Angel Engine: Biblical Lore and the Sins of 2033

Circling the internet right now, primarily on the social media platform Instagram, is an analog horror series by the name of Angel Engine. Debuted in 2025 by Nicolai Leimer, who goes by the alias Unearthly Hub, Angel Engine has garnered a cult following and its own interactive video game.

Following the state of a post-apocalyptic world where humanity is on the brink of extinction, all energy sources have been destroyed or otherwise depleted, and there is only one single, tyrannical nation left standing, Angel Engine forces readers to stand back and examine their priorities, values, and the fabric of their moral fiber. What would you sacrifice for your own survival? How far would you let your governing body go, especially when you know they’re wrong? Would you try to revolt, even if you know it to be fruitless, or would you just keep your head down and stay alive?

What are you willing to do to get what you want, what you need, and how much are you willing to let go?

Synopsis

Set in the very near future of 2033, the world has been destroyed by nuclear war. Before the fighting started, there was a research facility in the nation of Babylon, which the creator compares to modern day NATO.

“They [Babylon] had some influence, but it was more indirect….”

—Unearthly Hub

This influence was secured by the creation of the Angel Engine, which promised to use divine energy to create enough power for the whole world to use comfortably until the end of time.

He captures an angel, Uriel, to use for his engine. A lot of people are against the use of the engine because it requires cruel treatment of the angel.

At some point — though it’s unclear when — the engine is presumably misplaced with Uriel still trapped inside.

The Angel Engine Initiative

The Angel Engine Initiative compromises anybody, but mostly soldiers working for the Second Tower of Babylon, which is the base of operations for the Angel Engine. Dr. Geoffery Ernstmann is the man responsible the engine and his counterpart, Stephen Eckbloom, is the liason between the inhabitants of Babylon and the scientific endeavors of The Second Tower. While not mentioned explicitly, recruitment is occasionally alluded to. The first tells of Ernstmann recruiting a boy by telling him he’d become a hero, just before using him for grotesque human experimentation. The second being when angel Barachiel — more on him later — tries to get a girl to join by telling her it’s a way to make friends, even though making friends requires that she kill the ‘non-believers’.

Alongside the themes of military overreach, we have the introduction of what’s called the Ishatar Gate, essentially a bridge between the earthly and angelic realms. In biblical lore, the Ishtar Gate was made by King Nebuchadnezzar II as the only entrance point to central Babylon. In the series, the Second Tower of Babylon wants to use it as a means to an unlimited supply of angels and the “nonbelievers” want to prevent this from happening. The Gate is finally discovered after the assassination of a civilian suspected of hiding it. This act of “terrorism” is the perfect catalyst to usher in a full-bodied resistance from the colonized peoples.

Barachiel

Barchiel is an “artificial angel”, created by Ernstmann by mixing the DNA of the angel Uriel with the DNA of a human test subject known only as Rachel. Barachiel is probably the most tragic figure of the series. He was created for a purpose that has never been revealed which becomes a point of much contention in the fandom. It has been directly stated that, whatever the task was meant to be, Barachiel is unable to complete it, and such faces a great deal of resentment, regret, and even hatred from Ernstmann, whom he views as a father figure. Regardless Barachiel remains loyal to Ernstmann, despite the torment done to Barachiel at his hands and allowed to be done to him by Ecklebloom.

While Barachiel has been called the most “valuable creation” of the Second Tower, all Barachiel truly wants is friendship. Wearing long white robes and long shining black hair, Barachiel has a face of white porcelain, split down the middle, and a gaping unnatural grin. He has a big set of white wings sprouting from his back, and another smaller set from his temples. His hands are long, grey, boney, and ending in sharp claws. His voice is a high androgynous child’s croon, and likewise he has a very childlike personality, possessing a strange curiosity and innocence.

In short, he is horrifying, and thus unable to truly make or keep friends.

He starts off as a very morally grey character, with no true, clear motives. As the series progresses, his actions, though still wildly without clear motivation, lead him to be viewed as more of a villain or antagonist.

Biblical and Sociopolitical Themes

One of the biggest themes at explored in Angel Engine is ‘what happens when someone is given limitless power, but no empathy or regard for human life?’

It’s interesting, because you see it every day, right? Turn on the news, everywhere you look is someone with unchecked power and only two concerns: how to achieve more power, and how to get as wealthy as possible. This series explores the long-term consequences of that. Part of that is the impulse to cause harm — Ernstmann has a literal angel that wants to help, and he still tortures him into a shell.

The biblical stuff is truly fascinating, as Uriel really kind of plays the role of Jesus Christ here. Some don’t believe he’s really an angel; some do. He just wants to help humans rise out of the hell of their own making, and what does he get out of it? Eternal imprisonment and agony. He is even shown in a spread armed position in the engine, similar to Christ on the cross. Feeding into the use of biblical lore, Barachiel, in the bible, was a high-ranking archangel with thousands of angels in his servitude and was the angel of blessings. He was known as the Guardian Angel because he helped and protected the vulnerable that were in need of it.

Here however, he causes more harm than good and is in a barely better position than Uriel is. Sure, he has physical freedom, but his life and existence, and said freedom, are still dependent on Ernstmann and how well he performs his servitude to him. The moment a more capable version is created, or more angels are captured, Barachiel becomes obsolete.

Creating Babylon

The artwork also is the spoon that stirs the Angel Engine drink, if you will. Dark, atmospheric, horrifying. Yeah, there is a guy on screen performing grotesque body horror onto a divine, innocent being, but he is shrouded in impenetrable black shadows- why is that? Could something somehow worse be going on in that dark? The juxtaposition of Barachiel’s horrifying looks with his innocent, childlike personality is endearing, dejected and unsettling.

Angel Engine employs a fascinating approach to telling the story. At its core, it pulls together the uncanny distance and voyeuristic perspective of analog horror. Analog horror, in its most broken down, relies on distorted visuals and audio to make the audience uneasy − it’s as much of the story as the characters and the actions taken out by them. This series wouldn’t have worked as well in any other medium. This approach works in two ways. This series is distributed on Instagram. To anyone unfamiliar with the platform, there is a specific tool called reels (20-60 sec long videos), and that’s how the episodes are delivered. It’s a calculated move. Each episode sinks the hooks in. It leaves room for want while still propelling the story forward.

“each episode is its own self-contained story…while still moving the plot forward. Most people would grow bored and abandoned a rigid A to B storytelling format”.

—Unearthly Hub

Wrap Up

In the case of an apocalypse, if someone says they can use religion to save the world, it’s probably a really bad idea to listen to them. And what’s probably an even worse idea is to let the world reach such a state in the first place. It asks the big question of where we should place our trust. Can we trust the ceaseless march of science, or the politicians that say that they are here to protect mankind? Maybe the answer is even more foreboding. Can we ever really trust anyone?