Shudder Sunday: Azrael (2024)

In “Azrael”, Samara Weaving delivers a visceral, dialogue-free performance as a woman trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic nightmare.

Azrael is a 2024 Action-Horror film by director E.L. Katz (Cheap Thrills) and written by Simon Barrett (You’re Next, The Guest). The film stars Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) as Azrael, who appears to be exiled from her community who inhabits the forest, many years after The Rapture—an event which supposedly signaled the downfall of humankind and left the earth plagued by demonic humanoid creatures. 

This brief slither of exposition flashes on the screen as text before the title card, and suddenly, we are thrust into this strange landscape. 

In the opening scenes, we see Azrael and her lover, Kenan, being thrown out of their Cult, who believe that speech is a sin: if you pay attention, you will notice that the Cultists have scars that stretch across their throats, alluding to removed or, damaged vocal cords. 

Herein lies the film’s gimmick: it is almost entirely dialogue-free, except for one clever scene where the speaker is Hispanic, speaking in his native tongue, and for which there are no subtitles. 

This cool plot trick ensures that the viewer experiences the same confusion as its protagonist (Azrael), and it also creates a strange ambiguity where, just like the characters, we are thrown into a world without speech and without any context as to what exactly is unfolding and why. 

When Azrael and her partner are separated, Azrael is bound to a chair as an apparent sacrifice for the demonic entities, known as The Burned Ones, who inhabit the land. Azrael manages to flee her captors, and she ruthlessly kills each one of the henchmen sent to watch over her as they pray to something unseen in the woods. 

This is where we get to indulge in some high-octane kickassery from Weaving, who gives an extremely physically demanding performance throughout the breakneck runtime of 85 minutes. 

The film becomes a relentless chase movie where Azrael is hunted by both her former community and the strange, flesh-eating creatures that inhabit the forest—the film’s one weak point. 

The repetitive nature of Azrael evading her captors only to be captured and then to break free again becomes a rinse/ repeat exercise; however, patience is rewarded as we witness some absolutely brutal and insane fight sequences. 

There are intermittent lulls in the pace where we get to see a little more of this strange world and how people communicate despite their lack of voice amidst the isolated land. 

Weaving performs with her body: you can feel the violent, frenetic energy emanating from her onscreen, and the supporting roles are equally impressive given the absence of dialogue.

When we are invited to view more of the ‘demonic’ creatures, we are treated to some seriously gnarly practical makeup FX. The Burned Ones have that Uncanny Valley effect of looking human, yet not entirely: their flesh hangs in burnt ribbons, and their lips are missing, resulting in a chronic rictus grin. 

While I don’t wish to go into spoilers, I would like to point out that Azrael falls into another interesting Horror subgenre that proved very popular between 2023 and 2024: Religious-Pregnancy-Horror. 

The main plot of Azrael revolves around the fervent worship of a pregnant woman who appears to be carrying a very important fetus. 

The way in which the mother is both shielded (imprisoned) and reduced to simply a vessel/ birthing machine calls to mind recent world events that involved the Roe Vs Wade bill being drastically changed, resulting in the banning or reduction of legal medical abortion across 22 US states. 

Horror has always had societal and political undercurrents or messaging, and Azrael deals with themes of rejecting a patriarchal, religion-based society that seeks to control women’s reproductive rights. 

Azrael teases its viewer in its ambiguity: the filmmakers do not wish to spell things out but instead leave a breadcrumb trail of visual cues to illustrate the world-building within, resulting in an equivocal story that empowers the viewer when they figure things out. 

The bare-bones nature of the storytelling also adds an uneasy realism: we are right alongside the characters in their fear and confusion surrounding the horrifying motivation of The Burned Ones, whom we also know little to nothing about. 

I have read reviews from both critics and fans alike who criticize the film for being too minimalistic; however, if you enjoy Horror films from A24 or you have a penchant for the cinematic storytelling of Indie films like Mandy, then you will find much to bite into here. 

Azrael plays out like Fury Road without the vehicles, and similarly, it has deeper messaging hidden within the layers of WTF-Action sequences if you are willing to look beyond the wanton violence and destruction onscreen. 

In Islamic beliefs, Azrael is the Angel Of Death who separates the soul from the body of the deceased. 

If you can separate Azrael from other action horror movies and understand that it seeks to do something different, you may discover that the filmmakers provide a different breed of horror for devout fans willing to look beyond the surface.