I'm a big fan of Gareth Evans' work. The Raid and The Raid 2 are two of the best action movies I've seen in years. They are wall to wall fight scenes with amazing choreography. For those who aren't too squeamish, I highly recommend them. He's also behind my favorite V/H/S segment, the insane, apocalyptic Safe Haven. If that guy is ever unleashed on the U.S. with a blockbuster budget, watch out.
In a lot of ways, his latest movie, Apostle, felt somewhat inevitable. Even though he's been working in Indonesia, Evans is actually Welsh. I have an unproven theory that every British and Irish director has a period piece in him*. This is his first movie in English, I think, so it makes sense that he would pick something with a proven template he could follow. The Wicker Man homage is undeniable.
*Frankly, I can't think of enough female British directors to say if this true across gender line. This is a half-assed theory anyway, so I wouldn't fixate on it.
Apostle is a Gareth Evans movie, but with some hesitation. It's much more toned down than his previous work. In fits and spurts, he deploys the editing and violence he's known for. The cult and supernatural elements remind me a lot of his V/H/S segment. I think his main goal with Apostle was to make sure he could transition to a different kind of film-making without losing what makes him unique as a director. In that respect, Apostle is mostly a success.
Dan Stevens is quickly establishing himself as one of those guys who, if I see that he's in a movie, I can trust that it will be pretty good. He's making it harder and harder to not go back and check out Downton Abbey. It's nice to see Michael Sheen get dirty too. He's pretty convincing in his role until he has to go up against Mark Lewis Jones, who is very comfortable in his role. Lucy Boyton has been showing up in more movies lately. I liked her in this.
I did see Apostle as part of an October horror binge. In that respect, I was a little disappointed. It's more supernatural than straight-up horror. Evans gets a few scary images and characters though. It's more bleak than scary. Similar to The Witch. In fact, that would make a great double-feature. It's willing to sit on moments and doesn't hold the audience's hand to explain things. I appreciated that.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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