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
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.
Tiger Stripes Tiger Stripes
Horror 2023 95 mins Director: Amanda Nell Eu
Nothing is quite as scary as puberty in this exuberant feminist pre-teen body horror from first time Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu.
Late Night with the Devil Late Night with the Devil
Horror 2023 93 mins Director: Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes
Like Ghostwatch reimagined as a cheesy 1970s chat show, this deviously clever found-footage horror has scares to spare.
She Will She Will
Thriller 2021 96 mins Director: Charlotte Colbert
In Charlotte Colbert’s strikingly gothic film, an ageing actor recovering from a mastectomy taps into a mysterious power at a remote Scottish retreat.
Out of Darkness Out of Darkness
Horror 2024 87 mins Director: Andrew Cumming
Bringing a whole new meaning to the term ‘period film’, Andrew Cumming’s Palaeolithic horror movie is a true original.
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.
Love Lies Bleeding Love Lies Bleeding
Romance 2023 104 mins Director: Rose Glass
Rose Glass’s gripping and gory follow-up to Saint Maud finds a lesbian couple drawn into a web of violence in 1980s small-town New Mexico.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 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.
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.
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.
Plainclothes Plainclothes
Drama 2025 97 mins Director: Carmen Emmi
Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey lead a Sundance-prize winning ensemble in this knockout cruising drama from debut director Carmen Emmi.
What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day? What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day?
Documentary 2005 45 mins Director: Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly’s second collaboration with pop band Saint Etienne traces the hidden history of East London’s Lower Lea Valley before its Olympic makeover.
Young Hearts Young Hearts
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Anthony Schatteman
A gentle and sincere story of queer love between two young teenage boys, told with warmth and humour.
Finisterre Finisterre
Documentary 2003 59 mins Director: Kieran Evans and Paul Kelly
A journey from London’s suburbs to its heart, charting the influence of the city on indie pop band Saint Etienne.
This Is Tomorrow This Is Tomorrow
2007 54 mins Director: Paul Kelly
The final part of Saint Etienne and Paul Kelly’s London trilogy follows the renovation and reopening of the Royal Festival Hall through 2005-7.