This year, at Fantastic Fest, Dread Central’s new company, Be Afraid, premieres its first production, The Heretiks. Directed by Gregg Bishop (Dance of the Dead, V/H/S Viral), and written by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski (The Night House, 2022’s Hellraiser), the film is a subgenre mash-up that follows two sisters as they go up against powerful witches. And it’s here just in time for Halloween.
Warning: Animal lovers beware. In the first five minutes, we don’t see an animal getting killed, but what they do to it post mortem is pretty grisly.
It’s Halloween, and 13-year-old Mabel (Ava Mae Seidensticker) plans to go trick-or-treating with her best friend, Wesley (Weapons’ Luke Speakman). But those plans change once a coven of witches set their sights on her. Mabel has been targeted by Neve (Tess Williams), an unhinged witch in need of a sacrifice that will awaken the ancient goddess they serve and usher in the end of the world. But there’s a midnight deadline for the apocalyptic ritual. Can Mabel and Wesley survive the night?
Enter Cai (Kimberly Epstein), the heretic. She becomes their protector against her former coven, though her unpredictable behavior makes it questionable if they’re actually safe with her or if she’s another feral witch out for blood, or maybe both. One minute she’s slicing into your skin and the next, she’s creating a barrier to keep the bad witches out of your house. She’s not necessarily a “good” witch, but she’s much less sadistic in comparison to the killer coven.
The fourth member of the unlikely quartet is Mabel’s older sister, Ada (Josie Juliette Wert), whom we meet as she’s passed out on the couch when Mabel comes home from school. We don’t learn much about her other than she left college and broke someone’s heart. She was in a long distance relationship with Ryan (Spencer Brabham), and called it quits via text. Their side story isn’t that intriguing, but it does give some insight into Ada’s character: she bails when things get overwhelming.
It’s really the state of Ada’s relationship with Mabel that takes center stage. The two bicker, as siblings do, but there’s an underlying sadness in their early interactions, implying they need to reconnect. And what better time to do that than while battling witches. Seidensticker and Wert do a good job at being believable as somewhat estranged sisters.
While Ada is positioned as the main character, I felt that the film was more centered on Mabel, at least in the first half. That could just be the way the story is told, but it could very well be Seidensticker’s performance, including her chemistry with Speakman. Wesley is really the heart of the film, and Speakman delivers in spades.
One standout performance is Tess Williams. She could’ve portrayed Neve as an over-the-top, cartoonishly cackling villain. Instead, she gave the character a wild-eyed calmness that’s more chilling than if she was running around viciously killing people. Neve is like if Luna Lovegood was evil. She has a sweet, childlike voice and a somewhat dreamy disposition. But she also sees nothing wrong with sacrificing a child to bring about the apocalypse. In other words, she’s a very captivating character.
From the practical effects to DP George Feucht’s (V/H/S Viral) cinematography, The Heretiks is a visual treat. The film opens with Feucht’s beautiful shots of the witches in the woods standing around a large fire, not unlike The Witch. And another cool image of the coven walking with the moon in the background. He also crafted a few double exposure shots, particularly in one scene through a glass door that hints at the fractured relationship between Neve and Cai.
When it comes to Halloween vibes, The Heretiks does it well. The beginning with Mabel walking home reminds me a little of Halloween, especially since a cloaked stranger silently watches her and Ada from afar. And given that there are kids trying to escape death by child-killing witches, there’s also some Hocus Pocus in there, like if the Sanderson sisters weren’t a trio of fabulous entertainers but a fiendish coven.
As Mabel passes by house decorations, and later when she and Wesley are out at night, it feels like a modest version of Trick ‘r Treat. The film has the same Halloween spirit and definitely has no qualms about hurting children on screen. There are some brutal scenes that were pretty jaw-dropping.
The Heretiks is a lot of things: a home invasion horror, a character-driven coming-of-age tale, a high-stakes survival thriller. But above all else, it’s a moody Halloween film that entertains. While a few line deliveries could be better and the brief moments of humor don’t always land, it’s still a fun ride. And a solid addition to your usual Halloween movie rotation.
The Heretiks had its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest 2026.
