When I sat down to watch Heretic , I thought I was in for a straightforward creepy-kidnap thriller. And yes, there’s a captivity element at its core, but the film takes a turn into something far more introspective and psychological than I expected. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does catch you off guard—it isn’t the typical cat-and-mouse horror. And that approach actually manages to bring out some deeply unsettling elements, just in a different way. Image by IMDb Words as Weapons of Fear One of Heretic 's most unique aspects is its slow, simmering creep factor that doesn’t rely on dark corners or shadowy lurking. The captor isn’t hiding or cloaked in mystery; in fact, he’s front and center. It’s his words, his unnervingly calm demeanor, that inject a skin-crawling tension. It’s refreshing—and disturbing—to see a character who doesn’t need to physically intimidate. His words do all the damage. Image by IMDb Hugh Grant's Haunting Performance The standout here, without
I went into the first Smile movie thinking I was in for a quick, predictable “one-and-done” horror flick in the style of Truth or Dare or It Follows . I expected slim plotlines, B-list vibes, and a forgettable experience. But Smile actually managed to deliver depth and genuine creep factor, and when I heard there’d be a Smile 2 , I immediately thought, Here we go—they’re going to milk this dry. Turns out I was wrong— Smile 2 was solid, continuing just six days after the events of the first film and taking an impressive dive into the dark, manipulative nature of the Smile demon. That level of respect for continuity and commitment to the psychological angle actually had me cautiously optimistic for Smile 2 . Image by Rotten Tomatoes Solid Lore and a Deeper Character Dive Smile 2 builds well on the groundwork set up by the previous film, especially when it comes to understanding the Smile demon. In Smile 2 , we really get to see the mind games and subtle manipulations it uses to ta