First published on the public account "Film Detective"
ID: ttyingtan
Author: booka
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When it comes to the name Gareth Evans , many people may feel unfamiliar.
However, once you talk about his movies, you will definitely yell: Wow! Cool! NS! Depend on!
The "Raid" series is his masterpiece of fame.
Hardcore action style, hearty long shots, full time
Headshot, throat, chopped tendons... the knife sees blood!
Indonesian traditional fighting, close combat technique CQC, fists to the flesh!
Did you feel good about it? Not good enough? It doesn't matter!
After "Assault 2", after a lapse of 4 years, he returned with a cult movie with heavy taste and blood and violence .
"apostle"
Apostle (2018)
"The Apostle" tells the story of a man who has lost his faith and is told that a cult has kidnapped his sister.
In order to rescue his sister, he went to the base camp of the cult alone. He was secretly lurking in the cult organization, secretly looking for his sister.
However, during the rescue process, he discovered that this cult organization is not simple, and the danger is gradually approaching...
"The Apostle" is the first marriage between Gareth Evans and Netflix.
When I saw that this movie was produced by Netflix, I couldn't help but shudder.
After all, Netflix is the mass grave of the movie, almost a bad one.
But after reading it, I was hooked!
On the whole, this movie is a combination of "Hurricane Rescue" + "Wicker Man" + "Witch" + "Quan You" three-eyed crow .
It is a mixture of action, cult, fantasy, horror, horror and other types, and combines various elements such as curiosity, blood, violence, BDSM and so on.
Thomas (played by Dan Stevens) is a former missionary who has endured the torment of his faith.
He is no different from a tramp who is sloppy and uncut.
He was tortured by the Boxers for preaching.
Since then, he has doubts about God and faith, and his spiritual support has collapsed.
He has one person he cares about the most in his life, and that is his own sister.
Unfortunately, he was told that his sister was kidnapped by a mysterious cult.
In order to rescue his beloved sister, he was arranged to pretend to be a believer of a cult organization and hide inside the cult.
Cult organizations are very vigilant and cautious, and it is easy to get rid of them.
If you want to join the church, you must rely on a special pass; without a pass, you cannot join the church.
After the ticket is successfully checked, the cult organization will arrange a special boat to transport the believers to the cult base camp.
All believers must live on a remote island.
They live a life of isolation.
Everyone who arrives on the island must have a careful examination of the body to prevent the introduction of infectious diseases such as plague.
The big cousin who rolls his eyes and sticks out his tongue finds it out.
Malcolm (played by Mike Sheen), the leader and prophet of the cult.
Because of a shipwreck, he and his friends discovered this uninhabited island.
They firmly believe that the goddess on the island saved them.
From then on, they began to worship the goddess on the island, praying that she could bring a rich and prosperous life.
Malkan declared that he was the spokesperson of the goddess in the world and the conveyer of the will.
They formed a church where heretics gathered and rebelled against the rule of the British king.
They declared that they would build a world in which all beings are equal, and a free world without hunger and taxes.
Therefore, they were regarded by the British crown as religious fanatics, activists, and blasphemers.
However, following word of mouth, more and more believers came here, and the ranks of cult organizations gradually grew.
Although the cause of the cult has gradually improved, all kinds of weird ominous signs have appeared on the island.
A large number of crops died, and harvests were unavailable.
The animals that are born are deformed fetuses and are difficult to survive.
Life is becoming more and more urgent, and they decide to blackmail the ransom by kidnapping the rich to feed the believers on the island.
Thomas, who successfully concealed his identity, began to secretly investigate the entire island to find out the situation of the cult.
He has been investigating secretly, looking for a place to hide his sister.
Following his investigation, the crazy scenes were gradually revealed...
A devout believer would cut the blood vessel in his arm and drain the blood into a jar.
This is their sacrifice to themselves, an expression of faith.
After the night rest, there are glass jars with blood drained at the door of every house.
These cans will be collected by a dedicated person.
Even more frightening is that the cult has been secretly controlling a white-haired woman and has been supporting her with human blood.
By offering sacrifices with blood, they prayed to her to bless the island with good weather and abundant grains.
Does it look like the three-eyed crow in "Quanyou"?
Thomas' identity was discovered by the vigilant Malkan, and the action to save his sister was imminent.
At this time, signs of killing the king and seizing power began to appear within the cult.
In the end, a cat-and-mouse game between Thomas and the entire cult...
Although Gareth Evans specializes in action movies, this is not his first foray into the field of horror movies.
He once directed a horror short film called "Safe Haven" in "Deadly Videotape 2" .
The short film mainly tells the story of a crew visiting a local cult organization in Indonesia, hoping to make a documentary about the cult. Unfortunately, this crew caught up with the birth of the Demon King, and their lives were also at stake.
It is no exaggeration to say that this short film is the most exciting one in "Deadly Videotape 2".
"Safe Haven" stills.
"The Apostle" is his first horror genre feature film, and the performance is also remarkable.
First of all, I broke through the shackles of my own creation, gave up the best violent action movies, and tried new things.
For any director, constantly trying new themes is an important way to maintain creative inspiration.
In "The Apostle", the director gave up the bursting action scenes of pure violence, close combat, etc., but integrated the elements of various types of films.
The driving force for the characters arranged in this movie is to rescue my sister.
This is similar to action movies such as Die Hard, Hurricane Rescue .
It's just that the protagonist in "The Apostle" is an ordinary unarmed person.
In the rescue plot, elements of cult, horror, and horror are gradually unfolding, and the action scenes take second place.
The island, the cult, the trial... all the details will give you a feeling of the cult temperament of "The Witch" and "The Wicker Man" .
After the horror and tension, the film finally presents a fantasy story wrapped in myths and legends.
The setting of fantasy elements really makes people feel surprised and pleasantly surprised.
Secondly, the level of bloody remains undiminished, and the heavy taste scenes are cruel and perverted.
Audiences who have watched the "Assault" series will find that the director is particularly generous with plasma, and "Apostle" is no exception.
You can't see the particularly cheap ketchup, only the more realistic and real blood.
As a heavy taste lover, I want to give this plasma gift full marks.
I beat you to bloody blood, and then gently cut your throat, and the beautiful blood slowly flowed down.
Throat cutting is a side dish, and the torture of forehead drilling has been put on the shelves.
The BDSM-style puncture binding allows you to slowly slide on the meat grinder, and feel pain and irritation across the screen.
The tearing sensation of the hands entering the meat grinder, the piercing feeling is the same
Throat cut and puncture are pretty normal, and the chest is broken.
Once again, the photographic lens is super coquettish and will directly take you into the play.
The photographer of "The Apostle" is served by Matt Flannery, who is also the director's royal partner. (The "Raid" series is also under his control.)
In addition to the beautiful natural scenery, the camera motion lens is even more refreshing.
For example, if the subjective lens is covered with blood, the camera has become the eyes of the character in the play.
This allows the audience to feel the state of their eyes when they were bloodshot before the torture, and enhances the uneasy feeling of watching the movie.
In "The Apostle", there are multiple bevel lenses + push-pull lenses , which add a sense of imbalance and weightlessness to the movie.
The oblique lens, also called the German lens, refers to the method of shooting the camera slightly tilted to one side. This kind of lens will make the picture lose its sense of balance and direction, and can express feelings of anxiety, violence, thrills, and madness, and create an atmosphere of uncertainty.
The burning cross rotates under the oblique lens, implying the collapse and subversion of faith.
The angled lens in the purification ritual is a sense of unbalanced insecurity, indicating that danger is approaching.
In short, "The Apostle" is a work different from the director's previous style. It is a brand new attempt by the director.
This film has been quite successful in terms of visual effects, photography, performance and the blending of various types of elements such as horror, cult, action, etc.
If you watch "Apostle" with the anticipation of "start to end" when watching "Raid", you may be a little disappointed.
When you lower your expectations to watch this movie, you will like it.
Finally, you all want to know whether "Assault 3" is filmed or not? The director has spoken...
Previously, the director had stated that the final chapter of the raid series "Assault 3" was being planned.
"Assault 2" takes place 2 hours after "Assault 1", and "Assault 3" will happen 2 hours before the end of "Assault 2".
Recently, he slapped himself...
In an interview with the media, he said that he was unlikely to make another "Assault 3" and hoped that fans would not wait any longer.
"The two works of "Assault 1" and "Assault 2" are both great for me, but I don't want to keep shooting the Assault series. The longer the time, the less interest in returning. We gave this series a relatively good one At the end of the game, I think it’s pretty good to end this way, so I don’t particularly want to return to the world of raids."
He has recently been busy developing and producing the TV series "London Gangs" , and may also direct the DC independent film "Death Knell" , plus the previously planned action film "Blister".
At present, his energy has already been transferred to other projects, "Assault 3" has been beaten up.
However, I still want to say to the director: please slap your face again! Please, director~
(Respond to the apostle in the background , let's watch the cool film together)
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