New horror movie Heretic, which debuted in theaters over the weekend, has been praised for featuring a disclaimer in its end credits that “no generative AI was used in the making of the film.”
Heretic — which stars Hugh Grant as a reclusive Englishman who draws two Mormon missionaries into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse when they knock on his door — has been hailed as one of the best horror movies of the year.
The A24 production has also garnered praise from film fans after they noticed that Heretic’s closing credits carry a statement against the use of AI in filmmaking.
“No Generative AI was used in the making of this film,” a message reads as the film’s end credits roll.
We spoke with @Variety about the credits of @hereticmovie and our passionate position on generative AI. https://t.co/0tXbCj0wYf pic.twitter.com/US22RWHlO2
— Beck/Woods (@beckandwoods) November 5, 2024
Movie critic Reyna Cervantes says that Heretic “received massive applause when that [message about generative AI] popped up in the credits” at a film festival.
Another movie journalist says that their favorite thing about Heretic was “seeing this message that generative AI wasn’t used in the making of this terrific film”.
While other critics called on more directors to include the same disclaimer in their movie credits.
The Threat of AI to The Film Industry
While Heretic has limited visual effects, the film’s directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods tell Variety that they felt compelled to send audiences home with this discussion point about AI.
“We have no illusions that when people watch Heretic they’re going to go, ‘Wait, did they use generative AI?’” Woods says. “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.”
In his interview with Variety, Woods describes generative AI as, “an algorithm jumbling a bunch of sh*t together and then spitting it out as art. It’s not human and it’s borderline theft on some level.”
Woods, who previously co-wrote A Quiet Place, says that he is concerned about the use of AI becoming more widespread in Hollywood.
“We’re in a business that is exceptionally greedy,” the director says. “Decisions are made for the bottom line and not for the good of the artistic process.”
The directors say that A24, the studio behind the film, stood by the addition of the AI disclaimer to the film’s credits. A24 previously came under fire for releasing a series of AI-generated poster ads for its critically acclaimed movie Civil War.
Earlier this year, horror movie Late Night With The Devil also came under scrutiny after disappointed film fans noticed that it used AI to generate some of the images in the film.
AI technology is still considered highly controversial by many filmmakers and movie fans alike.
However, major Hollywood studios have slowly begun embracing the technology.
