Samara Weaving plays a game of hide and seek in the relentless Azrael, where the Ready or Not actress exchanges eluding her murderous in-laws for murderous religious fanatics and zombies. The results are mixed.
Set in a post-apocalyptic world where most people don’t speak, very few words are spoken in Azrael. We’re introduced to the title character (Weaving), who silently navigates from one treacherous situation to the next. She’s taken captive, prepared for sacrifice, chased by zombies, and otherwise hunted through the woods for the movie’s lean 85-minute runtime.
Azrael is taut, fast-paced, and constant, with proficient direction by E.L. Katz. The action is varied, with different threats delivered in different ways. The expressive Weaving does a fine job with a mute role.
And yet, Azrael never entirely finds its groove. The components are there, and they are strung together well enough, but the end result is an “OK” product that is, in the scheme of things, pretty forgettable. Its core problem: the film lacks any sense of real emotion. Things happen, but I just didn’t care. Katz and writer Simon Barrett fail to establish why we should care about Weaving’s character; her inability or refusal to talk probably doesn’t help in the matter. Her boyfriend (?) is removed from the story too early, eliminating the main source of any emotional connection from the movie before audiences have even figured out the rules of this world.
Azrael isn’t bleak, per se, but it’s an emotionally flat experience. It’s a shame, because the pieces are there for something great.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.