“Who is this for?” is a question that has morphed into something insidious on the internet, implying that a piece of art isn’t for anyone simply because the project isn’t for them, specifically. That question is, however, essential for any artist starting a project. Director Gregg Bishop and writers Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski seem to have skipped that step when tackling The Heretiks.
I will show up to any witchy film, and have defended plenty of rough-looking indie projects. I grew up loving Disney Channel Original Movies and their often awful aesthetics because they were fun and heartfelt, and I am a stalwart defender of gateway horror. At first, it seems like that’s what The Heretiks may be.
The frantic opening plays like one of those vibe-based witchy TikToks that, though bad for film, could possibly be argued as a way to hook a younger audience. Coupled with costumes that look like Party City pickups no one bothered to age, The Heretiks’ opening scene sets you up to think you’re going to watch a Disney-esque take on ostracized witches. Then a whisper of a spell rips a fox’s skin from its body so it may be sacrificed.
There’s nothing wrong with either of those things in a vacuum. Getting kids hooked on horror early: great! Telling a harrowing tale of witches fighting for their place in a world that villainizes them at every turn: exceptional! Trying to do them both in the same film: possible, but not what unfolds in The Heretiks.
From child deaths to the flaying of men, the film seems to seek a distinctly adult audience. Perhaps the movie’s overall aesthetics were a nostalgia play, hoping to captivate people like me who grew up on DCOMs and their whimsical but ugly nonsense. If that was the goal, though, the attempt wasn’t successful. Maybe the idea was “if we want to make this gateway horror we need to be sure nothing looks too real,” but that doesn’t play out right either.
Its unclear direction also extends to The Heretiks’ effects and continuity. Some of its blood is bright red, resulting in handprints that look like the stickies you slap on your windows as Halloween decorations. Other times, the blood looks more accurate: a deeper red with slight coagulation. And then, sometimes that blood is Barney purple (and no, said blood isn’t coming out of a mythical creature or a costumed dinosaur).
Holes from stab wounds disappear from clothes while watered-down blood remains; mussed-up hair in one scene shifts to a perfect spiral in the next before shifting back to its previously tousled state. It’s easy to see how these things happened — it’s rare that films shoot scenes in order — but attention to detail doesn’t cost a smaller project a cent, even if you can’t afford a dedicated continuity department.
If The Heretiks has any saving grace, it’s a basic understanding of the craft, even if it is coupled with spells that sound like they were made up by someone’s kid. Coven structure is understood; the emphasis on sisterhood seems to be comprehended; there’s even a conversation around coming into your own as a witch, as your courses tie you closer to the moon and her power. Not essential in witch-fare, but a nice little touch.
If there’s any performance to write home about, it’s Kimberly Epstein’s Cai. Though the somber former High Priestess spends most of the film as a gruff enforcer, we see her emotional range deepen as The Heretiks progresses. Weapons star Luke Speakman is here as Wesley, but Bishop’s direction wasn’t enough to inspire the kind of performance that we know Speakman has in him. Though, to the young actor’s credit, his arc is at least earnest and believable as the gentle best friend with a massive crush on the unattainable older sister.
Intent is essential in witchcraft — something the film even goes out of its way to acknowledge — and, unfortunately, a lack of intent holds The Heretiks back from conjuring so much as a spark. The film doesn’t know what it wants to be or who it’s meant for, and the lack of attention to detail in the final product makes you wonder if the team simply gave up along the way.
