HERESY (2024)

Original title. Witte Wieven

4 stars

GrimmVision. Digital. 26th September

A short – just over an hour – but highly effective and atmospheric dip into folk horror from the Netherlands, this was originally made as part of a Dutch TV anthology.

Set in a medieval village where religion rules. Frieda (Anneka Sluiters) knows her role in life is to give her husband Hikko (Len Leo Vincent) a child. She prays not to be infertile and even goes to the priest to create a kind of fertility test in a bowl which she buries on the edge of the deep dark forest, hoping that when she digs it up it won’t have worms in it! Strange noises emanate from within the trees.

It’s a bleak life and her friend Sasha (Nola Elvis Kemper) speaks of going ‘into the shadow of the forest’.

Whilst Frieda is there burying her crude test she is chased into the depths of the trees by Gelo (Léon van Waas), who attempts to rape her – but a skinny creature of some kind pulls him away.

Staggering back to the community, she later realises she is with child – leading to suspicions she is in league with the devil. This belief is reinforced when a search party find Gelo’s still barely alive body ripped apart and hanging from branches.

What is in the wood and is it responsible for her pregnancy?

This is stylishly directed by Didier Konings, who is better known for working as a concept artist in the art department of films like KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2024) and THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER (2022). It does bring to mind the work of Robert Eggers. This artistic sensibility shows, aided by the beautiful cinematography by Luuk de Kok, capturing the flaming red hair of the excellent lead Sluiters, standing out against the dismal and grey backgrounds. Exploring the suppression of women, lead by religious fanaticism, the original title translates as both white women or wise women. There is a forceful music score by Sebastien Romero and a powerful soundscape.

Steve Kirkham