My spoiler free review for The Bloody Asylum that can be found at WordPress, Mr Geeky blog:
The Heretics is a really impressive award winning Canadian film directed by Chad Archibald. Who also wrote the story, and whose previous films include The Drownsman, Ejecta, and Bite.
The subject of cults has been depicted in horror films countless times before. The Heretics does bring something different to this horror sub-genre, among other things by touching on psychological aspects. The film has twists, turns and surprises that keeps the film engaging and makes it feel different to many other films of its kind.
There is some quite unexpected depth to the film, and this is due to the performances of the cast. The standouts being the three leads, Nini Kiri who portrays the lead character (star of the TV series The Handmaid's Tale), Joja Cadence, and Ry Barrett.
The sparing use of practical and CGI effects never overwhelms the story or characters as they tend to do in many horror films nowadays. The film-makers create a really effective atmosphere of dread, and at times mixing reality and nightmares so as to put the viewer in the confused mind set of the characters. Some sequences staying in the mind long after the film has ended.
There is a really effective use of sound, cinematography, and editing. However what would have enhanced the atmosphere of the film would have been a more gritty grindhouse feel and look. Unfortunately at times the film-makers also fall into the trap of using loud music and sounds to generate scares, which threatens the effective atmosphere they built up by being far more subtle in their approach. This does not harm the film as a whole. It is unpredictable, right up until the very end, with engaging characters that have enough depth so the audience cares about their fate.
The Heretics is one of the better horror films I have seen in the last few years, and is definitely one film all horror fans who want something more than just a jump scare should see.
