The Heretics

Religious cults are one of the things i am very interested to learn about. Why ? Because so many of them are clearly insane, and they never seem to go away. In every country, you will guaranteed find a religious cult, or several, and what they actually believe in. I have been thinking about starting my own, simply called Space Virgins From Helsinki, simply because this is actually a very good cult name. So what would we believe in ? That we wish to visit the moon known as Nipple 34, where our master The Tree With Fuzzy Legs await for our arrival. Of course we travel naked to our destination, since this would make more sense. I have not made a web page yet, but don´t worry, i will try and see if Scientology could help us out making it, them seem to have some cash over. When it comes to cults that actually exists, i have seen plenty of interesting documentaries. And one of them that i watched last year, can be found on Netflix. A documentary film called Holy Hell, that tells the story of Buddhafield, a cult group who became very big in America, led by cult leader Michel Rostand. At first it may seem like this religious group want to build a community of peace. But when you realize what is going on in real life, you get a wake up call. This is a well made documentary film by director Will Allen, who was a member of Buddhafield. He tells a story that is both disturbing, and fascinating from a psychological perspective. It is hard to believe that so many followed the disturbed mind of Michel Rostand, and that they actually believed him. But this is a pretty ordinary thing for most cult members to do, they will believe anything their leader says. I highly recommend that you check out Holy Hell on Netflix, and learn about the dangers of religious cults. Another really good documentary film that you should see on Netflix, is the documentary film called Going Clear: Scientology And The Prison Of Belief, directed by Alex Gibney. A very fascinating look inside of how the religion of Scientology works, and how disturbing the people are who run this church. There are plenty of very interesting interviews in this film, and you also get to know some really disturbing details on how Scientology work to make their members completely useless. Horror films that use religious cults have been used in many films. One film that i have always appreciated from the 80´s, is a film you don´t really hear about anymore. It is a horror film called The Believers, released in 1987. This film is directed by legendary director John Schlesinger ( who directed classics such as Midnight Cowboy and The Marathon Man ). Martin Sheen is in the lead role in The Believers, a film that tells the story of a Hispanic cult, who murders children. A great horror film, even though i know not all movie critics appreciated the brutal tone of the film. And Martin Sheen in the lead role turned out to be a good choice. I recently stumbled upon a new B horror film called The Heretics, that seemed to have a religious cult theme. Of course i had to check this film out, considering the religious theme. Do we have a good B horror movie in our hands, or is The Heretics a film you don´t need to waste your precious time on ?

Gloria ( Nina Kira ) is in love with her beautiful girlfriend Joan ( Jorja Cadence ). And the happiness they share together, is unmissable. One day, as Gloria is out on the streets, she is kidnapped by Thomas ( Ry Ba Barrett ). He tells Gloria that he saved her from a very dangerous religious cult, who are planning to use her body, to summon their demonic God. Joan is out looking for Gloria, but who is this man Thomas, and is he telling the whole truth ? Is this religious cult really planning to use Gloria´s body ?

Making a horror film that tells the story of a disturbing religious cult, can be difficult. You have to be able to make the film look interesting, and make sure that the image of the cult works for this movie genre. In this case, i have to say that The Heretics manage to work, thanks to a great main character, and the look of the religious cult. Let´s begin to talk about the look of this religious cult. The wooden face masks are pretty effective, and give you a disturbing image of how cults use their beliefs in a completely insane way. I also think that the Satanic look of this cult is effective in this film, and remind me of old school 70´s horror films. Let´s talk about the characters for a while. The main actor Nina Kira ( known for her character Alma in the critically acclaimed TV Series The Handmaid´s Tale ), who plays the kidnapped victim Gloria, makes a really good effort to make her character feel like a victim, and does one of the strongest acting performances in this film. I also enjoy the performance of actor Jorja Cadence as Gloria´s girlfriend Joan. In the scenes where she gets screen time, she knows how to deliver a performance that works with this genre. We have to mention the kidnapper known as Thomas, played by actor Ry Barrett. You can tell that his character have been damaged mentally by the religious cult, but he wants to do whats right.  The plot of this film may not deliver anything fresh, but what this film does is paying respect to old school horror films. And this is something i appreciate, growing up watching classic Satanic cult films from the 60´s and the 70´s. When we get to find out more about this religious cult, the film become a bit more interesting. I would not say we get to know a lot of details, but enough to get a sense of how sick this cult is. The rituals that this cult use, is clearly a passageway to the gateways of hell. The gore scenes actually works pretty well, and there are some brutal scenes that manage to give The Heretics a different look than most religious horror films. Director Chad Archibald have directed and produced a number of films, where one of the films most people will recognize is the 2015 horror film Bite. I have wanted to see this film for some time, but have not yet. The Heretics proves that he clearly have a passion for old school horror films, and the visual look of this film looks great.I also think the make up effects looks good as well. If you ( just like me ) enjoyed the religious cult horror film The Believers that i mentioned earlier in this review, i think you will enjoy The Heretics for trying to bring back the style, and feeling of classic religious cult films. If you love horror films, and want to watch a good one this summer, The Heretics will deliver guaranteed. A film that may not be noticed everywhere, but makes a solid impact for this genre.

Rating: DDD