Throughout history, societies have exploited a fear of the unknown to keep the plebs under control. In the medieval Dutch village of director Didier Konings' folk horror Heresy, the surrounding woods are said to harbour an evil force. But just as European adventurers discovered you could sail to the new world without falling off the edge of the planet, our young heroine here finds that salvation awaits her in the forbidden forest.
Young Frieda (Anneke Sluiters) desperately wants to conceive a child, as that is how women prove their worth in her limited world. Her insensitive husband Hikko (Len Leo Vincent) refuses to countenance the idea that he might be firing blanks, pinning all the blame for his lack of offspring on Frieda. When the local butcher Gelo (Léon van Waas) is released from temporary confinement after sexually assaulting a female villager, he sets his sights on Frieda, offering to give her what her hubby apparently can't.
One day Gelo pursues Frieda, who flees into the woods. Just as Gelo is about to have his wicked way with Frieda, he is attacked and dragged away by some offscreen presence. Cowering in fear, Frieda is visited by a spindly creature that gently caresses her before leaving. Returning to the village, Frieda discovers that she is now pregnant, but the village priest (Reinout Bussemaker) declares that she is carrying the spawn of the devil, and Frieda is blamed for Gelo's death.
It's often said that most women would rather run into a bear than a man if they found themselves alone in the woods. Heresy distils this idea down to a folk horror allegory, with Frieda discovering that the men of her village pose a far greater threat than whatever resides in the woods. With her brittle frame, Frieda at first appears reliant on the protection of her menfolk, but in the woods she is imbued with a new strength, as though she has taken a bite out of the apple of wisdom and can finally see things for how they really are. To remain in her village means losing her independence, but in the enigmatic mystery of the woods there lies hope to realise her potential.
With her red hair and porcelain skin, Sluiters is an ethereal presence who stands out from the other weather beaten villagers. There is a sense from the off that she is destined for greater things. The film's Dutch title is "Witte Wieven", a reference to the "white women" of Dutch folklore, mysterious beings that are said to live in the woods. Konings represents these creatures initially as long-limbed demons, eventually morphing into a beautiful woman with flowing white locks. The scene in which Frieda first encounters the white woman is a psychedelic fantasia, echoing 2001: A Space Odyssey in its representation of human evolution.
Heresy was originally made as a segment of a Dutch TV horror anthology but has been awarded a standalone release on Shudder. At just over an hour in length, it tells its story in economical fashion, Konings and screenwriter Marc S. Nollkaemper barely wasting a frame. It is light on dialogue, preferring to allow us to get a feeling of this cruel and stifling world by simply observing its traditions and practices. The sets and costumes appear lived in, and the casting has wisely steered clear of any performers who might be said to possess an "Instagram face." By the end we are left in no doubt that Frieda has made the right choice in picking the metaphorical bear over the man.
Heresy is available on Shudder.
Directed by: Didier Konings
Starring: Anneke Sluiters, Len Leo Vincent, Reinout Bussemaker