“Vintage British horror” is the goal that director Gareth Huw Evans is now striving for in his latest thriller, Apostle. Years away from the fanfare of The Raid franchise, the official trailer went live on Monday to immerse fans in an entirely different millieu envisioned by the fan-favored director.
London, 1905. Prodigal son Thomas Richardson (Dan Stevens) has returned home, only to learn that his sister is being held for ransom by a religious cult. Determined to get her back at any cost, Thomas travels to the idyllic island where the cult lives under the leadership of the charismatic Prophet Malcolm (Michael Sheen). As Thomas infiltrates the island’s community, he learns that the corruption of mainland society that they claim to reject has infested the cult’s ranks nonetheless – and uncovers a secret far more evil than he could have imagined. Written and directed by Gareth Evans (THE RAID), APOSTLE is a harrowing occult fable where the only thing more horrifying than madness is the sinister reality behind it.
The trailer definitely deals in intensity with its psychological brood, although clearly there’s plenty of the red stuff doled out in equally brutal fashion much to our liking. Jude Poyer, who served as fight coordinator on the film, asserts the film stands on its own in a statement back in July with the added following:
“…Gareth is unlike any British director I’ve worked with. He is an Asian filmmaker, with the same amount of appreciation and understanding of action as a Hong Kong director. He comes up with original, sometimes bizarre ideas for action, and he always photographs them in an interesting way. I absolutely loved working with him, and we will be working together again. I’m interested to see what people make of the film.”
Apostle premieres on October 12 exclusively on Netflix.
