This film is part of Rentals
Heartless
Philip Ridley’s stunning comeback film charts a lonely photographer’s battles with demons amid a haunting East London.
Director: Philip Ridley
Overview
Darkness lurks where you least expect it – including the streets of East London. Jamie (Jim Sturgess) is a photographer who has been bullied and alienated all his life due to a jarring heart-shaped birthmark on his face. Accustomed to loneliness, he spends most of his day developing his work in a photo lab. However, his routine derails when he notices demonic figures in his photographs – and, later, discovers dark spirits have been terrorizing his neighbourhood.
Filmmaker Philip Ridley hadn’t made a film since 1995’s The Passion of Darkly Noon, and returns with this Faustian psychological thriller. Genre films usually surprise and shock, but the horror of Ridley’s film is its distinct setting and locality – as well as the symbolic nature of the demons. Sturgess, aided by an ensemble cast including Clemence Poesy and Timothy Spall, gives an astonishing performance as Jamie who is drenched in darkness and discovers its meaning.
Related
Raging Grace Raging Grace
Horror 2023 100 mins Director: Paris Zarcilla
Writer-director Paris Zarcilla’s debut film elegantly balances gothic horror and social drama, producing an unholy child of a film.
Medusa Medusa
Horror 2021 128 mins Director: Anita Rocha da Silveira
Electrifying genre-bending horror about a gang of marauding vigilantes who target women they deem to be sinful.
The Beta Test The Beta Test
Horror 2021 93 mins Director: Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe
After hit Thunder Road, Jim Cummings returns with a thriller about a Hollywood agent who becomes ensnared in a sinister world of sex, lies and murder.
Alpha Alpha
Horror 2025 128 mins Director: Julia Ducournau
Julia Ducournau follows her Palme d’Or-winning Titane with this powerful family drama starring Tahar Rahim and Golshifteh Farahani.
The Severed Sun The Severed Sun
Horror 2024 80 mins Director: Dean Puckett
A pastor’s daughter in an isolated religious community kills her abusive husband, unleashing the force of a supernatural Beast.
The Woman in Black The Woman in Black
Horror 2012 95 mins Director: James Watkins
A young solicitor, administering the will of a recently dead old lady, is drawn into a sinister web of events centring on her abandoned house.
The Crying Game The Crying Game
Drama 1992 112 mins Director: Neil Jordan
Neil Jordan's acclaimed 1992 drama-mystery tells the story of Fergus (Stephen Rea), who looks after the lover (Jaye Davidson) of a British soldier he once knew. But what is Dil hiding?
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Thriller 2011 127 mins Director: Tomas Alfredson
Gary Oldman leads an all-star cast, including Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy, in this acclaimed adaptation of John Le Carré's esteemed spy novel.
Burning Burning
Thriller 2018 148 mins Director: Lee Chang-dong
Lee Chang-dong (Poetry) returns with this spellbinding, richly complex thriller about obsession, class conflict and suppressed male rage.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Thriller 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.
Only the River Flows Only the River Flows
Drama 2023 102 mins
Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.
Ghost Trail Ghost Trail
Thriller 2024 106 mins Director: Jonathan Millet
Tense, morally complex political thriller about a man hunting down fugitive war criminals from the Assad regime in Syria, inspired by true events.
The Reflecting Skin The Reflecting Skin
Horror 1990 96 mins Director: Philip Ridley
Stunningly photographed drama about a young American boy caught up in the nightmare of a sinister rural community.
Anselm Anselm
Documentary 2023 94 mins Director: Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders' stately and beautifully scored study of Anselm Kiefer.
Red Island Red Island
Drama 2023 117 mins Director: Robin Campillo
Writer-director Robin Campillo offers an exploration of memory and politics, in this boldly conceived story of boyhood in 1970s Madagascar.
Girl Girl
Drama 2022 87 mins Director: Adura Onashile
Le’Shantey Bonsu gives a stunning performance as a young girl deeply connected to her mother (Déborah Lukumuena) in Adura Onashile’s tender drama.
Rose Plays Julie Rose Plays Julie
Drama 2021 101 mins Director: Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor
A young woman seeking her biological mother veers into dangerous territory in this psychological thriller from Irish directing duo Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor.
The Painted Bird The Painted Bird
Drama 2019 169 mins Director: Vaclav Marhoul
Based on Jerzy Kosiński’s 1965 novel, Václav Marhoul’s extraordinary The Painted Bird finds a lone Jewish boy on a dark odyssey towards home.
White Colour Black White Colour Black
Drama 2016 83 mins Director: Joseph A. Adesunloye
A young mixed heritage man confronts the psychological complexities of his identity in this essential, truly cinematic discovery.