Religious epics seem to be making a comeback these days, yet we really haven’t had any that stand out enough for people to really talk about. The forces of good and evil, God and the devil, excreta, all make a good premise to base a story off of. But most fail as films because they lack a good story. This however is not the case with Gabriel, a low budget film from Australia which is being heavily promoted here in the United States for it’s DVD release.
Gabriel is about the city of Purgatory (Yes, that Purgatory) a world between Heaven, Hell and Earth. Evil has taken over the realm and six of the seven archangels have fallen at the hand of the dark ones. Gabriel is the last hope for the ones from the light and is sent by god to take back the realm of Purgatory. Sammael is the leader of the dark ones and him and his gang pretty much rule the realm of Purgatory, they have made many of god angels fall to their knees even that of Jade a angel with a heart of gold. When Gabriel arrives on the scene however all bets are off as Gabriel helps the angels that have fell at the hand of evil redeem themselves and help fight the dark ones so that they can once reclaim the city for the god.
The script for the film is not half bad, the movie is full of character development and a lot of scenes that consist of plenty of dialogue exchanges between the characters whom at times explain most of what’s going on with the story. Don’t get me wrong, the script for the most part is pretty solid, but it does drag from scene to scene and a lot of the film is explained though the characters rather than though their actions.
The acting in the film is actually pretty good, especially that many of the actors are unknowns. Actor Andy Whitfield is very good as Gabriel. I see this guy getting bigger roles in the future because of his performance in this film. The rest of the cast was very good as well for a group of people who are not big name stars. However not all the credit can be given to the actors, First time director Shane Abbess labored long and hard over this film, even working a day job in a call center to make money to finish the film. His hard work obviously paid off and my hats off to him.
The production value for Gabriel is not half bad for a film that was shot on such a low budget. The special effects are nothing we haven’t seen before, but it works for this film and the overall feel and atmosphere is very similar to the likes of films like Underworld, The Matrix and Bladerunner. The fight scenes in the film were okay but nothing to memorable. But the set design and look and feel of the locations worked very well for the story.
Overall, Gabriel is not that bad of film. It has it’s flaws but it’s very reminiscent of films such as Bladerunner and The Matrix. One can say it’s the poor mans version of both those films, but it has the flow and feel of the likes of them. Gabriel has a decent story with very good acting and directing. For a film that was shot on a small budget it delivers and is a lot better than the majority of independent, low budget films that plague the home entertainment market each week. Well worth watching for fans of science fiction classics such ad Bladerunner and The Matrix.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
