Apostle
Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): October 12, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
9
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
ConsequenceDominick Suzanne-MayerOct 15, 2018
This is punishing filmmaking, both in its sense of overwhelming despair and in its all-too-physical violence, but what sets Apostle apart from being an especially well-shot exploitation feature is its interest in the ideals behind the violence we perform on one another. Read full review
83
The Film StageMike MazzantiOct 10, 2018
Evans lets his freak flag billow gloriously in the cinematic wind; leaning into the perverse nature of his work, he fixates on tension and dread to craft a compelling journey enveloped in lunacy. Read full review
82
IGNRafael MotamayorSep 24, 2018
With Apostle, Gareth Evans has proven he can not only master action films with stunning choreography, but he can also deliver a bone-chilling folk horror tale rich in mythology and shocking in violence. Apostle owes a lot to classic folk horror films, but Evans manages to make his film feel fresh and gripping enough to satisfy even the most blood-thirsty horror fan. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeOct 12, 2018
Tantalizingly rich in atmosphere and altogether unhurried in revealing its secrets, the evocatively shot, ultra-widescreen Apostle will eventually veer into dark, mercilessly supernatural territory. Read full review
80
The GuardianCharles BramescoOct 10, 2018
Polarizing yet undeniably fascinating, the bait-and-switch horror film lures its viewer into a false sense of terrified security before pouncing in an anything-goes frenzy, and Evans’s latest is a prime specimen. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoOct 12, 2018
Not unlike “Mandy,” some of both halves feel self-indulgent, and I’m not sure Apostle quite justifies its 130-minute running time, but you have to say this about it: It’s like nothing else you could include in your annual Halloween horror marathon this year. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriOct 12, 2018
Apostle is ultimately an absorbing, horrifying movie that’s maybe not as smart as it wants to be. But it is a lot stranger, and more disturbing, than you might expect. Read full review
70
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoSep 22, 2018
Gareth Evans’ Apostle is The Wicker Man, Safe Haven and Silent Hill thrown into a boil that bubbles over during a ruthless third act that certainly delivers if you have the patience. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyOct 10, 2018
Netflix feels like a proper home for a film this idiosyncratic. After all, you’ll know within 30 minutes stumbling onto it whether you want to keep following its unsettling descent into blood-soaked madness or pick up your remote and head over to the relatively sunnier and safer comforts of "Broadchurch." Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeOct 4, 2018
The film introduces interesting themes as though they’ll build to something, only to let them spill out like so much viscera from an especially nasty wound. Read full review
60
Film ThreatFilipe FreitasJan 14, 2019
As a violent, supernatural adventure, the film should attract both action and horror enthusiasts alike, yet Evans ends up slightly short of thrills and ambiguity, which are always valuable aspects of the genre. Read full review
60
VoxAlissa WilkinsonDec 10, 2018
It’s not exactly for the faint of heart, and its wild zinging from plot point to plot point can get tiring. But if you’re on the hunt for a frightening and original horror movie, it’s a stellar choice. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleOct 11, 2018
Shifting his energies to a Victorian-era island blood cult hasn’t dimmed Evans’ taste for feverish body harm, but it’s more clearly laid bare his narrative shortcomings. Read full review
60
ScreenCrushBritt HayesSep 22, 2018
Apostle is a solid mystery-thriller, but save for predictably engaging performances from Stevens and Sheen, it’s largely unremarkable. Though it’s interesting to see Evans tackle something a little more conventional, this feels almost too conventional for the man who gave us The Raid and its sequel. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineHenry StewartOct 11, 2018
The film's victims are simply pawns in a super-gory bacchanal, which is aesthetically striking but emotionally dull. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeOct 2, 2018
The Grand Guignol factor climbs throughout the final third, but while climactic battles are violent, they never really thrill. Read full review
50
UproxxVince ManciniOct 1, 2018
It seems to attempt both schlocky fun gore and disturbingly realistic gore, which feels like an uneasy mix. Whatever line there is between fun, cathartic gore and enervating, off-putting, borderline mean-spirited gore, Apostle crosses it, at least for me. Not exactly a fun time by the end, and it was hard to divine a higher purpose for it (something about religion, I guess?). Hell of a premise, cast, and setting though. And points for boldness. Read full review
50
IndieWireEric KohnSep 24, 2018
By the time Apostle arrives at its big reveal, the movie has veered off on so many tangled pathways that the ending can’t resolve them all. Instead, it provides a single, ethereal image that hints at the more imaginative possibilities lurking somewhere inside this bloody mess. Read full review
40
EmpireDan JolinOct 15, 2018
A muddled Wicker Man-inspired horror that has bursts of style, but fails to find depth beneath its blood-spewing surface. Read full review
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