Azrael (2024) Movie Review - 31 Days of Halloween 2024
Welcome to Knockout Horror and to day 17 of our 2024 31 Days of Halloween feature. We are checking out another recent horror movie today. Shudder Original Azrael from September 2024. Directed by E.L. Katz who also directed the absolutely fantastic Cheap Thrills. Azrael is a bit of a strange movie.
Acting as something of a cross between A Quiet Place and creature movies like The Descent. Azrael has virtually no dialogue in the entire movie. Following the story of a young woman, Azrael (Samara Weaving), who has recently escaped from a devout community who were attempting to sacrifice her to bizarre humanoid creatures that live in the woods. Azrael sees our protagonist trying to find her missing lover while avoiding both the murderous cult and the hideous creatures stalking her in the woods.
Does it Work?
The world in which the characters in Azrael exist is one that has abandoned speech. Not all characters, of course; this seems to be a world within a world and people who aren’t part of a certain religious persuasion can speak just fine. But, for the most part, we are spending our time with characters who are completely mute.
A Horror movie with no dialogue, a fairly novel idea in 2024. Well, I suppose if you are going to discount the enormous contribution that the silent movie era made to the horror genre, that is. But the big question here is does it work? I mean, it’s not, strictly speaking, a silent movie. In fact, there are gun shots, grunts, creatures screaming and all kinds of other sounds. It’s quite a noisy movie, actually, so what is the point?
Well, I am not quite sure what the point is. To be perfectly honest, I don’t think there is a point. Azrael comes across as something of an experiment in film making and little else. The fact that the characters don’t speak feels like little more than a gimmick and one that really doesn’t add all that much to the experience. I am not saying it doesn’t work, but it is sure to frustrate some viewers and I am not sure that the effort is worth the gain.
A Mere Novelty
The fact that the characters can’t speak is a novelty, at best, and, at worst, something that will prove to be a major distraction for certain viewers. Humans are creatures capable of massive amounts of communication through simple facial expressions alone. We don’t need to talk to relate things like fear, love, pain, and anger. All of which are expressed effectively by the characters here.
It’s a brilliant demonstration of acting talent but all you are left with is something that is little more than a gimmick. It’s not even that original. One of the greatest comedy characters of all time, Mr Bean, barely ever speaks and gets along just fine. We can’t forget Wallace’s loyal pooch, Gromit, either, can we?
Still, there is a pretty effective movie here. The lack of dialogue didn’t bother me at all and I really appreciated how great Samara Weaving was. She is a bit of a scream queen now, having been in The Babysitter, Ready Or Not etc, and is wildly talented. She is fantastic as our bad ass heroine Azrael and absolute mountains of fun.
The movie, for the most part, plays out as a simple cat and mouse chase through the woods complete with all the tension and suspense you might expect. There’s plenty of action, some appreciable moments of horror, and some fantastic gore.
Great Creature Design
I loved the creatures in Azrael. They are somewhere between ambling zombies and the terrifying humanoid things in The Descent. They have a massive lust for blood and move rather clumsily until they get a whiff of the claret then it is off to the races. They rip heads off of people, pull out veins and drink straight from bloody stumps. It’s brutal stuff and works tremendously well for horror.
It helps that there are tons of them in the woods, as well. Meaning Azrael is never too far from impending doom. The story here is fairly light on the ground. It’s based around religious prophecy but also throws in aspects of revenge thrillers and suspense horror. The horror does take a primary focus, though. There are some scary moments that will have you peeking around your pillow wondering what’s about to jump out from the trees.
There is also a lot of walking through endless woods in complete silence that isn’t going to land too well for some viewers. Azrael speeds through at only 86 minutes but the mixed pacing can leave a few scenes dragging their heels a bit. I wasn’t overly impressed by the cinematography. I felt like a lot more could have been done with these woods and I wasn’t a fan of the 2.39:1 aspect ratio. I would have loved to see a 1.66:1 ratio here. That would have looked gorgeous with the stunning Estonian forests but it is what it is.
Should You Watch Azrael?
I definitely think you should watch Azrael. I really enjoyed it but there is no doubt that it is going to leave some people disappointed. The lack of dialogue feels like a novelty and little more. The story takes a bit of a back seat to the horror elements and some might find it leaves them wanting more. Still, Samara Weaving is utterly brilliant, there is tons of gore, some brilliantly creepy creatures and some fantastic action. What’s not to love?
Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight
Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.
A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.
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