Main cast: Nina Kiri (Gloria), Ry Barrett (Thomas), Jorja Cadence (Joan), Will King (Kent), Nina Richmond (Ruth), and Austin Duffy (Abbadon)
Director: Chad Archibald

I’ve been told that since I liked The Void, I’d probably like this indie horror flick The Heretics. Okay, I wasn’t too impressed with Chad Archibald’s previous effort Bite, but what the heck. I just received my wu-flu booster shot and that arm is hurting me like crazy, plus I have a fever coming on, so a horror flick sounds like the best antidote to my current misery.

So, the story. Some five years ago, Gloria was kidnapped by some cult that did some woo-woo-wah-wah stuff on her before they committed suicide in front of her. Well, that is undoubtedly terrifying, and indeed the poor dear is traumatized ever since. Since then, she has found some peace with her girlfriend Joan, who promises her something special on their upcoming anniversary. Oops, a scarred man called Thomas kidnaps Gloria again before she can discover Joan’s surprise. Has the cult caught up with her? Wait, didn’t they all commit suicide?

Actually, no, what happens is that the cult’s ritual five years ago was just part one, so to speak. Shocker, Joan is actually the last surviving cult member—she’s the leader, in fact, and what she promises as a surprise to Gloria is actually the completion of the ritual. You see, in the last five years, our poor dear’s body had been prepared to be the worldly host of the demon Abbadon, and the time has come for Abbadon to take full control of Gloria’s body with a bit of Joan’s woo-woo.

Having a demon loose in this world just won’t do, so Thomas is determined to keep Gloria out of Joan’s clutches. Can he succeed?

This movie can be loosely divided into two parts: Thomas trying to protect Gloria, and Joan using everything at her disposal to “save” her lover from the mean kidnapper.

I have to say, it’s not bad in many places. The practical effects are fine, the lighting of the scary scenes is atmospheric and tense, and the performance of Nina Kiri is good enough to bring to life this poor, tormented dear that never asked to be placed in her current predicament. Sure, there isn’t anything here that I haven’t come across in similar “Ooh, I’m being possessed by some horny thing!” movies, but everything is entertaining enough, so I’m not particularly complaining about this.

The story, though! Thomas has five years to plan and plot to protect Gloria as well as disrupt the ritual, but he is shockingly ill-prepared. Worse, he knows that Joan is part of the cult, and he leaves Gloria with her for five years. Why, good lord, why?

Also, he lets Joan loose to chase after him, and worse, he takes Gloria to the very place Joan will look first. Is this man mad or just plain stupid? I find myself giving our so-called hero a super side eye each time he refuses to explain things when he should have, because… I don’t know, plot, and continues to bumble over and over until I cringe in embarrassment on his behalf.

Additionally, this movie does something that I get increasingly annoyed about because of how prevalent and dumb it is. You know how the main characters will scramble around to carry out steps based on some kind of plot rules to vanquish some demon? Yet. in the end, shocker, after all these characters have done, the movie reveals that the demon wins anyway because, hey gotcha.

This kind of gotcha that is no longer one because, I swear, every freaking movie with a ghastly-looking woman on the poster art does that these days. Hell, I wasn’t keen when they did that in those Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street movies either back in those days, but that was driven by the need to keep making sequels in order to milk the franchise. What’s the excuse of this movie?

So, The Heretics. The effects are okay, the atmosphere is okay, but I am not keen on the shoddy story or how Joan becomes increasingly like a Terminator-meets-Cruella de Vil sort to a ridiculous degree as the film progresses. All in all, I think three oogies would be a fair score for this thing. I am not repulsed by it, but I am not bowled over either.