Apostle: Objectivity in Eco-horror
The promise of the Divine is but an illusion
Eco-horror is a subgenre that has been around for a long time. From Godzilla (1954) to The Birds (1963) to Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1978), films about natural world (plants and animals) attacking us have been around for a long time. The subgenre has not been shy in our current century either, with films like The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and The Happening (2008) spinning cautionary tales of our hideous carbon footprint.
This year, we have already been graced with three grim pieces of eco-horror: Alex Garland’s Annihilation, Paul Schrader’s First Reformed, and to round out this year’s trifecta of enviro-cinema, Gareth Evans’ Apostle. While Annihilation and First Reformed are undoubtedly new takes on the subgenre, they ultimately share a similar message to similar films that came before; Nature will find a way to fight back, either physically or psychologically. They begin with the natural world as the victor in a lopsided battle with humanity, who stands no chance. Apostle, is interesting because it begins in world where the nature has lost.
The plot of the film is simple to understand. In 1905, Thomas Richardson (Dan Stevens) must travel to a remote island to rescue his sister from a religious cult. This cult, led by a self-proclaimed prophet named Malcolm (Michael Sheen), worships a “mother nature-esque” deity who provides a bountiful harvest when fed blood. What the rest of the cult members don’t know, is that the leadership of the religion have imprisoned the deity, using her as a tool for good harvest. Though the residents of the village sacrifice their blood to her, her imprisonment still gives the cult the upper hand. One of the cult leaders puts in these terms: “She’s a machine. You feed her… and she delivers.”
Unlike other eco-horror films, Apostle begins in a world where nature has been conquered (at least physically). Therefore, it doesn’t bother itself on the battle between humans and the environment. Instead, it asks the question, “What happens after we win?” And as you can guess, the answer is not good-- We will lose even if we win. Though this is a correct statement, it is also trite. Many will spout statements like this without understanding why it makes sense. It is a type of idealistic Film is one way that we can delve into why something is correct, rather than spout truths without the knowledge or logic to back it up. Looking at Apostle can help to further understand why our relationship to the environment is unique. Apostle presents audiences a story that, if turned into a list of true statements, provides us with this syllogism:
1. The environment is a god.
2. A human becomes that god.
3. Humans are the environment.
And if this statement is true, that we are the environment, the violence and horror that people unleash on each other in the film makes perfect sense. When we beat the environment, we are inadvertently beating ourselves. That is why eco-horror is truly horrific. That is the unconscious truth that creates fear. Our demise is not anyone’s fault but our own. It is a simple message, but one that is vital to the understanding of eco-horror’s true effect on a viewer. Apostle’s effectivity comes from presenting audiences with that very syllogism. The film does not shy away from punishing humanity and telling us it that is our own doing.
Whether it be through the slasher flick’s depiction of what happens when we don’t pay attention to members of our society, or the ghost story’s tales of not being able to cope with the past, horror has always been the best genre to tell stories of human failure. Eco-horror is no different. In a story about humans versus the environment, we are always fighting ourselves. The horror that we unleash upon ourselves is cyclical and paradoxical.
This is why Apostle’s cynicism is both refreshing and upsetting. While most eco-horror films have a conservationist subtext, the film does not give is a moral. Though it may have a message, there is no moral to be found. Rather than hinting at ways away from destruction, it presents destruction as inevitable and circular. When Thomas becomes the new god of the island, it is not a cause for celebration—nor despair. It is an objective view of the relationship we currently have with the environment. Even if we win, we will lose. Not only are we our environment.
We are apostle to it.