Azrael (2024)

Azrael (2024)

I love plucking out an obscure horror film and having a good time with it. Azrael isn’t the most popular title out there and it can’t be described as a must see, however, it is a most enjoyable watch and here’s why.

Out in the woods are the survivors of the Rapture. Speech is now considered a sin and people now live life in silence, cutting out the tongues of those who offend. There are also burnt husks of demons who roam the forests attacking those who make they hear, feeding on them. Azrael is a young woman and, with her lover, has recently been banished from their camp attempting to escape as the cultists who are hellbent on sacrificing them to the demons.

There isn’t much world building or lore as the character’s are mute, instead title cards to update the audience. As a film Azrael spends less time developing it’s world and more time amping up the tensions as the chase escalates wildly. Azrael is a pretty modern gory horror with a bounding pace, blood spurting and intense injuries. The make up and effects are convincing and effective with a sound design that relishes in cracking and splintering bones. The burnt ones (very Fallout 76) are creepy as they stagger around the forest, however, don’t look like the toughest of foes to take down.

The closest comparison I could make would be to The Descent. Don’t expect much in the way of answers, but do expect unrelenting action as Azrael fights for survival. This is, on one hand, is great as there is little in the way of slow down and the film moves at a breakneck pace. On the other, there are many questions about what is happening that are left unanswered. In many cases it might be something a sequel could delve into, however, like The Descent, a sequel could never manage to capture this film’s pacing. The forest backdrop gives Azrael a much more colourful backdrop, losing the terrifying darkness of The Descent. This gives some opportunity for some lovely visuals of the landscape.

I’m not boasting that Azrael is a classic in waiting, but it will forever live in the cult world for those who love it and forgotten by those who don’t. I take my hat off to low budget horror that manages to keep the audience’s attention for the most part and there isn’t a moment when I wanted Azrael to be over. The stunts were excellent and the performance of Samara Weaving was superb. Weaving supports the entire film single-handedly and has a few interesting characters to interact with along the way.

Small Crimes and Teacup Director E.L. Katz works from a script by frequent collaborator Simon Barrett, who has a few impressive films under his belt and has become a heavy hitter in his own right recently penning Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire being released the same year as Azrael. Looking back, Dead Birds was an incredible debut, Red Sands, A Horrible Way To Die and You’re Next were superb outings before he got into the bigger budgeted movies like The Guest and Blair Witch. He is a writer and director worth keeping an eye on and I would trust him with the a potential sequel to Face/Off.

Azrael has been given a hard time by the critics and I would suggest horror enthusiasts should give it a go as it’s a solid outing that entertains massively.


There is an impressive collection of posters for Azrael, annoyingly the weakest (in my opinion) has been used for the standard disc release.

Azrael has been released on Blu Ray and DVD in the UK and is available on Amazon. It seems to have a subtitle, Angel of Death, possible to distinguish it from another movie about dragons that is doing the rounds.

My money would be on the Umbrella release that packs a slipcase and booklet due out in February.


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