Apocalypse Cult Reviews

The found footage sub-genre made a considerable splash in the late 90's when it returned to the big screen with The Blair Witch Project and subsequently took the world by storm. By providing a simple narrative under the pretense of realism and backing it up with a formidable mythos, the movie left a indelible impression in viewer's minds which showed much could be done with little. Naturally, this meant that the slew of impersonators were not far behind. Oft maligned, the sub-genre has subsisted almost entirely on the fact that it is relatively cheap to produce and can almost always guarantee a return.

I'll be the first to admit that far too many examples exist that seemingly warrant the shunning of this cinematic style but I've always championed it because it's a gimmick that, when employed adequately, can be uniquely effective. In fact, the instances of found footage films with merit are exceptional. Movies like The Sacrament, Phoenix Forgotten, The Den, The Taking of Deborah Logan, [REC], The Poughkeepsie Tapes, and As Above, So Below have demonstrated that something truly special can be wrought with this approach. As a result of my experiences with these films, I've always welcomed the viewing of found footage with an open mind. So I went into my viewing of Apocalyptic (aka Apocalypse Cult), maybe all the more open to being surprised given that it was tackling a subject that has always fascinated me.

The premise was intriguing. Some documentarians stumble across whispers of a reclusive religious commune deep in the Australian wilds and decide to follow the lead in favor of the more vanilla project they were originally involved in. Soon they find themselves amid the wide-eyed and content denizens of a cult that follows one man who claims to be the living embodiment of a god. Shades of the ominous creep in and our intrepid reporters soon find themselves increasingly at odds with the goings on.

With a fertile setup and a legitimate reason for the found footage angle to be employed, the movie showed much promise. The capable acting of the two leads and the ladies that made up the bulk of the cult served to lull me into a sense of confidence. For all intents in purposes I felt like I was in for an intriguing experience.

That is until the cult leader made his presence known.

Oh boy, what an absolute deflating moment. Unlike better films in a similar vein, like The Sacrament, the pivotal casting of a man that is supposed to have suckered people into believing he was akin to a god was utterly botched here. Make no mistake, David McCrae certainly LOOKS the part with his eerie Marshall Applewhite-like appearance, bald head, beady eyes, and unsettling grin but that's where it all begins and ends. To say his acting is atrocious might be a bit of an exaggeration but it is definitely not even close to serviceable. Every, single line he delivers as if he were just waiting for the moment to read it out, at times even flubbing his cue. It's actually distractingly transparent how he pales in comparison to his fellow cast members because instead of reacting he is merely reciting. To top it all off he exudes not an iota of the charisma or presence that is historically synonymous with cult leaders. You actually find yourself wondering why anyone would follow this creep with the personality of beef jerky.

From this point forward the movie begins to lose any momentum it had built up. The illusion of immersion begins to crumble not only because of it's lackluster villain but because the movie hits all too familiar hallmarks of cult activity and behavior as if checking off a list. The only standout performances come from some of the actresses that compose the commune which do a wonderful job of communicating their devotion to their leader while never sacrificing the idea of individual personalities. The two main characters that got us there to begin with quickly go from credible to downright incredulous as the loyalty to their craft begins to chip away at the realm of logic.

It also seems like the idea of dialogue is abandoned at some point and people are just playing it by ear. This is most notable when groups interact and annoyingly overt if the cult leader is in the mix. You'll catch smiles where there shouldn't be any, people stepping on each other's lines, and a noticeable decrease in the already lacking quality of dialogue.

Another glaring issue with this film is how closely it sticks to the structure of the aforementioned modern classic The Blair Witch Project. With a bigger cast and different subject matter you'd think this would be easy to hide but it only becomes more evident as it steams ahead into its predictable end. Oh, and, trust me, things get predictable.

Not only do we find that they've cribbed the structure and pacing of Blair Witch but they've also taken elements from Red State and The Sacrament, movies that had come out not long before it did and did a far better job with similar material. That's not to say that they couldn't have still made something amazing but they seemed content to just let it be "close enough".

Much like Blair Witch we get a shock ending here that hearkens to the mythos established in the film. It serves as the one moment that might elicit a sense of excitement were it not for how horrifyingly daft it is. Suffice it to say, that despite getting an edited document of the events,we are expected to believe that (SPOILER) the Apocalypse came. Maddeningly idiotic.

Apocalyptic starts off well but quickly devolves into utter nonsense and, most egregiously, lays the weight of it's aura on the incapable hands of a subpar actor. This is a prime example of why found footage films are derided by many. Avoid at all costs. I give Apocalyptic a 1/10.