The Axiom (2/5)

The Axiom is a twisted horror movie with a really good ending. Unfortunately, the middle is pretty weak so many viewers may not get that far. Still, it’s an interesting feature film debut from Nicholas Woods!

The Axiom delivers a pretty intense horror story. It’s a twisted tale of multiverses that includes elements reminding me of The Mist. Not the TV show, mind you, but the movie from 2007.

Recommended reading: Read our Season 1 review of The Mist  to find out why there won’t be a Season 2 >

Even though The Axiom reminded me of the better adaptation of The Mist, it’s still not without problems. Is it worth watching? Well, yes, it is actually due to the production value and the interesting take on parallel dimensions. It’s just not one of the movies I would rush to watch. 

What is The Axiom?

Obviously, the first question of this movie is: What is this Axiom thing? Well, wouldn’t you like to know!

Honestly, you have to watch the movie to find out the “how” and “why” of it all, but I will tell you that “The Axiom” refers to the portals leading to other alternative universes. Or rather, alternative timelines, I guess.

About halfway through I found myself saying out loud “I sure hope they explain this before the movie is over!” Yet again, I will tell you that they do in fact explain everything. Not in great detail or anything, but that isn’t exactly necessary either.

What you should focus on is the fact that there are creatures and weird monsters of sorts. That’s exactly what you do get an explanation for before The Axiom is over.

One of the monsters looks like the weird lovechild between Voldemort and the creature from Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth. Maybe with a dash of the key-monster from Insidious: The Last Key. In other words, it is very freaky but also feels like something you’ve seen before. 

The cast in The Axiom

Hattie Smith is the star of The Axiom as the main protagonist. She definitely has “final girl” written all over her, since we follow her from the beginning. She plays the role of McKenzie who is looking for her sister Marylyn, who has been missing since she went to Cinder Park.

Along with Hattie Smith’s McKenzie, we have Taylor Flowers as Edgar. He’s clearly the person who knows most about camping. Not a bad thing when you’re camping out of season. Also on this mission is Edgar’s sister, Darcy. She’s portrayed by Nicole Dambro, who you might recognize from the horror movie Pitchfork.

Recommended reading: Review of the low-budget horror slasher Pitchfork >

Also, there’s Zac Titus as McKenzie’s brother Martin, who is also the brother of the missing woman, Marylyn. And he is in a relationship with Darcy. Yes, a lot of siblings along for the ride.

Final person on this road trip turned camping adventure is Michael Peter Harrison. He’s the very British Gerrik, who is clearly included for comic relief – but without going overboard. He’s there because Martin asked him to tag along since they’re friends and he figured the drug-supplying friend would be a bonus.

I wasn’t crazy about this character since nobody seemed to like him. Not even Martin!

First feature film from Nicholas Woods

The writer and director of The Axiom is feature film debutant, Nicholas Woods. While I wasn’t entirely pleased with The Axiom, I saw the definite potential and can easily imagine how Nicholas Woods can become a fascinating horror filmmaker.

As stated earlier, my main issue with this movie is the middle. Because it really does start out with an interesting story to get you hooked. And it does also manage to end the movie with an intense and fulfilling ending. It’s just that the middle drags on for too long without moving the story along.

With the attention span challenges of audiences combined with the constant huge selection of new movies to choose from, you can’t really get away with this. I’m expecting a lot of people to give up about halfway through and that would be a damn shame!

The Axiom is out in the US on iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Google, Microsoft, Sony, FandangoNow and Redbox on Demand from February 12, 2019.

Details

Director: Nicholas Woods
Writor: Nicholas Woods
Cast: William Kircher, Hattie Smith, Zac Titus, Nicole Dambro, Michael Peter Harrison, Taylor Flowers, Maria Granberg, Kathy Wu

Plot

A young woman who, at the risk of her friend’s safety, travels into a National forest, in search for her missing sister. Once in the wilderness, they discover they have entered a multi-dimensional world full of monsters.