Dir. Gareth Evans | Now Streaming On Netflix | Rating: 4/5

Apostle is such an unassuming folk horror. Nothing about its synopsis or marketing will prepare you for the gruesome journey into human depravity and faith that awaits in this film. Hard to stomach, both rhetorically and visually, Apostle is one of the hardest hitting films in the subgenre. 

Like most folk horror, the multiple stories featured in Apostle can be hard to pin down, and even harder to decipher. It is far from an easy watch. From my perspective, the core story exists through Thomas as he grapples with his own faith. He sees the worst of “god” through his experience as a missionary, and then is presented with the horrors of Malcolm’s cult. At every twist and turn of this film, we wonder who is the monster – god or man?

Body horror can be found throughout folk horror both old and new, but the additions in recent years definitely deliver on gore in a way that we haven’t typically seen. Apostle features some of the most visceral gore and body horror I have ever seen in horror. Each of these scenes is bloody, gruesome, and prolonged. If the challenging story and meaning weren’t enough, then the heavy gore makes me hesitant to recommend this to a casual viewer. 

But those who can stomach it, and for folk horror fans, Apostle delivers a stylish and frightening depiction of a relationship between humanity and god. If “God” were as close and visible as the deity in this film, would humans really behave any differently in their quest for power and control? 

The acting and story falters in the last act, and the casting diversity is nonexistent. Apostle is not a perfect film, but it stands out as a uniquely grisly folk horror addition, with a story I couldn’t shake after the credits rolled. 

Know Before You Watch: Features extreme gore, nudity, blood.