Why Hugh Grant’s ‘Heretic’ deserves its spot as one of the top-rated films of the year
Hugh Grant starrer 'Heretic' has stunned the cinema lovers with a staggering 94% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. In the latest psychological horror written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, Grant plays a villain unlike any he’s done before. There's nothing romantic or charming about Grant here, who is best known for his rom-coms like 'Notting Hill' and 'Love Actually'. He appears as Mr Reed, a twisted, spiritual-seeker with layers of deceit and a taste for torment.
The film centres on Mr Reed, who welcomes two young Mormon missionaries into his home with open arms and polite smiles. The casual encounter soon spirals into a psychological game, with Reed subtly manipulating and cornering these unsuspecting women into his basement—a place far creepier than his mannerisms let on. From Grant's performance to the film's cinematography, plot and horror thrills, 'Heretic' has been making waves among the audience. But what makes this film stand out in this year's list of releases isn't something we saw coming!
'Heretic' makes bold statement on AI
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods have made a bold statement against Artificial Intelligence in filmmaking. In a nod to ethical artistry, the end credits of 'Heretic' says, “No generative AI was used in the making of this film” hoping to set a precedent in Hollywood.
“We have no illusions that when people watch ‘Heretic’ they’re going to go, ‘Wait, did they use generative AI?' It doesn’t feel like that at all, but it was important for us to put that out there because we think it’s something people need to start talking about," said Woods in an interview with Variety.
Beck and Woods believe that AI’s influence is creeping into creative industries, often without regard for originality or artistry. While AI may offer convenience, its rampant use in Hollywood is erasing genuine human touch. The creators of 'Heretic' made a conscious decision to draw a line to honor the creativity of humans, and push human-made art in the world of technology.
Woods defined AI as “an algorithm jumbling a bunch of shit together and then spitting it out as art. It’s not human and it’s borderline theft on some level."
"I think this idea that an algorithm can just scrape all of human history and art off the internet, repackage it, regurgitate it, spit it out and somebody else can use that to create profit … I don’t know why that’s legal," he further told Variety.
'Heretic' makers are concerned about AI replacing humans
AI has undoubtedly made many lives easier. But we can't ignore the fact that it has been taking our jobs too. Emphasizing on the very fact, Woods added, “It’s important for people to start talking about the need for human intersection in art, business and every facet of this life, because we’re on the precipice of every job on planet Earth being replaced overnight. It’s going to happen so fast. And it’s easy for it to happen in the arts. We’re in a business that is exceptionally greedy. Decisions are made for the bottom line and not for the good of the artistic process.”
"We are in a time where I feel like creatively we’re in one of the big ethical battles, and the race is already ahead of us. The importance is to have these conversations before they force things in, just because it makes sense from a corporate structure. It’s incredibly dangerous. If there’s not people to throttle it, we’re going to find ourselves in five to ten years in a very dangerous situation," he further explained.
Woods's attempt to initiate a debate is necessary step. Generative AI is already taking over Hollywood with usage in projects such as 'Furiosa' and 'Alien: Romulus'. Studios and tech companies are collaborating with new visions. For now, we can only hope that technology doesn’t take over at the expense of human jobs and creativity.
'Heretic' is currently running in cinemas
