‘Apostle’ trailer spotlights a flock’s hellish side

Minus the late-night bloodletting, glimpses of imprisoned children, public execution and aggressive indoctrination, Erisden is nirvana. Worth a willing visit or two, even.

Thomas Richardson (Dan Stevens), on the other hand, has no choice but to get there. For reasons yet known, the people on that remote rock have abducted his sister, Andrea (Lucy Boynton). Whatever they may be, Thomas won’t accomplish his mission (will he?) without a scratch or two; the trailer shows the community governed by Malcom (Michael Sheen) knows how to deal with those they deem unsavory. Think craniotomy, “canopy decorating,” hanging, caning, branding, hand-mangling, etc.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that director Gareth Evans heads up cult alley right after (the markedly different) The Raid franchise. Speaking of which, there seems to be a fight scene in the preview. The Welsh-born, Indonesia-based filmmaker in teamed up with Timo Tjahjanto in 2013 to deliver First Born, one of the tapes in V/H/S/2 that is also about weird folks worshipping weird things.

The period horror film, which Netflix picked up last March, “welcomes” all outsiders on Oct. 12. It will have its world premiere at Fantastic Fest this week.