Azrael, the newest movie from IFC and Shudder, takes some big swings. The movie is set in a dystopian post-rapture world where a strange cult cuts out their vocal cords to appease demonic forces roaming the earth. There is almost no dialogue in the entire film and very little in the way of lore or exposition. It’s a tough act to pull off and Azrael unfortunately misses the mark.

It’s incredibly difficult to create a movie through visuals alone, especially one as lore-heavy as Azrael. The grand premise the film presents is told entirely through visuals and short cryptic title cards that read like scripture passages. Samara Weaving does a great job in the title role, but there is little else that saves Azrael from being more than a videogame put on screen.

Azrael Looks Like A Video Game

The world the film presents is one that’s been shown countless times in various different media. The closest example that comes to mind is the world of The Last of Us Part 2. In Naughty Dogs’ critically praised sequel, a female heroine sneaks her way through a dangerous wooded and desolate world. She fights undead creatures, avoids traps, and is pitted against a strange cult who wear rugged tattered clothing and communicate through whispers. Basically, it’s the same plot as Azrael.

Azrael looks like so much videogame mainly because the lack of dialogue forces the filmmaker E.L. Katz to do everything but tell a story. The film begins with Weaving’s character being captured by the cult and presented as a sacrifice. She is able to escape but the film never lets up from this initial battle. Azrael jumps between combat encounters to stealth missions, avoiding demons and fighting minibosses along the way. The film stays at a full tilt throttle throughout its 85-minute runtime while never giving us any meaningful back story or exposition.

Understanding The Silence

Last year Brian Duffield’s No One Will Save You similarly told a horror story with no dialogue. The main difference between the 2023 sci-fi flick and Azrael is the world Duffield was able to create inside this limitation. No One Will Save You spends an adequate amount of time building the world around the film. We get long exposition shots of our main character alone in her house, receiving side eyes from townsfolk, and living her life in solitude. Duffield is able to tell a story without dialogue. A captivating one that provides context and motivation for the story we are seeing. Azrael skips this and instead lays out a barebones premise as an interesting backdrop for brutal action horror sequences.

Azrael creates a brutal violent horror movie but the motivations pushing our characters are non-existent. We understand from the initial opening text the premise of the film but are given little else to explain the world. This is fine in a video game where the main crux is a satisfying combat loop. But in a film, there should be some story propelling the plot forward. That doesn’t really exist here and it’s just fight after fight until the films bloody and horrifying conclusion.

Style With No Substance

The visuals Azrael shows are done well. The film was clearly made on a pretty small budget with most of the scenes taking place in a nondescript forest. E.L. Katz is able to capture something beautiful with the few set pieces that are created. The small chapel where parishioners quietly praise their leader and the barbwire-laced camp are two highlights of the film. It’s all visual storytelling that helps to realize the world and while it looks good, it’s only used as battlegrounds.

Azrael isn’t a terrible movie, but it’s not a great one either. The premise and idea are strong and a dialougeless horror movie can work very well. Unfortunately, here the film never satisfies its high concept. Shudder has made some incredible horror films this year but Azrael fails to hit the mark left by its predecessors. Azrael looks and feels a lot like a videogame and much like a video game, I think the series could come alive with a sequel. I hope more people keep making these small projects with big ideas. This film might not have appealed to me, but there will certainly be some diehard fans who love the gore and guts Azrael delivers. And if there’s a sequel, I’ll be at the theater on day one to learn more about this crazy cult.