E. L. Katz cemented himself as a director to watch with the release of their debut feature film Cheap Thrills in 2013. He went on to work on the likes of ABCs of Death 2 as well as TV series Scream and The Haunting Of Bly Manor, but now Katz has returned to the world of film alongside You're Next and Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire writer Simon Barrett in vicious apocalyptic horror Azrael: Angel Of Death. Starring Ready Or Not's Samara Weaving and Femme star Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, the highly-anticipated film enjoyed its UK premiere at FrightFest 2024.

Set many years after the apocalypse, the film begins with Azrael (Weaving) and her partner (Stewart-Jarrett), who are captured by members of a devout cult who have ‘renounced their sin of speech'. They wish to sacrifice her to the Burned Men, hideously deformed creatures who inhabit the forest outside of their settlement. But Azrael won't go down without a fight as she makes one last bid for freedom – and revenge.

Dialogue, and therefore lore, in Azrael is sparse, forcing viewers to take in every bit of information in every scene to decipher what has led to the savagery unfolding onscreen. We leap from one action sequence to the next as Azrael fights for her life in the wilderness, fighting her way back to the camp to torment those who held her captive. While the lack of dialogue and the focus on action gives us an abundance of brutal moments that are sure to please many horror audiences, it does give an uncanny edge to the film in that it leaves so much to interpretation, making it hard to care about anyone, or anything, that happens as viewers grasp for meaning. The reason for the characters' mutism, why Azrael is set to be sacrificed, and what led to the downfall of humanity remains unclear, with mounting symbolism offering nothing more than attractive visuals.

Weaving delivers a stellar performance as Azrael, with her facial expressions and body movements bringing to life her character without uttering a single word. The film boils down to one simple message – move, or die – and Weaving's frenzied performance as the titular heroine buoys much of the tension in the narrative which could so often fall apart. Azrael is an experience that is sure to prove divisive among cinemagoers. The bold folk survival horror boasts breathtaking visuals and a unique concept, but one that doesn't feel fully realised. Though many films can be commended for not spoon-feeding plot details and backstory to an audience, Azrael often feels like it does not have the answers to these questions and instead leaves the viewers to fill in the blanks.

Azrael: Angel Of Death had its UK premiere at FrightFest 2024 on Sunday, August 25.

Podcast