Nerdly » ‘Heretics’ DVD Review

22nd May2025

‘Heretics’ DVD Review

by Jim Morazzini

Stars: Eric Roberts, Neeley Dayan, Anna DeRusso, Scott Mazzapica, Sara Kamine, Shelby Wright | Written by Ryan Ebert | Directed by Jose Prendes

Heretics, which shouldn’t be confused with Heretic or even The Heretics as much as its makers, mockbuster kings The Asylum, would like you to. The film is, surprisingly, only their second foray into this style of filmmaking, with their first found footage attempt being 2013’s Asylum: The Lost Footage. That’s surprising for a studio renowned for producing low-budget, high-concept films. Heretics should have been the perfect opportunity for them to capitalise on the popularity and ease of found footage films. Unfortunately, however, the results are less than impressive.

The film begins with a somewhat nostalgic opening sequence. We hear the whir of a VHS tape being inserted into a player, followed by a flickering static video and the appearance of cryptic praises for Lilith.

Once past that, we meet Father John (Eric Roberts, Fyre Rises, Séance Games: Metaxu) is dropping his daughter, yes, you read that right, Eva (Neeley Dayan; Alien: Rubicon), off to hang out with her friends. But not before giving her something that belonged to her mother and grandmother. The fact that he’s a priest but has a daughter isn’t commented on or explained, although that’s far from the only thing in the film that could use some clearing up.

After some sinful activities like drinking and thumb wrestling, along with drama when Mary (Anna DeRusso; Monster Mash, Accidental Surrogate for Alpha) accuses Gregg (Scott Mazzapica; Twisted Date) is cheating on Sarah (Sara Kamine; Jinn, Sales Are Dope) with Jessica (Shelby Wright; The Electro-Rocker, Ballad Woods) they decide they need to do something to restore their mood. And what better to do than to go check out the Simmons house? Long abandoned and reputedly haunted, it’s the perfect place to get back in the party spirit. Either that or get killed, and this being a horror film, you can probably guess which it is.

Director Jose Prendes (The Exorcists, Corpses Are Forever) and writer Ryan Ebert (Tales of a Fifth Grade Robin Hood, Shark Side of the Moon) stay true to found footage conventions and have the characters spouting inane dialogue and wandering around the filthy but not very spooky looking house for the entire first act.

The film’s slow pace and lack of any meaningful developments during this section make it feel like an interminable wait for something interesting to happen, even if it is just the discovery of a bloodstain. Or maybe it’s just red paint. The filthy, unflushed toilet they found did provide a gross visual, but not the kind horror audiences tune in to horror films for.

Thankfully, things actually do start happening, although given that the film is called Heretics, it’s hardly a surprise that it’s a cult rather than ghosts that are haunting the Simmons’ place. The identity of some of the cultists had me hoping the film was going to go somewhere interesting, but nothing is done with it, and it’s never explained why they’re a part of the cult or why they’re so devoted to Lilith they’re willing to kill others, or themselves, for her.

Indeed, they might as well be escaped criminals trying to stay hidden or any other generic threat. By the end of Heretics, all you know about the cult is that they hang out in an abandoned house and kill people. I suppose expecting explanations and motivations was asking a bit much from an Asylum film.

Technically, Heretics isn’t one of their better films, either. Keeping with its found footage format, there were no credits on the film itself, and IMDB doesn’t list a cinematographer. Whoever it was does a decent job with the footage that’s supposed to be from the characters’ phones. However, the footage that comes from the cult’s black and white security cameras is so dark that you frequently can’t see what’s happening. Also, judging from the angles it’s shot from, they have some odd ideas of where to put those cameras.

In terms of gore and violence, Heretics doesn’t provide much satisfaction. The deaths are mostly off-screen or hidden by the darkness, and the film never fully embraces its potential for visceral horror. There are a few bloody bodies on display, including one with an axe in its head, but even these moments feel somewhat tame. The effects work by Eric Yoder (Amityville Bigfoot, Desert Fiends) and Jake Porath (Chucky, From the Shadows) aren’t bad, but the restraint shown in depicting violence is a missed opportunity to give the film some badly needed shock value.

Overall, Heretics is a major disappointment, especially considering the potential for The Asylum to capitalise on the found footage genre. While the concept is sound, the execution is flawed, and the result is a film that feels stretched thin and uninspired.

The pacing, lack of character development, and unfulfilled cult storyline leave the film feeling lacklustre, even by the typically low standards of The Asylum. Heretics may find a niche audience among those who enjoy the studio’s past works and found footage completists, but for anyone hoping for a compelling or scary film, this one falls short.