AZRAEL (2024)

a review by Evan Landon

Many years after the Rapture...
Among the survivors,

some are driven to renounce

their sin of Speech.

“From all my transgressions deliver me.

I have become Mute, I open not my mouth.”

Those are pretty much the only words spoken, read, or heard in the entire film of 2024's action horror cinematic piece which is exactly the kind of movie that will always get a good nod from me. To be perfectly honest, this should have been in my Top 10 Bestest Films of 2024, but it was beat out by only a couple. Even upon viewing it a second time, I like it even more because there is so much that is missed when the exposition is omitted and even though that is exactly what is missing from movies these days, it also allows a lot of the story to fall through the seams.

The story follows a girl who, in the near future or after “The Rapture”, is trying to escape the commune she is in with her boyfriend, but is immediately snatched up by enforcers in the commune to be sacrificed to the demonic beings in the forest that they reside. She is able to escape, but then makes the decision to exact revenge after being hunted for whatever religious reasons the cult has. That turns out to be a prophecy told through drawings that the pregnant cult leader has drawn on the walls that even foretell the fall of humanity itself through her actions. “Azrael” is also a strange name to pick because it is the name of a demon from a bunch of television and film. That could lend some insight into the character and plot, but that is pure speculation though.

All of this is told without words because the cult all have crosses on their throats to take away their voices, so even if they wished to speak, that was taken away from them most likely at birth. So there is a very strong religious context right off the bat, or that of religious cults anyways. Through one interaction alone, we find out that they are not the only survivors, but I won't spoil that for you.

Samara Weaving continues to blow me away with the roles she picks because she is on screen almost the entire 85 minutes and she does it so gracefully that it almost seems like she is naturally made for this kind of movie, but that is like every movie she is in. To carry a film like this with absolutely no dialogue, and make it seem so effortless, truly speaks to how far she has come as an actress in such a short time. Director E.L. Katz is also able to frame this story in such a way that you are fully invested without being told what is going on through dialogue; you just get it. He also heaps a lot of the gore in and you know I am down for that. If not, this movie would kind of suck, so that is a tight rope to walk as a filmmaker with only two films under his belt (Cheap Thrills, Small Crimes) and he does it so well that this movie is his defining work thus far.He had the first short in ABCs of Death 2 and some producer and writing credits along with his brother too, but this one really takes the cake in his filmography.

For such a simple premise, the film does kind of tie it's own hands by not telling the viewer what is going on, merely letting them infer through actions in a first person narrative that never treats the audience as if they are stupid. Again, it is a very tight rope to walk that is done very well and any fan of horror would absolutely dig this movie the same way I did. The only thing that would be a drawback is the absence of exposition, but there is a very strong story here that will keep the viewer from ever turning away.

Azrael had a very small release, as well as a few festivals, only garnering $617,280 on a budget of $12 million before being dumped to streaming on Shudder through IFC Films, but it is always hard to gauge what any movie makes through streaming. Until we know that, those are the numbers we have for this overlooked gem.

Truthfully, I have a feeling that this one will be a cult classic in the very near future.

3.5 Out Of 5