I respect any filmmaker who stands up and has the balls to make a film that gives the big studio movies a run for their money. It is rare, so when I hear about a movie that is reminiscent of films I love such as THE CROW and DARK CITY, I cannot pass it up.
You probably haven’t heard of it, but you will very soon. Arrow In The Head got the heads up on GABRIEL, a revolutionary independent film straight out of Australia. The film was directed by Shane Abbess and written by him and Matt Hylton Todd. These two men have been making short films and music videos for over a decade, and in 2005 began production on GABRIEL. The film is about:
The war between Heaven and Hell has raged since the beginning of time. The Light’s chief protectors, the seven Arc Angels, have all but disappeared in the battle to save the souls trapped in Purgatory – all except Gabriel.
As The Light’s last hope for glory, Gabriel begins his quest to finally put an end to the war and find his fellow Arcs, but it is his more personal journey through the beauty and depravity of human emotions that tests Gabriel’s inner strength.
As his mission takes him through the seedy underworld of Purgatory, Gabriel – assuming a human body for the first time – will struggle with his determination to bring back The Light to this dark place when he comes involved in the story of Jade, a beautiful hooker who shows him the redeeming power of love.
Talk about layers man, wow, I love it. The film was made entirely independent with a ultra low budget. I know hard it is for filmmakers to really push their product out to audiences. I’m dealing with that right now but that’s another story.
Luckily enough, GABRIEL was bought for release in Australia and will be hitting screens on November 15th this year. But that’s not enough. This film needs to be seen by everyone. I mean every nook and cranny of the world. I’ve never felt so connected to a story then I did when I read the synopsis for GABRIEL, and when you see the trailer, you’ll know why I’m going to love this film so much.
Before anyone makes any judgement on the style of the film based on the trailer, filmmaker Matt Hylton Todd reassures us that it’s not like the UNDERWORLD’s or CONSTANTINE’s that have let us down in the past.
…the trailer gives an ‘Underworld or ‘Constantine’ feel, but the film is more ‘Crow’, ‘Blade Runner’ cross with ‘Highlander’.
Cha-ching, sold right there. Anyways, really everyone give this trailer and the official website a look and push for GABRIEL to come to a theater near you. I know I will. The film stars Andy Whitfield, Dwaine Stevenson, Samantha Noble (SEE NO EVIL), Erika Heynatz and Matt Hylton Todd.
To watch the trailer, go here right away. To see the shorts and various other projects the Abbess and Todd have done in the past, go to their official production company website click here