Rating: 13/20
Plot: A former prophet infiltrates an island cult in search of his kidnapped sister.
Whereas Gareth Evans' 'Raid' movies are hyperkinetic enough to completely lose the plot and not care, this one's more of a slow burn. Not that it doesn't get a little crazy by the end because Evans definitely isn't afraid of "a little crazy." Or a lot bloody. This seems to be Evans' sloppy take on The Wicker Man, only Apostle deals with its mystery in almost the exact opposite way. With The Wicker Man, Edward Woodward (or, fine, Nicolas Cage) gradually figure things out, and at the same time, things are revealed to the audience. By the end, the audience is kind of in on the joke. With Apostle, things get more convoluted and twisted the more things are revealed, leaving dozens of unanswered questions and out-of-control threads. It's an intensely gritty experience, early because of the period details and the harsh living conditions of the cult members in this island community and later because people are losing body parts or having important parts of their bodies extracted from them or engaging in some other sort of squib-dacious good time.
Dan Steven's performance of the main character also adds to the intensity. He's got these pretty blue eyes that burn through the screen, sometimes the only color you see in this otherwise dingy failed utopia. Lines are squeezed out of him like the last bits of toothpaste, almost everything he says seeming to come through gritted teeth. Lucy Boynton's red hair provides another bit of color in this drab world. She plays the cult leader's daughter and is quite the little hottie. Michael Sheen also stands out as the cult leader, a guy whose limp parallels the limp of our protagonist, Bobby Blue-Eyes.
This is never dull, and I want to credit Evans for never taking the easy route in his storytelling and surrendering to the conventional. This always surprises, maybe to the point where it really loses focus or becomes borderline incoherent. If there are any messages at all--about abuses of power, the environment, the misuse of religion--it all gets a little buried in the mayhem.
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