Gabriel - Reviewed by axlish
Reviewed By: axlish
Release Date: February 19th, 2008
Directed by: Shane Abbess
Released: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
4.5 out of 5 Skulls
Gabriel takes place in the near future, when the Earth realm (known as Purgatory) is run by Sammael and his six demon allies. Under Sammael’s rule the Purgatory realm has fallen under a dark spell which can only be eliminated by an arc-angel, of which there are seven. Gabriel is the seventh to enter the domain and is the last hope for the light returning to Purgatory, and saving the souls of it’s inhabitants. The previous six arc-angels are unaccounted for and presumed dead. Gabriel must face Sammael and his allies alone.
Upon arrival, Gabriel must shut down his angelic powers (such as all-hearing, all-knowing, etc) in order to become untraceable to the demons. He learns this a little too late and attracts a fight immediately. He disposes of the demon in a very stylistic fight sequence. The demons beg their leader to attack Gabriel all at once, but Sammael has a plan. He wants to wait for Gabriel to lure out the remaining arc-angels from hiding, and get rid of them all for good. Before Gabriel can take on Sammael, he must first rescue former arc-angel Amitiel, who has lost her wings and been forced into a life of prostitution. 
Gabriel is beautifully and stylistically directed by first time director Shane Abbess. Every frame of this film has been given the utmost effort and attention to detail. It is extremely artistic in its presentation and is very visually appealing. It has a similar vibe to Batman or The Crow, always dark and raining. The wardrobes and the set designs are very well put together and a gigantic hats off goes out to the entire production team. I say all this because this entire film was put together on a $185,000 budget. This looks like a 20 million dollar film, and I have seen many 50 million dollar plus films look worse.
On top of that, the acting is very good, with the best performance coming from Dwaine Stevenson who plays Sammael. The writing is very good and the action segments are a sidepiece to the story. The movie is heavy with dialogue at times, but it never feels slow. I really can’t say enough about this film, it impressed me on all levels. If you like The Matrix, The Crow or movies of that nature, go out and buy or rent this one. Director and writer Shane Abbess truly hit a home run with this one, and I’ll definitely keep my eye out for his next project.
Gabriel is presented in crisp 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with an atmospheric 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track. Special features include three different thirty minute featurettes covering all aspects of the film, and deleted scenes.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED