sect. Both she and her paramour (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) are set to be sacrificed to the shrieking, bloodthirsty demons who stalk the forest hunting for their next meal. Like a stripped-down Mad Max: Fury Road with rampaging monsters (both human and demonic) speeding through a disquieting timberland instead of high-octane monster trucks hurtling across an otherworldly desert wasteland, director E.L. Katz (Cheap Thrills) and writer Simon Barrett (You’re Next) deliver a suspensefully visceral treat.
It’s a catch-escape-chase-catch-escape-chase-fight back story, and there’s not a lot more to any of it than that. Barrett’s efficient screenplay slyly hints at larger themes involving the nature of sin, societal responsibility, and religious fundamentalism, but I’d be lying if I tried to make a case that the overall film makes anything substantive out of any of that. He and Katz are out to provoke adrenaline-filled shivers coupled with shouts of exhausted euphoria (and a few shrieks of horrified glee) from their captive audience, and mostly they succeed.
There’s this phenomenal set piece with Weaving literally stuck up a tree. The creatures — grueling masterpieces of crisply burned flesh, razor-sharp teeth, and blackened eyes filled with fiery rage — are milling about the base, rapaciously consuming their latest catch. They attack by smell and sound (it’s kept vague how good their eyesight is), and while their latest feast initially satiates their hunger, that doesn’t mean they aren’t willing to keep hunting if another potential snack is unlucky enough to come their way.
Katz’s direction is exquisitely merciless, and cinematographer Mart Taniel crafts eerie images of startling depth overflowing in flickering lights from varying natural sources that help create an aura of indefatigable dread that’s almost overwhelming. This is all aided by Weaving’s superlative performance. She’s asked to transmit a plethora of varying emotional responses with only her athletic physicality and expressive eye movements, and she does so with energetic aplomb. It’s phenomenal stuff.
From there, Katz steps firmly down on the gas pedal and refuses to let up. We get glimpses of the new society these speechless survivors are attempting to build, including places of worship built of dirt, wood, and stone. There are also hints of other clans who are also making the most of what has been left behind for them to build with, including — in a clever nod to 1966’s Incubus staring William Shatner — a good samaritan who attempts to converse with Weaving in Esperanto. There are some inspired nods to John Carpenter’s 1987 cult favorite Prince of Darkness and Clive Barker’s 1990 gem Nightbreed sprinkled throughout as well.
Everything builds to a suitably ephemeral climax that some may find vexing. Personally, I loved it. Katz and Barrett open the door to a new world, one where humanity and the creatures looking to lord over them could possibly, and malevolently, coexist. The filmmakers give birth to a new nightmare, one overflowing in possibilities and, it should be noted, several purposefully unanswered questions. Azrael is a blood-soaked blast.
Film Rating: 3 (out of 4)
