Ten years ago, A24 found its stride with its utterly haunting folk horror film, The Witch, the directorial debut of Robert Eggers, which defined his creeping and deeply disturbing style. However, if the achingly patient pace of the film was too slow for you, but you were enamored by the eerie setting and witchcraft as a device for female rage, then you need to watch Shudder’s folk/fantasy horror, Heresy. Capped at a tight 60-minute runtime, the Dutch indie film drops viewers straight into a stampede of psychedelic terrors and provocative anti-patriarchal frustration. With a surplus of gory yet mesmerizing visuals and a knack for keeping our nerves frayed, Heresy is the perfect late-night watch to keep you flinching at shadows in the dark.
Fantasy Monsters Create a Psychedelic Atmosphere in This Folk Horror
Set in a small medieval town near a wall of ominous trees, Heresy follows a young woman, Frieda (Anneke Sluiters), who is desperately trying to become a mother. She often goes to the town’s priest for help, using various spirituality-based remedies to help the process, but much to her husband’s visceral annoyance, she only faces one failed attempt after another. One fateful day, she has an awful encounter in the woods, which is followed by a spine-tingling scene of an otherworldly creature latching onto her. When she returns home, the town abruptly turns on her, accusing her of witchcraft and of corresponding with the Devil in the woods, forcing her to fight for survival on two fronts.
ALeave immediately. I don’t need to understand a threat to respect it.
BStay quiet and observe. If I can see it, I can understand it. If I can understand it, I can avoid it.
CStay awake. Whatever this is, I am not going to sleep until I feel safe again.
DConfront it directly. Fear grows in the dark — I’d rather know what I’m dealing with.
ECheck everything, trust nothing. The threat might be closer than I think — and smaller.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
Where are you most likely to find yourself when things go wrong?
Setting is everything in horror. Where you are determines which rules apply.
ASomewhere remote — a cabin, a campsite, off the grid and away from people.
BA quiet suburban neighbourhood where nothing ever happens. Except tonight.
CIn my own head — the most dangerous place of all, depending on what’s already in there.
DWherever children are — because something about this place attracts the worst things.
ESomewhere ordinary — a house, a toy store, a place where the last thing you’d expect is a threat.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
What is your most reliable survival asset?
Every survivor has a quality the villain didn’t account for. What’s yours?
APhysical fitness — I can run, I can swim, I can outlast something that relies on brute persistence.
BSpatial awareness — I always know the exits, the hiding spots, the fastest route out.
CPsychological resilience — I’ve faced my worst fears before. They don’t have the same power over me.
DEmotional steadiness — I don’t panic. Panic is what gets you caught.
EScepticism — I don’t underestimate threats because of how they look. Size is irrelevant.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
What kind of fear is hardest for you to fight through?
Knowing your weakness is the first step to not dying because of it.
AThe unstoppable—something that will not stop,cannot be reasoned with,and is always getting closer.
Heresyis a visual feast ensuring our eyes never wander from the film’s distinct style and mind-bending nature.Beforethe turning point in the woods,the camera lingers uncomfortably on potential threats in the town,whether that be the abusive stranger onthe sidelines or the husband prone to emotional outbursts,mimickingthe warinessof how women tread through thespace.We’re made to feel disconcertedand isolatedjust as Friedaisour hair standingonendto senseapproachof danger.It’s adread-laden atmospherewithdark shadowed lightingand adistinctsenseofinevitabilityintheair,elicitingclaustrophobiadespitevastnessoftheforestrightbeside thatched huts.
The film wastes no time reachingtheturningpoint shiftingtheatmospherefromdisturbinglyrealistictohauntinglysupernatural.Ittakesadvantageofitsbudgetthroughstunningpracticaleffectswherefantasycreaturesinthewoodsinitiallyskirttheedgesofthecamera hiddenbymurkyfogandtheconstrictedviewofaterifiedFrieda.Thiskicksoffa seriesofincreasinglypsychedelichorrorsandvisualsthat are simplytoocaptivatingtolookawayfromevenif they setyourskincrawling.Withsomegrandflourishesin graphic body horroranda latersequence that feelslikepersonifiedcatharsis,Heresyisconstantly pushingtheboundariesofwhatcanbeconsideredbeautifullymacabre.Withanequallyunsettlingorchestralscoretotieitalltogether,it’sanimmersivewatchthatforegoestheslowburnpenchantoffolkhorrorandracesfortheviscera instead.
‘Heresy’ Is a Provocative Portrayal of Female Rage
The driving narrative ofHeresyforwardisdeep-seatedandprofoundfeelingoffemininerageone thatisfelt ratherthan deciphered.The filmnever inundatesuswithsocialcommentary,butratherallows palpable atmosphere thatistypicalofthegenrebedirectedagainsttheestablishedhierarchiesandexpectationswithinthe town.Itisneverexplicitlymentioned,butwequicklyunderstandthatFrieda’svalueinthetownistiedtomotherhoodwhileherownmotivationsforachildseemtobepartiallydrivenbyinstinctandbyadesperationtoescapeintosomethingotherthanherselfandhersurroundings.Thescreenis practically pulsatingwithfrustration helplessnessandanimalisticneedforrelease—all heightenedbythepsychedelicnatureofthehorrormovie.
Shudder’s Most Overlooked Horror-Thriller Is the Found Footage Film You’ve Been Waiting For
How do you fight ademonwithagun?
Heresy
- Release Date
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January25,2024
- Runtime
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61minutes
- Director
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DidierKonings
Heresyisavisualfeast ensuringoureyesneverwanderfromthefilm’sdistinctstyleandmind-bendingnature.Beforetheturningpointinthewoods,thecameralingersuncomfortablyonpotentialthreatsinthetown,whetherthatbeabusive strangeronthe sidelinesorthehusbandprone to emotionaloutbursts,mimickingthewarinessofhowwomentreadthroughspace.We’remadetofeeldisconcertedandisolatedjustasFriedaisourhairstandingonendtosenseapproachofdanger.It’sadread-ladenatmospherewithdarkshadowedlightinganddistinctsenseofinevitabilityintheair,elicitingclaustrophobiadespitevastnessoftheforestrightbeside thatched huts.
Thefilmwastes notime reachingtheturningpoint shiftingtheatmospherefromdisturbinglyrealistictohauntinglysupernatural.Ittakesadvantageofitsbudgetthroughstunningpracticaleffectswherefantasycreaturesinthewoodsinitiallyskirttheedgesofthecamera hiddenbymurkyfogandtheconstrictedviewofaterifiedFrieda.Thiskicksoffa seriesofincreasinglypsychedelichorrorsandvisualsthatare simplytoocaptivatingtolookawayfrom, eveniftheysetyourskincrawling.Withsomegrandflourishesin graphic body horroranda latersequence thatfeelslikepersonified catharsis,Heresyisconstantly pushingtheboundariesofwhatcanbeconsideredbeautifullymacabre.Withanequallyunsettlingorchestralscoretotieitalltogether,it’sanimmersivewatchthatforegoestheslowburnpenchantoffolkhorrorandracesfortheviscera instead.
