An overly-ambitious action horror of biblical proportions unleashes its wrath upon streaming

Low budget movies that try to throw multiple genres into the melting pot in an effort to devise a new concoction very rarely turn out to be anything above passable, but 2007’s Gabriel does at least deserve immense credit for trying.

Co-written and directed by Shane Abbess on a shoestring budget of $150,000 Australian dollars, the action/horror/fantasy hybrid ended up recouping its budget almost 10 times over at the local box office, despite the majority of critical responses ranging somewhere between backhandedly complimentary to outright scathing.

The concept is certainly a doozy, though, with the story unfolding in purgatory as Andy Whitfield’s title hero seeks to end a power struggle that’s plunged his city into never-ending darkness at the hands of a ruthless band of fallen angels, which requires plenty of firepower to get the job tone. Think somewhere between The Matrix, Underworld, and Night Watch, and you’re almost there.

More than 15 years later, and the fascinatingly ambitious escapade has ended up being bathed in the light of streaming success, having spread its wings and soared onto the most-watched charts on Rakuten, per FlixPatrol. Sure, it’s nowhere near the best leather-clad and gun-toting actioner steeped in the supernatural that you’re never going to see, but it’s an undeniably stellar effort given the limited resources involved to bring it to life.

Clearly, that’s been enough for at-home audiences to decide Gabriel is worthy of being dusted off and given a shot at redemption, even if cult favorite status is about the best legacy it can hope for at this stage.