The spooky season is well and truly upon us, friends – in fact, you might be looking to watch something a little scary yourself this weekend. In which case, this review may be arriving at your time of need, as we once again aim to help you pick the movies you’ll love and avoid those you might not. This time, we’re taking a trip to an unsettling Welsh island, where something is clearly not right, in Apostle (2018), dir. Gareth Evans. If you’d like to stream it yourself, it’s available on Netflix.
Lauren’s verdict:
1905. Three convicts wash up on the gritty shores of a solitary Welsh island, having survived the churning, tumultuous seas that sunk their captor’s ship.
It is there that the men decide to build Erisden, a devout religious community free from the stifling reign of King Edward VII. When word reaches the colonies, impoverished citizens flock to the island, desperate for a new life and one more chance at salvation. Self-proclaimed Father Malcolm (Michael Sheen) preaches his devotion to Erisden, claiming that it was the spirit of the island that saved him from the waves that day. In the pews sits a newcomer, Thomas (Dan Stevens) who has been drawn to the island to locate his missing sister, Jennifer (Elen Rhys) following a ransom note sent to their ailing father. Thomas, scarred from a torturous encounter as a foreign missionary, is wary of this rural paradise, but comes to find there are much darker forces at play than a restrictive community and an extortionary priest.
Apostle draws us into a fledgling community where piety and tradition are held above all else. Women cook and clean, while the men labour, and strict rules are obeyed under the implied threat of violent consequences. We feel the tension in the village, as paranoia and suspicion hang in the air like a thick, cloying mist.
Michael Sheen’s Father Malcolm, an eloquent and deeply persuasive man, preaches forgiveness and prosperity. As we delve deeper into the island’s secrets, we begin to see the lengths Malcolm must go to to keep Erisden afloat. Michael Sheen is in his element here – an actor that paints with broad strokes, he is lithely charismatic and yet gutturally unnerving in villainous roles.
Dan Stevens plays Thomas – a man thoroughly broken by his past. Stevens holds our curiosity throughout the film, doing what he can to portray Thomas as a character slowly being consumed by his own demons. He artfully maintains the tension as it becomes clear his presence in Erisden has only endangered his sister more.
Unfortunately for us, the gargantuan talents of Stevens and Sheen seem to be the only good thing about this film.
Apostle‘s narrative starts strong but eventually becomes a smouldering shipwreck filled with plot holes and senseless gore. What, I believe, is supposed to be a gradual descent into a violent power struggle between Father Malcolm and his power-hungry confidante Quinn (Mark Lewis Jones) seems sudden and almost obscure in its timing. A relationship between two young characters is noted to be forbidden but we are never told why that is. While Thomas’s investigation to find his captive sister leads him to uncover the real supernatural forces of the island, the truth surrounding the creature leaves me with more questions than answers. Some of the biggest questions being – Why? and What the fuck is happening?
Look, Apostle isn’t the worst horror film I’ve ever seen, nor is it the best, but if you have a strong stomach and as big of a crush on Michael Sheen as I do (no shame, the man is a golden god of theatrical talent), at the very least you’ll enjoy his villainous grandstanding and flawless colonial undercut.
Look at it, people. LOOK AT IT.
2 out of 5 sacrificial rabbits 🐰
Jeremy’s verdict:
Welcome to a town on a remote, Welsh island, where the villagers are regularly preached to by a religious ex convict, ritualised blood-drawings occur as offering to the island’s spirit, and what once was fertile land and life is slowly withering away for all. The island town, Erisden, is ruled by men whose hubris and lust for power drives them – and they and their followers do not shy away from using violence, brutality, and manipulation to meet their goals.
While most of us would read the Tripadvisor reviews for Erisden and pick somewhere a little more welcoming, unfortunately this luxury isn’t available to Thomas Richardson (Dan Stevens), who departs to the island to rescue his sister, Jennifer (Elen Rhys), who is being held for ransom by Malcolm (Michael Sheen), the town’s leader. What unfolds on his arrival is a game of cat-and-mouse: as Thomas seeks to find his sister, Malcolm seeks to find Thomas, and their actions slowly bring the island’s secrets out into the open.
Dan Stevens’ acting is intense and brooding, and he plays this very well – but rather than blending into Erisden’s community well, he seems to leer suspiciously at absolutely everyone who crosses his path – unless they’re a woman, like Andrea (Lucy Boynton), Malcolm’s daughter. In this sense, it felt a little unrealistic that he’s not quickly noticed as the one dude who doesn’t seem to be having fun on Blood Ritual Island. But his delivery of emotion was wonderful, and alongside Sheen, who is absolutely captivating and electric as Malcolm, the pair lead the film with bundles of talent.
Unfortunately the film’s graphic violence – ‘purification’ torture device, anyone? – went well past my horror threshold. Numerous times I looked away while Lauren visually narrated for me. My stomach’s just not built for it – if yours isn’t either, just be prepared. However when the film isn’t showcasing the brutal violence of Erisden, it’s clear how beautiful the cinematography showcasing this coastal island town is. Matt Flannery’s work is wonderful, and there are a few particularly choice shots that really ramp up how immersive the horror is.
While the violence wasn’t for me, Apostle’s leads in Stevens and Sheen are remarkable and entertaining in this twisted world. However the narrative itself, while presented in a relatively straightforward manner, doesn’t satisfy with its twists and reveals. Any over-arching metaphor for the island’s problems felt thin on the ground, and some of the horror elements left me wanting more explanation. As emotionally fulfilling as some of the character acting was, those emotions failed to fit into a plot and world that felt more satisfyingly comprehensive – and this is where the film falls short.
3 of out 5 sacrificial rabbits 🐰
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