Azrael: Angel of Death (2024) Review

Many years after the Rapture, a young woman by the name of Azrael (Samara Weaving) has broken free from the cult of religious zealots of which she was a part. A party is sent out to recapture her so that she can be sacrificed in order to pacify a monstrous presence which lurks in the wilderness surrounding the cult’s shakily fortified settlement. How well do you think that’s going to go? It’s one revenge-fuelled force of nature versus a bunch of fanatics in an increasingly bloody series of face-offs…

Directed by E. L. Katz (Cheap Thrills), written by Simon Barrett (The Guest) and with Weaving in apocalyptic Ready Or Not mode, how could this fail? Well, it doesn’t fail as such but it neither does it hit the heights promised by such an auspicious team up. Opening in mid-flee, the movie immediately sets out its stall of action rather than words but forgets to attach an involving plot along the way and slips into a cycle of escape and capture that starts out as wryly amusing but eventually skirts perilously close to tedium, the proceedings saved by crunchy punch-ups and gory battles.

The giving up of the “sin of speech” must have initially sounded (or, indeed, not sounded) like a neat addition to the revenge flick and there are apt Biblical quotes at crucial points which signpost the way for the next stretch of the tale but there are several moments in Azrael when it’s unclear exactly what’s going on. With the lack of dialogue, a surfeit of gesturing, however frantic, won’t suffice. The reason for our protagonist being on the run is never explained, as is her ability to experience visions of the possible future. Adding to the issues is the lack of backstory and, while this allows the viewer to have some fun filling in the blanks, this creates a difficulty in engaging fully with the escalating carnage.

In terms of performances, the trump card is the always mesmerising Samara Weaving, a performer with a face so expressive that she’s verging on cartoon-like in selling the various stages of the emotional wringer her character is put through. Katariina Unt, so good in Infinite Summer, doesn’t fare quite as well, being utterly wasted as the camp’s primary protector of their pregnant priestess. She’s saddled with a role which cries out to be given proper flight as a match for Azrael but is too often limited to grumpiness, concern or a combination of both.

As for the remainder of the titular lass’s oppos, they’re identifiable mainly by costume design or differences in height, consigned to the bin marked “disposable” as Azrael hacks, stabs and blasts her way through them. The scraps are well choreographed and Weaving brings an increasingly, convincingly worn physicality to the confrontations but, with so little connecting tissue between them, watching yet another fundamentalist meet a gruesome fate constantly risks falling foul of the law of diminishing returns.

The threat from the wilderness is a fine excuse for impressive creature design, with humanoids looking like burned version of the monsters from The Descent as they chew on throats and rip out guts with abandon. They’re genuinely creepy and the rapid fire editing of their attacks on their human prey is potent but their place in the world and their motivation beyond snarling and eating people is left as undetailed as the other plot points, the cumulative effect of which may stretch patience beyond breaking point.

I’m a sucker for Samara Weaving in her blood covered, arse kicking pomp – who wouldn’t be? – but that in itself feels like far too flimsy a reason for me to give this an extra star. However, if you’re reading this and you will happily queue for hours to see Samara Weaving in said mode then feel free to adjust the score accordingly.

Personally, I was longing for the same amount of meat on the bones of the story as that torn off the screaming victims of the forest’s ghouls in graphic close-up. Its lead is as good as ever but the skimpy world building and repetitive skirmishes blunt its edge and the parting shot, as strong as it is, isn’t sufficient to fully redeem the previous lapses in momentum. Overall, Azrael is worth catching for a few standout moments but, given the pedigree of those involved, it’s all too slight.

Movie Rating:

Azrael: Angel of Death trailer