Plenty of horror fans love their home-invasion films and supernatural witch adventures like the MCU's Agatha All Along. But thanks to The Heretiks, which just premiered at Fantastic Fest, you can get both in one package.
The movie follows Josie Juliette Wert's Ada, a woman who finds herself in the midst of a war between witches bent on sacrificing her little sister, Ava Mae Seidensticker's Mabel, on Halloween night to end the world. The group, led by Tess Williams' craze Neve, has its plans delayed by Kimberly Epstein's Cai, a former member of Neve's coven who aims to prevent their sacrifice from going through at all costs.
The Direct spoke with the cast and filmmakers of The Heretiks at Fantastic Fest, where they discussed the movie's unconventional blend of horror genres and the unique elements they added to their characters.
Everyone from the film that we spoke with includes Tess Williams (Neve), Josie Juliette Wert (Ada), Kimberly Epstein (Cai), Luke Speakman (Wesley), Ava Mae Seidensticker (Mabel), Leslie Cortes (Shaye), Gregg Bishop (director), Ariel Bleiberg (producer), and George Feucht (cinematographer).
Fans of horror should also check out Jane Levy and Jessica Rothe's River, which premiered at TIFF and also played at this year's Fantastic Fest.
A Witch Home Invasion Film: A Match Made in Heaven
"They Just Created This Amazing Mythology That's Very Unique to Witches..."
Directing The Heretiks is Gregg Bishop, a big fan of home-invasion and monster flicks, which made this movie the perfect fit for him.
- The Direct: "A witch home invasion film is such a unique blend of horror genres. Can you talk a little bit about the origin of that idea and how that mix of elements really provides audiences with a unique experience?"
Gregg Bishop: That's a great question. Luke [Piotrowski] and Ben [Collins] wrote the script, and I just fell in love with the script because it combined two my favorite subgenres. Which is the Home Invasion movie, I love 'Straw Dogs,' I love 'Don't Breathe.' A huge fan of that genre, but it also has a bit of a monster movie too. And then we have a great monster in The Witch, and I think they just created this amazing mythology that's very unique to witches and something we haven't seen before. And I just fell in love with it.
Tess Williams' Neve Leads a Coven To Sacrifice a Child
"She Gets People to Trust Her, and It's Feigned Innocence..."
Tess Williams portrays Neve in The Heretiks, the leader of a coven of witches who believe that reality is but a dream of a goddess, one they aim to awaken with the chosen sacrifice: Ava Mae Seidensticker's 13-year-old Mabel.
- The Direct: "One key element of the character is her voice. Can you talk about that choice and why it's so important to the character?"
Tess Williams: Early on, I kind of chose the lilting, creepy voice during the casting process, and it kind of snowballed into this whole person, obviously. But I wanted to play around with the voice and the physicality, and, you know, I just made a bold choice, and I think it paid off in the end. And I really loved how Neve, it's an innocent voice, and she gets people to trust her, and it's feigned innocence, which I really loved. Yeah, to try to get people to trust her, and I don't know, kill some kids. It's pretty bad... Just a lighthearted—It's a really good family film.
Star Josie Juliette Wert Explains How Ada Is So Important
Ada Is Key to the Film's Ability To Juggle Its Fantastical & Grounded Elements
The Heretiks star Josie Juliette Wert plays Ada, a woman caught between high school and adulthood whose boy problems become a thing of the past when she finds herself in the middle of a coven of bloodthirsty witches intent on sacrificing her little sister.
Speaking on her first conversation with director Gregg Bishop, Wert revealed that they wanted Ada to be "a middle ground between all the fantastical elements to have more of a human nature in the script:"
Josie Wert: A conversation I had with Gregg early on was, we had a private conversation about the fact that the story, while it is grounded in a lot of love and truth, is also larger than life and [there] are fantastical elements. We have witches, and then we have children, and then they have me and Ryan, kind of in the middle. So I think something that I worked with Gregg on was really trying to ground Ada as a middle ground between all the fantastical elements to have more of a human nature in the script...
"I really wanted her to struggle with both adolescence and womanhood," the actor added.
Wert: And also, I really wanted her to struggle with both adolescence and womanhood because she is just on the verge of womanhood, and that can be such a scary transition for anybody in life. Change, I think, is very scary for anybody in life. So I hope when people watch it, they can relate to not letting. I think your insecurities overcome you, and I hope we did a successful job with that.
Kimberly Epstein's Cai Is Not Your Average Witch
The Actor Wanted To Go Against the Grain With Her Witch
While a coven of crazed witches looks to sacrifice a young child, it's up to Kimberly Epstein's Cai, a former member of said coven who was branded a heretic, to save her and stop Neve from awakening a Goddess; though don't mistake her actions for kindness.
When approaching the character, Epstein revealed that she didn't want Cai to be the typical kind of witch many audiences might expect.
Kimberly Epstein: I think a lot of people think of witches as very scary and grandiose and larger than life, and I kind of wanted to go the opposite with her. To have her be stoic, yet feral and animalistic. So it was a different element of scary, especially in comparison to all of the other witches who so beautifully sat into a uniqueness in their physicality and their deliveries of what they represented within the film.
The entire interview with the cast and filmmakers of The Heretiks can be seen below:
