Heresy (2024) Review – Seriously Haunting Dutch Folk Horror
Heresy: Quick Verdict
The TL;DR: Originally titled Witte Wieven, Didier Konings’s Dutch folk-horror film Heresy is a beautifully shot, atmospheric hidden gem that acts as a perfect companion piece to Robert Eggers’s The Witch. Clocking in at a razor-sharp 61 minutes, this lean period piece wastes absolutely no time on unnecessary filler, stripping away extended backstories to deliver pure, concentrated dread. Don’t get me wrong, it is very familiar, maybe a little too familiar. The film follows the established modern folk-horror blueprint very closely and offers little in the way of structural innovation. With that being said, its phenomenal restraint, excellent special effects, and deep thematic focus on female empowerment make it an absolute must-watch for genre purists.
Details: Director: Didier Konings | Cast: Anneke Sluiters | Runtime: 61 Minutes | Release Date: May 1st 2026 (Wide Release) | Where to Watch: VOD
Best For: Hardcore folk-horror fans, lovers of slow-burn period pieces, and anyone looking for a visually stunning, short-form horror experience that cuts out all the fat.
Worth Noting: Coming from the Netherlands, a country that rarely produces genre cinema, the film offers a fantastic global entry to the folk-horror renaissance. It is a subtitled feature, which may require a bit of patience from casual viewers, but the visual storytelling carries the weight effortlessly.
Did You Know: The movie features a distinct, film-like grain and is shot in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio. This specific technical formatting choice absolutely drowns the screen in gorgeous, timeless vistas of foggy forests and gloomy medieval homes.
Is It Scary: Yes, it is genuinely scary. The horror succeeds through a massive amount of restraint. By only showing fleeting glimpses of the entities lurking in the shadows, the direction forces the viewer’s mind to fill in the blanks, heavily amplifying the claustrophobic dread of the forbidden woods.
Rating: 4/5 Stars
(An exceptionally clean, visually arresting, and lean Dutch folk-horror thriller that provides a masterclass in atmospheric restraint, even if it treads highly familiar ground.)
Welcome to Knockout Horror and to our review of the Dutch folk-horror movie Heresy (originally titled Witte Wieven). This movie hit the festival circuit back in 2024 and is just seeing a wider release as of May this year. This one is guaranteed to please folk horror fans. Let’s take a look!
Table of Contents
A Hidden Gem of the Folk Horror Boom
Folk-horror has been enjoying a bit of a renaissance period ever since the success of The Witch back in 2015. The strange thing is, it’s been rather low-key, in many ways. Sure, massive hits like Midsommar and The Ritual always kept the genre at the forefront of horror fan’s minds. But it’s the lesser talked about lower and middle-class that’s been doing a lot of the heavier lifting.
“Heresy (Witte Wieven) is one such hidden gem and it is going completely under the radar. So much so, in fact, that it is hard to explain why.”
Films like The Wind, The Lodge, The Dark and the Wicked, and Men all deserve mention but the well runs so much deeper than you might realise. Much of that is down to the fact that folk has become one of the most global of horror genres. Staying in the USA would see you completely missing hugely brilliant films like Hagazussa (2017), You Won’t Be Alone (2022), Lamb (2021), The Medium (2021), and Impetigore (2019).
Folk-horror is a genre that is thriving on a worldwide scale and I seriously encourage fans to check out our list of 20 recent folk horror movies to find more hidden gems. Heresy (Witte Wieven) is one such hidden gem and it is going completely under the radar. So much so, in fact, that it is hard to explain why.
Perhaps it’s because it is from a nation (Netherlands) that rarely produces horror? Maybe the need for subtitles is putting certain viewers off? Could it be a wanting distribution that has left the film floating in the ether a bit? Or is it a rather general sense of fatigue with movies that closely follow the plan laid out by Robert Eggers with The Witch?
It feels very familiar
Heresy is, perhaps, the closest of close films when it comes to imitating that very specific style of period folk-horror made popular by The Witch. In fact, the themes are so similar that I would feel very comfortable recommending this film as a companion watch to people settling down for a witch movie marathon.
The story follows Frieda (Anneke Sluiters), a young woman living in a devout medieval, Dutch village. Frieda has been having trouble conceiving and her fellow villagers begin to shun her as a result. After a trip into the forbidden woods and an encounter with a mysterious creature, Frieda’s life begins to spiral out of control.
Everything here feels as though it is cut from the same cloth as Robert Eggers’ seminal period horror. The film is set in an isolated community that’s heavily religious and just so happens to be situated on the edge of a large section of forbidden woods. Some unnamed evil lurks in the woods and the villagers speak of no woman ever having returned from them once they enter.
“Heresy is, perhaps, the closest of close films when it comes to imitating that very specific style of period folk-horror made popular by The Witch.”
It’s all so familiar that it is impossible not to throw the word “derivative” around when talking about it. It, obviously, goes without saying that those of you who didn’t enjoy The Witch should just give Heresy a wide berth. It’s more of the same, only with subtitles. That’s not to diminish the movie itself, though. This is a fantastic watch if you know what you are in for.
No wasted motion at all
The first thing you might notice about this movie is how utterly gorgeous it is. Director Didier Konings and cinematographer Luuk de Kok have absolutely drowned the screen in gorgeous vistas of tall trees, foggy forests, and gloomy medieval homes. It’s stunning and there’s a film like grain to everything that lends the production a somewhat timeless veneer.
Heresy clocks in at a scant 61 minutes and it wastes absolutely no time setting the scene. There isn’t gallons of exposition and there isn’t any protracted backstory; this is a movie that is acutely aware of its time constraints and wants to get to the point as fast as possible.
We learn that Frieda has been struggling to conceive and we learn that this is causing marital problems, as well as problems with the villagers around her. It’s made abundantly clear that women are treated worse than animals in this society and that there is something strange hiding in the woods. Then it is straight to the horror.
The patriarchal nature of the village is going to feel very recognisable to fans of period horror. Frieda, simply existing, is already seen as less than the men around her. When she begins to break free from the shackles of faith and control to venture into the woods, the villagers really begin to panic.
It’s almost a depiction of feminism through a folk-horror lens, much like the movies that obviously inspired it. The woods themselves are pretty terrifying, too. Konings has captured a certain forbidden feeling that’s quite rare in horror. The trees feel like a cage and the tightly captured gaps between them somehow feel more threatening than the woods themselves.
It’s actually scary!
The aforementioned woods are home to an ancient evil that, much like in The Witch, carries a certain allure. It’s both haunting and attracting to Frieda. She is caught between her faith, her village elders, and temptation. The story acts as something of a reflection on female empowerment and breaking away from the constraints of said patriarchal society.
It’s in these woods that the movie really shines when it comes to the horror. Konings has opted for a massive amount of restraint when it comes to the creatures hidden in the trees. We see feet, we see arms, we see distant figures but we never get up close and personal. This works absolute wonders because it allows the viewer’s mind to fill in the blanks.
“There won’t be a single point where you will feel as though Heresy exists in a vaccum; it is very clearly a product of the way the folk-horror genre has been shaped in recent years.”
The tiny glimpses you see send shivers up your spine as you immediately begin to anticipate what is about to happen. Every now and then we meet a beautiful, ethereal woman bathed in white that hints at layers to this creature that might go beyond being pure evil. They don’t last long before we are reintroduced to the horror aspect, though. It’s a great balance.
There’s some utterly grizzly moments, as well, that are sure to please fans of fantastic special effects. Heresy never shows its complete hand but you know there are seriously terrifying things hiding in the ample shadows and that keeps you on edge, throughout.
Worth mentioning
Some people may find the runtime a bit lacking. I didn’t! I don’t think horror needs to be two hours when you can deliver a perfect amount of terror and narrative in half that time. There’s no fat to trim here and Heresy feels like it makes the most of every single second.
Acting is solid with particular mention going to Anneke Sluiters as Frieda who puts on a performance that is right up there with some of the best in recent folk-horror.
The soundtrack is fantastic, too. It’s a haunting drone of tormented singing and pounding drums. As mentioned earlier, cinematography is glorious though it is a bit too dark in parts. It wasn’t a problem on my carefully configured television but, taking screenshot using my computer monitor, it is very noticeable.
It is absolutely worth me pointing out, once again, that fans of period horror are going to talk this up. In my opinion, it’s not far off some of the best folk-horror movies of the past 15 years but it won’t convert anyone who doesn’t like this genre. If you are tired of movies like The Witch, everything people say about Heresy will be nothing more than hype. It isn’t going to change your mind.
The narrative is incredibly familiar, it doesn’t innovate in any huge way, it doesn’t have many new ideas, and the score I am giving it takes a bit of a hit because of that fact.
There won’t be a single point where you will feel as though Heresy exists in a vaccum; it is very clearly a product of the way the folk-horror genre has been shaped in recent years. That doesn’t stop it being a damn good film, though. If you enjoy this type of thing, put it at the top of your watchlist. It’s utterly fantastic!
The Good
- Zero Wasted Motion: At just 61 minutes long, the narrative completely cuts out the fat, establishing its stakes instantly without relying on heavy exposition or bloated backstories.
- Stunning Cinematography: The atmospheric 1.66:1 framing and timeless film grain create an utterly gorgeous, moody landscape that perfectly captures a sense of historic isolation.
- Masterful Horror Restraint: By keeping the ancient woodland entities hidden in the shadows, the film allows your imagination to build the terror, punctuated by excellent, grisly special effects.
- Phenomenal Lead Acting: Anneke Sluiters delivers a powerful, commanding performance as Frieda, easily matching the highest standards of recent folk-horror cinema.
The Bad
- Highly Derivative Formula: The plot and thematic layout heavily mimic the blueprints of The Witch, meaning it offers very few original ideas or structural surprises.
- Won’t Convert Detractors: Because it plays strictly within established genre conventions, anyone already tired of slow, period-accurate religious horror will find it entirely skippable.
- Lacking Runtime for Some: While the brevity works perfectly for the pacing, viewers who prefer dense world-building or long-form narratives might find the experience a tiny bit too brief.
The Ugly: The suffocating reality of historical misogyny. The film’s depiction of the village’s rigid patriarchal control, where an infertile woman is treated worse than livestock, infuses the everyday reality of the community with a legitimately stomach-turning sense of oppression.
Should You Watch Heresy?
If you are a fan of folk horror, you need to put this straight to the top of your watchlist. Heresy is an absolute triumph of short-form genre filmmaking that accomplishes more in an hour than most modern horrors manage in two. It is visually magnificent, wonderfully acted, and treats its supernatural threats with an incredible amount of atmospheric restraint. It takes a clear penalty for its heavy lack of innovation, as it is very obviously standing on the shoulders of Robert Eggers’s work, but it is an outstanding companion piece that handles its familiar tropes beautifully. Do not let this under-the-radar gem pass you by.
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Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.
A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.
