• Release year: 2024
• Director: E. L. Katz.
• Producers: Simon Barrett, Dave Caplan and Dan Kagan.
• Screenplay by: Simon Barrett.
• Cinematography by: Mart Taniel.
• Music by: Tóti Guðnason.

Shotgun Commentary: stressful AF, forest-based, prey horror with a religious background.

Review

Azrael is a retelling of the homonymous angel’s story from a horror lens. Like all horror films based on hunter-prey dynamics, this film is not for the faint-hearted. Jump scares and gore aplenty, the feature is perfect for all horror lovers who wished Ready or Not (2019) had been framed in the forest-cult subgenre rather than a comedic, eat-the-rich narrative.

Religious aftertaste

The movie follows Azrael, a mute woman who, alongside her partner, roams around the forest for no apparent reason. They are both kidnapped by a hillbilly-looking gang who intends to sacrifice them to some humanoid forest creatures. She escapes and thus begins a fight for survival full of blood, dirt, and…tendons?

The theme of religion is quite present in the narrative, even if it’s never explicitly laid out. There are some bible passages that separate the story into various acts, and some of the characters have a burnt cross in their throat, Azrael included. Additionally, the redneck camp seems to have a church or sorts in which a pregnant lady lives.

All these details, along with the story outline, context, and ending, create a somewhat twisted version of the story of Azrael, an angel from the Bible. Simply put, the angel went down to Earth to collect dirt for god to create men. This feat was very impressive because Azrael had to fight a bunch of demons to achieve it, so the angel was rewarded with becoming the angel of death.

From the theological lens, the story could very well be a retelling of the legend, only in this case Azrael is not finding the materials to create men, but a new species, since humanity is already present. The protagonist’s goal is merely survival, but her whole adventure is quite similar to the Bible tale, especially when it comes to the demons.

Trending torch

Now, this has been mentioned a few times before but, in case you missed it, humanoid, burnt-looking demons are back. Whether they are actually demons, or witches or a whole other creature altogether, they seem to be very in this year.

Films like Longlegs (2024), Beezel (2024), Traumatika (2024) seem to have taken notes from previous works like The Conjuring (2013) or Annabelle (2014), and black is back. Apparently, the horrifying appeal of charred-looking bodies has never been more irresistible, so enjoy the crust, baby.

THE modern scream queen

Not gonna lie, forest cult are not exactly this writer’s jam. You know what is, though? Samara Weaving. Despite the inordinate amount of posts on social media incorrectly crowning random women with one horror movie in their repertoire scream queens, yours truly is adamant on the existence of one, and only one, modern scream queen par excellence: Samara Weaving.

Despite the many talented actresses doing horror right now, no other has yet matched Weaving in both final girl and villain roles in horror. Once again, she delivers a fantastic final girl performance in which, short of a voice, she relies on her facial expressions to communicate every single thought and feeling that goes through Azrael’s head. Having a mute character doesn’t seem to obstruct her performance at all, if anything, the lack of sound during most part of the film only draws you closer to her character, making her actions riveting.

The sprinkles

Now that we have acknowledged the good, let’s get started with the bad, shall we? There is a whole bunch of nonsense throughout the film. The most obvious of which, the clear opportunity to kill a group of bad guy who have their backs turned and are moaning/panting really loudly, preventing them from hearing your approach from behind. Then again, the feature would be over in five minutes if that happened.

Another, not error per se, but strange occurring, is the presence of a man who doesn’t seem to have a clue about what is happening in the forest. He talks and blasts music like he doesn’t have a care in the world. His brief appearance is enough to have you second guessing whether this is really a post-apocalyptic world, or merely a group of very disturbed people creating their own reality in the middle of nowhere.

And the last and most common of errors that absolutely drives most of the horror audiences insane: the apparent inability of the good guys to just pull the trigger instead of messing around until they are attacked and can’t kill anyone any more.

All in all, Azrael has some minor issues, but it is overall a great film. It has gore for days and an almost constant atmosphere of dread. Pretty much what you want from a horror film. To top it all up, it also features a great protagonist who knows the genre like the back of her hand and delivers a flawless performance. Big recommend for horror fans.

Advice to take from this movie:

• If you get the chance to kill the people who are trying to sacrifice you, DO.
• Throat bites can be incredibly satisfying to watch in a horror context.
• Never let a nail keep you down.

What’s your take? Have you watched Azrael? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀