jtindahouse

I remember when this film was about to come out in 2013, seeing a trailer for it before another movie and thinking that I felt like I had seen the entire film. I could tell it was a film that was going to play out in a very expected manner and so I lost interest in it and never saw it, despite being a huge Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin fan. I finally saw it on a plane last night, and I was right all those years, but it was still a well put together film.

I think in the film like this the crucial factor is whether the movie can make you care about the character's fate or not. And this film did. We get every scene with these characters and enough work is put in to have me thinking, I hope everything works out well for these people.

The child actor Gattlin Griffith did a good job too I have to say. Often a character like that can come across very annoying and really bog down a film. That wasn't the case here. The film lacks in surprise and the ending relies on a lot of chance and coincidence. It's far from perfect, but it is very solid and a worthy 7/10.

This film was a Secret Screening at Fantastic Fest this year and moment it finished the rave reviews on social media flooded my feed. I've been eagerly awaiting seeing it ever since, begging for it to live up to the hype. It did live up to the hype - and some.

A lot of inspiration has come from Ari Aster for this film, in particular the way he filmed 'Hereditary'. Not a bad film/film-maker to have your film be inspired by I'd say. 'Heretic' is beautifully shot and extremely creative with limited confines.

The dialogue in this movie is as captivating as it ever comes in films. Every word is just a treat to listen to. The debate, the back and forth, the explanations, the mystery, the reveals. It just leaves you glued to the screen needing to know what will happen next.

Most films with a single setting struggle to reach 90 minutes. They often feel like they are really stretching things out for the final 20-30 or so. This film however runs for 110 minutes and honestly felt like it was only picking up steam as it went.

When you make a film this good, the ending is always a tricky business. There is nothing harder to get right in the film-making process than the ending of a film. Sometimes people get their endings so right that an average film seems like a masterpiece. Other times they get their endings wrong and ruin all the hard work that was done to that point. 'Heretic' falls somewhere in the middle. It wasn't the ending I wanted, but it was serviceable and didn't harm the product at all in my opinion. And I'm purely talking about the last scene and a half. Everything before that was flawless.

This was one of those rare experiences where I didn't want a film to end. It had everything I wanted and more. If I had a creative bone in my body and even a slither of talent this is exactly the type of film that I would've loved to have written myself. One of, if not the very best, films that 2024 has offered up. 10/10.

'Stopmotion' played at Fantastic Fest the year I attended in 2023. I heard murmurings of good things about it. It looked like an interesting concept so I always planned to check it out eventually. Frankly, I wish I hadn't.

Sometimes you just don't connect with a film. There was nothing about this film that I found interesting. No aspect of it made me want to keep watching and find out what was going to happen. It was an absolute grind to get through.

Arthouse horror is always a bit of a gamble and nine times out of ten it's not to my liking. If I had to compliment the film at least I would say it is unique and original. 3/10.