The terrors are few in E.L. Katz’s tepid horror thriller “Azrael.” We are plunged headfirst right into a forest, the place a younger lady and man seem in love, if often annoyed with one another. Neither can converse, so their story is informed totally by appears and affectionate gestures. But one thing is off of their world. There is a hazard that's interested in noise and movement, so silence and stillness are important to at least one’s survival. Their idyllic woodsy bliss is interrupted when different people seize them for an untold plot. They, too, can not converse. As the terrors shut in on all sides, Azrael (Samara Weaving) should take issues into her personal palms and combat for her survival.
Weaving, who broke out with the implausible all-out-family-feud hit “Ready or Not,” is positioned in an analogous “me against the world” predicament and should claw her manner again to security. Unfortunately, the story from author and co-producer Simon Barrett offers her little or no to work with past trying scared and struggling. It’s chase sequence after chase sequence with hints of context right here and there, simply sufficient to carry the story collectively however not sufficient to totally clarify all the things. Unlike Azrael, her associate Kenon (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) is, sadly, mere emotional bait, and he features like an afterthought as soon as off-screen.
Like the legendary Azrael (a nod to the angel of loss of life), the film incorporates different non secular motifs and references, particularly in the encampment the place a church homes a Mary-like determine named Miriam (Vic Carmen Sonne) whose second-in-command is a lady named Josefine (Katariina Unt). The partitions are lined with crude work and candles, however its important function appears to reaffirm Miriam’s domination of the group as a cult chief. She’s the solely character all clad in crisp white linen whereas the relaxation survive in grungy garments the colour of the forest earth, elevating her standing in her small fiefdom. Why she and Josefine need Azrael so badly to be sacrificed to the monsters stays a thriller. Is it speculated to be a virgin sacrifice? Or does Azrael signify a hazard to Miriam that solely she is aware of? These are just a few of the unsolved mysteries left unanswered.
There are some clues in the film’s references to different horror classics, like how the title crawls up on the display, reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” or how Miriam’s being pregnant resembles Roman Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby.” The most blatant instance is John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place,” the place the lack of sound and dialogue is a artistic problem. Katz doesn't fairly handle to maintain the identical degree of suspense, and far feels misplaced in the lack of dialogue or any semblance of communication. Some moments captured by cinematographer Mart Taniel appear like an entrancing reprieve like a shot the place the daylight pours into the forest by way of the leaves and automotive lights illuminate bushes in pure darkness, however they're too quick to savor for lengthy. Other scenes really feel fairly predictable, filmed in such a manner that nothing felt notably haunting, and solely memorable when the film’s monsters feast on the poor souls unfortunate sufficient to get caught.
Speaking of these monsters, the demonic apparitions appear like burnt our bodies recent out of hell, charred to a crisp black but moist from protruding deep purple muscle groups and blood the place pores and skin not exists. It’s a ugly sight however not essentially a scary one when the logic of these creatures appears solely to go well with the story’s wants. At the film’s begin, Azrael panics as a result of her associate began a hearth, however later, the encampment feels fairly safe in brazenly burning fires for gentle. Sure, they’re flimsy barricades, however isn’t that tempting destiny to lure these creatures? The figures slowly stroll like zombies, unsteadily careening in direction of their prey with an unsteady gait, however then they will swap to an all-out dash to chase after a goal on the transfer. They odor and comply with blood and noise, however like the T-Rex in “Jurassic Park,” they will’t see somebody in the event that they don’t transfer, but different instances, they will. The inconsistencies hold the viewer guessing, and never in a great way.
Ultimately, “Azrael” lacks the power or chills to terrify viewers. The setting the place the story takes place is unusual however befuddling, mixing faith and horror in the hopes of scaring the viewers. Instead, the film merely strikes an ominous temper, like a poorly-executed haunted home. Text in between scenes does little to attach one second to the subsequent, so for many of the film, your thoughts fills in the script’s blanks, which may really feel extra laborious than pleasant. This “A Quiet Place” riff doesn’t do sufficient to set itself aside and fails to frighten its viewers with something they haven’t seen earlier than.
