Torn Hearts premiered at London FrightFest 2022 on 28th August and will be available to buy or rent on digital from 5th September from Paramount Pictures.
Synopsis
Set in the iconic Nashville Country Music scene, Torn Hearts follows two friends, rising artists on the brink of a big break, will do just about anything to realize their dream – including a pilgrimage to the legendary and reclusive Harper Dutch’s (Golden Globe winner Katey Sagal) mansion in the hopes she’ll record a song with them. While their life-long idol seems intent to help, the visit devolves into a twisted series of mental and physical torment as the pair discover Harper – and each other – may have other motives. With no other choice and desperate to record a song, the duo must go to dangerous lengths to prove their dedication to their dream of becoming Nashville’s next country music stars.
Review
Well who knew that country music could be so cut throat? The legendary music scene of Nashville doesn’t seem like the most obvious location for a horror movie. But director Brea Grant and writer Rachel Koller Croft not only go there with Torn Hearts. They do the unthinkable and make the denim-clad, fringe ruffling world in to one of the most compelling thrillers of 2022.
It would be easy to write off Torn Hearts at face value. Two up-and-comers in the country scene – Jordan (Abby Quinn) and Leigh (Alexxis Lemire) – are on the verge of a big break tour. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime. But when the chance to meet one of their idols, Harper Dutch (Katey Sagal), things take an incredibly unexpected turn. But take the time to dig in to this gem and there’s so much more to uncover.
Koller Croft’s script revels in self-awareness. The film knows what its audience is expecting and works hard to subvert it. An early encounter with country star Caleb Crawford (Shiloh Fernandez) leads to a one night stand for Jordan. Is this how women in the music business are to behave in order to get ahead of the pack? Torn Hearts certainly wants you to ponder this type of question.
Side-stepping the male proverbial leg-up is what sends Jordan and Leigh to the gloriously pink mansion of Harper Dutch. Harper has been a recluse ever since her sister (and fellow duo-partner) Hope committed suicide. Injecting some gothic-tones to the mix, there are plenty of rumours about Harper’s role in his sisters death. She, of course, doesn’t welcome a visitation from the young duo and immediately begins to play mind games with them.
Sagal was born to play the role of Harper Dutch. She exists somewhere between manic and maniacal. Dangling the carrot of a career-boosting duet with one hand and carefully manipulating the pair with the other. Over the course of one day she gets Jordan and Leigh drunk, subtly setting the girls against each other. Harper preys on their hunger for fame like a lion toying with its hunt. For Jordan it’s the idea of becoming legendary for her craft. For Leigh it’s the fame and fortune that come with success.
As Harper continues to drive a wedge between the two, the audience is faced with the reality of the modern music business. These two women were inseparable childhood friends. But the mere thought of achieving their goals leaves them both feeling trigger happy (literally in some cases). Taking a step back its not hard to see what both Grant and Koller Croft are trying to say. The entertainment industry sidelines older women, resigning them to a corner of existence which thrives almost solely on nostalgia. In the meantime younger women are forced to stand in the shadow of male counterparts and trash each other to get ahead. It’s compelling stuff and really drives the narrative thrust of Torn Hearts.
Both Quinn and Lemire are engaging as the young duo. Their individual personalities leap of the screen from the outset and their journey is easily both identifiable and believable to the audience.
In its third act, Torn Hearts bursts from its shell to become a fully realised country camp thriller. The flourishes of pink, the Southern accents and the insane amount of bejewelled weaponry is outstanding. With Sagal learning in to the crazy, the film threatens to but absolutely never falls off the rails. In fact, the crazier it gets the more gripping it was to watch.
Verdict
Though it could have further pushed boundaries, Torn Hearts is an excellent slice of social commentary wrapped up in highly compelling southern gothic horror. Definitely one for fans of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane and not for fans of Nashville.
⭐⭐⭐
