Suspense and horror films typically get second-class treatment at fall film festivals, often relegated to midnight slots and left out of award season conversations. But this year, three Toronto fest entries — Focus Features’ papal conspiracy thriller “Conclave,” Mubi’s gory horror film “The Substance” and A24’s horror-thriller “Heretic” — may prove to be exceptions to the rule.
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“I really wanted to straddle a line and have [“Conclave”] appeal to a large audience with its thriller elements, but also make it a cinematic experience that satisfies an adult, more discerning viewership at festivals,” says director Edward Berger, whose war drama “All Quiet on the Western Front” won four Oscars in 2023.
“Conclave” was inspired by films like “Klute,” “All the President’s Men” and other ‘70s paranoid thrillers. “The film is really an amalgamation of two genres: it’s a thriller, but also a very strong character [study] of its hero, Cardinal Lawrence [Ralph Fiennes] and his crisis of faith,” Berger says. “I naturally gravitate to films that are entertaining but have a very strong protagonist, so I’m able to transport the audience into their shoes. That makes it commercial, because you understand every twist and turn in their psyche, but it also makes it appealing to those drawn to more character-driven films.”
Few Toronto films may end up exploring as many twists and turns in the psyche of its lead character as “Heretic.” Hugh Grant plays the evil Mr. Reed, who invites two Mormon missionaries into his home and challenges them to a religious debate with very high stakes. Writer-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods developed the project after discussions with their mixed-faith friends and family, as well as Beck’s history with relatives who died in the 1978 Jonestown massacre.
“We had this idea — can we make a movie that is ostensibly a conversation about religion, that talks about these big themes, [including how] we’re terrified of what happens when you die?” says Beck, who wrote “A Quiet Place” with Woods. The pair spent a decade studying various religions to make sure the dialogue matched Mr. Reed’s genius-level IQ. So with all of its thought-provoking dialogue, what tone can viewers expect? “I hope that the movie is constantly evolving and you’re questioning: is this a dark comedy? A drama? A think piece about religion? A horror film?” says Woods, adding that Grant was able to “activate so many different aspects of his persona.”
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Another TIFF film generating buzz around its lead actor is “The Substance,” which follows an older celeb (Demi Moore) who tries a black market anti-aging regime with catastrophic consequences. Its body horror, satire on society’s obsession with youth and focus on women’s bodies helped writer-director Coralie Fargeat win a best screenplay award at Cannes in May. “It’s always hard to analyze the dynamics of your times, [but] the kind of genre films that blossom nowadays are the creation of filmmakers who have a lot to say through that genre,” Fargeat says, adding, “To talk about social and political topics in a very entertaining way.” Like Beck and Woods, Fargeat cites “Night of the Living Dead” as an early example of film commentary on race relations.
In the decades since 1991’s “The Silence of the Lambs” became the first horror film to win a best picture Oscar, more awards have gone to genre films that cast a critical eye on our society, including racism in 2017’s “Get Out” and economic inequality in 2019’s South Korean hit “Parasite.” Most of these are honored only after scoring big at the box office, but genre has also infiltrated festivals and arthouses in the work of directors like Ari Aster and Robert Eggers. Snobbery still exists, to be sure, but the days when a horror classic like “The Shining” earned Stanley Kubrick a Razzie nomination seem long gone.
“Many people told me, ‘I don’t watch horror, but I was so into [“The Substance”] and really enjoyed the ride,” Fargeat says. “That’s the best gift, because I would love the themes of the movie to be discussed and infused into the widest culture possible.”
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