The Big Picture

Dialogue? Samara Weaving doesn’t need no stinking dialogue to absolutely crush a leading action role.
If you want blood, there’s no shortage as violence reaches a maximum.
It’s a bite-sized doomsday scenario that’s light on background as a choice, which might be an issue for some viewers,

Listen, I’m never going to complain about a movie where Samara Weaving gets angry, primal, and violent. E.L. Katz’sAzrael, written by Simon Barrett, is a cutthroat minimalist action-thriller that utters barely any dialogue as Weaving goes appropriately berserk. Worldbuilding is accomplished through aggressive violence, outdoorsy costume designs, and the desolate shooting location of Harju County, Estonia. We spend 80ish minutes with characters caught in their own destructive bubble, and that’s all the filmmakers care about. It’s a persuasive hyperfixation that allows devastation and tension to thrive, although even at 85 minutes, there’s a struggle to justify even that shorter and punchier duration.

What Is ‘Azrael’ About?
Azrael (2024) In a world no one speaks a devout female hunts down a young woman who has escaped her imprisonment. Recaptured by its ruthless leaders, Azrael is due to be sacrificed to pacify an ancient evil deep within the surrounding wildernessRelease Date March 11, 2024 Director E.L. Katz Runtime 85 Minutes

Weaving stars as the title character Azrael, a woman we meet deep in a wooded area, both alert and panicked. An opening title card reads, “Many years after the rapture, among the survivors, some are driven to renounce their sin of speech.” That’s all we know about Azrael and her partner Kenan (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) before they encounter an unfriendly band of religious cultists. It’s clear who the predator and the prey are as Azrael and Kenan stealthily flee from pursuit. Oh, and did I mention that charred-skin, demonic-like entities are also roaming current territories? They’ll gnaw your flesh open as well.

‘Azrael’ Excels With Its No-Frills Approach
Image via SXSW

That’s it! There’s a savage Ready or Not appeal to Azrael, the way Weaving battles through hellish conditions and ruthless foes with mute exasperation. Katz also works in shades of Gareth Evans’ Apostle and Mike P. Nelson’s Wrong Turn remake, albeit much vaguer. A barebones production hinges on the moodiness of Estonia’s dense forestation and a single settlement with a wooden-shack cathedral, also depending heavily on Weaving’s performance. She’s the actor for the job, having already displayed her Final Girl qualities in Radio Silence’s fantastic hide-and-seek riff, and carries Azrael without speaking as much as a whimper.

Barrett takes a chance by conveying a theologically spooky genre flick that cannot use words, but shaves his screenplay to the point of efficient simplicity. Between a few ominous drawings on walls like picture-book commandments, crosses branded on characters, and pregnant figures dressed in all white, it’s not hard to decipher what stage of the apocalypse we might see. Katz ensures we’re not left entirely in the dark, even though Azrael does feel walled off from a larger world outside the film’s microcosmic conflict. It’s possible to want more from Azrael and Kenan’s relationship, or answers that trace back to doomy origin points, but that’s not the story Katz or Barrett wish to tell. Feelings of seclusion are intentional, removing distractions beyond Azrael’s endangerment.

Samara Weaving Is Excellent as a Silent Scream Queen
Weaving relishes the opportunity to stand alone as a leading action star, fighting and clawing the nameless devotees on her tail. Katz makes sure to emphasize gore, so stakes hit harder, as with such a straightforward scope, every burst of excitement falls under more scrutiny. Azrael needs nothing more than survivalist frenzies, machetes, and shotguns to spread rageful vengeance upon the hooded collective who presumably wants her dead. Katz succeeds in keeping Azrael suspenseful and nerve-shredding as Weaving conveys an immense range of emotions through facial features alone, showcasing her tremendous physicality whether chopping off heads like a Friday the 13th kill or helplessly trapped, begging for her life through wide-open and pleading eyes.

That said, Azrael does suffer from its ambitions at some point. While Rob Savage’s Host is hardly a thematic or storytelling comparison, the filmmaker’s approach to miniaturized concepts relates to Katz’s gritty-as-sin tale. Host clocks in at 54 minutes, running leaner and nastier than if it had ballooned closer to the feature-length sweet spot of 90 minutes. Azrael runs roughly 78 minutes without credits, but even then, it buckles under the length of its extended catch-and-release structure. There’s an inevitability about where the film is heading once you get a handle on the unspoken narrative implications, with the film’s quietness becoming a bit numbing in spurts. Katz and Barrett are fearless in their concepts and execution, but the blueprint’s challenges aren’t invisible.

Nonetheless, Azrael is still a winning interpretation of swift and silent justice that feels like a bite-sized, end-of-days anecdote about inescapable fates. Weaving continues to be one of my favorite working genre actors, especially in spaces where she can unleash a patented furiousness specific to her talents. This is her showcase, and a formidable one at that. Katz’s ability to add pops of harrowing escapist chills and blood-soaked accents of obscene brutality is not ignored, bringing much-needed injections of energy to Barrett’s hushed approach. Azrael is both familiar and unique, blending genre comforts with a risky idea. Luckily, it all works, paying off a relatively massive gamble that benefits from Samara Weaving’s star power.

Azrael (2024) Azrael is an experimental genre-bender that tells nothing and shows everything, but we’re always in good hands with Samara Weaving in a lead role capacity.ProsHow many more times can I say this: Samara motherflippin? Weaving.Ambitions pay off, and the erasure of conversational dialogue is not really an issue.Kills and situational tension come at a premium. ConsI bet Azreal would make a killer V/H/S segment with proper adjustments.Those who require world-building answers will be left with frustrations.You?re either in or out on the concept.

Azrael had its World Premiere at the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival.