Heretiks review: Director Paul Hyett follows up his last feature, Howl, with this atmospheric tale of a haunted convent.
Heretiks review by Kat Hughes.
Heretiks Review
Paul Hyett started his career in the film industry as a practical special effects artist. He collaborated with Neil Marshall on both Dog Soldiers and The Descent before branching out into directing himself. His previous work includes The Seasoning House and Howl, with Heretiks being his latest film.
Persephone (Hannah Arterton) is saved from being tried as a witch by the local convent. Once there she is instantly put to work and must work extra hard to catch-up with her fellow students. Her lack of discipline soon catches the attention of the Reverend Mother (Clare Higgins) however, and Persephone finds herself on thin ice. This begins to crack even further when Persephone starts to see visions of a dangerous looking spirit, one with a bitter grudge against the sisters.
Heretiks got its first screening at Arrow Video Frightfest mere days after the final cut had been locked. Set in England of old, Heretiks unfolds within the confines of a covent’s walls. Filmed in an actual old convent, the setting is certainly authentic, as are the costumes worn by the cast members. With all the cast being fully fledged nuns, or sisters in training, there is headgear everywhere, which if we’re completely honest, makes it a little tricky to work out who is who. This is further exacerbated by a lack of lighting. The real-world location may add gorgeous visuals and a believable atmosphere, but no matter how many candles get lit, every scene remains dim.
Given how tricky it is to tell sister from sister, it’s hard to comment too much on performances, the only exceptional being that of Clare Higgins. Higgins has previously played one of cinema’s (and literature’s) greatest villains, Julia in Hellraiser. As Julia she oozed evil and was easily much worse than either Uncle Frank and the Cenobites. Here she really sinks her teeth into her role of convent head and is suitably dastardly. The other comment to make about the cast of characters is that all are female. There are a couple of minor roles played by men, but Heretiks is focused purely on this group of women. All are strong female characters which is very important, and given that the women here don’t need men to save them regardless of the era they are in, is very timely.
Heretiks Review
The third nun film to play at this year’s Frightfest (others being St. Agatha and The Devil’s Doorway), Heretiks falls somewhere between the pair thematically. St. Agatha focused solely on the cruel nature of a group of nuns, whilst The Devil’s Doorway added a possession story to a convent. Heretiks has both cruel nuns and an evil entity. It’s an effective balance, providing something for horror hounds and the more timid. That being said, the timid may want to rethink watching as Hyett really lets his effects work fly. The make-up effects in Heretiks are eye-popping (literally).
This film is a period horror that suffers greatly from a lack of lighting. This causes a real pain for identifying our cast of characters who are already obscured by their costumes. Technical niggles aside, Heretiks is otherwise a creepy and atmospheric affair.
Heretiks review by Kat Hughes, August 2018.
Heretiks screened as part of Arrow Video Frightfest 2018.
