Apostle (2018)

I'm not into period movies and the poster has enough, more like too many crosses for my liking, so when I saw Apostle pop up on Netflix, I passed it. After watching Aronofsky's Pi and realising it was not a horror (by the way, screw you IMDb for listing it as a horror and whoever it was that added it on a horror movies list), I remember Margaret from Cinematic Corner said we should watch it and, since I'm a great person, so did I. 

Set in 1905, the film follows Thomas Richardson (Dan Stevens), a former missionary who travels to a remote Welsh island to rescue his sister, Jennifer (Elen Rhys), who has been kidnapped by a mysterious cult demanding a ransom for her return. In order to find her, he pretends to be a follower of the cult leader, Prophet Malcolm Howe (Michael Sheen).

Plot-wise, Apostle is far from being rock solid or original. It indeed is reminiscent of The Wicker Man, and it eventually gets quite ridiculous and nonsensical, not to mention the many plot holes, inconsistencies or subplots that could and should have been left out. Also, it moves pretty damn slow. And yet it was interesting and compelling enough to keep me guessing and glued to the screen from start to finish, even when it was almost unbearable to watch.

The characters aren't that solid either. They aren't paper-thin but they come real close to that as they aren't well defined, have no development whatsoever and make some pretty idiotic choices. It's the same for everyone, even the main character, Thomas. And yet it's hard if not impossible to not get attached to him and care about his fate and that of other people on that island.

And the credits for that entirely goes to the cast. Dan Stevens does a wonderful job as Thomas with a performance that is somewhere in between Robert Pattinson's in The Rover and Nicolas Cage's in Mandy. He effortlessly carries the film and the things he's able to convey with his eyes only, it's freaking scary. Michael Sheen also gives a great performance as the cult leader which I guess is the reason I cared about him in the end despite the awful man he is.

Netflix

In addition to the great cast, Apostle also benefits from a solid direction. Gareth Evans has created a tense and atmospheric thriller that uses its slow pacing, the long shots, the walking and the watching from the characters to built suspense. The cinematography is stunning, and some camera angles are very interesting, but it's the gore that took my breath away. It's difficult to watch at times because of it but visually, it's stunning. The musical score is nothing short of great too.