Looking Back on Heath Ledger’s Only Horror Movie
Fifteen years ago, on January 22, 2008, my Dad picked me up from grade school. Then on our usual route, he pulled over and turned to me. Even being at the tender age of only nine years old, I knew he had bad news. “I have to tell you something,” he said. Oh God, it was even worse than I was expecting. There was an air of grievance. What happened? “The actor playing the Joker just died.”
What?! The actor playing the Joker in The Dark Knight? Which hadn’t even been released? I didn’t understand. My adolescent mind couldn’t wrap itself around the fact that I was mourning the death of an actor I hadn’t even gotten the chance to see on the big screen yet. Of course, Heath Ledger had already captivated me by the glimpses I’d been able to see of his legendary take on The Joker. The Glasgow smile, the giggle that was as mischievous as it was malevolent. He was the reason The Dark Knight became the most hyped and anticipated cinematic event of the year.
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But by 2008, Heath Ledger was much more than just “the actor playing The Joker.” He was also the heartthrob Patrick Verona from 10 Things I Hate About You, the peasant-turned-duelist in A Knight’s Tale, and he was one of Bob Dylan’s many personas in Todd Haynes’ enigmatic biopic, I’m Not There. And perhaps most famously, he was Ennis Del Mar from Brokeback Mountain, giving a performance so tragic and compelling that it garnered him an Academy Award nomination. By the age of 28, Heath Ledger already captured the hearts of critics and audiences with his immaculate performances that ranged from dashing to devastating as he embedded his characters with depth and vulnerability, no matter the role. He was everything from a roguish swashbuckler to a tragic ranch hand.
But what many don’t remember is that he was also a Scream King.
Twenty years ago, Heath Ledger starred in The Order, also known as The Sin Eater, the only true-blue horror film of his filmography. Written and directed by Brian Helgeland, The Order stars Ledger as a conflicted priest skeptical of his Order, who investigates the mysterious death of his mentor, who was murdered by a Sin Eater. What’s a Sin Eater, you ask? I know I did. According to the film, a Sin Eater is someone who can “eat” a person’s sins before death, both absolving them and taking those sins upon themselves. Sounds like a gnarly concept for a Catholic horror movie, right? We’ll get there.
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It was Ledger’s second collaboration with Helgeland, who also wrote and directed A Knight’s Tale. Given that the medieval jukebox adventure film was Ledger’s first true star vehicle, and the very project that established him as an A-Tier leading man, it stands to reason that the two would join forces shortly after. Other cast members from A Knight’s Tale returned, including Mark Addy (Game of Thrones) and Shannyn Sossamon (The Rules of Attraction). Rounding out the cast is a welcome appearance by Robocop himself, Peter Weller.
Here’s the thing: I had never even heard of this movie until a year ago when I caught it by scrolling through the Streaming Platform Formerly Known as HBOMax. I actually couldn’t believe it when I saw Heath’s face on the poster. Heath Ledger, one of my favorite actors, starred in a horror movie? Not just any horror movie, but a Catholic horror movie? Heather Ledger, in the prime of his Movie Star powers, played a rogue priest? Who takes on the Vatican? Have I not watched this before?! Worse, how had I not even heard anyone mention it, not in conversation regarding Catholic horror or Heath’s filmography?
The answer, unfortunately, is that The Order turned out to be a flop for both Heath and Helgeland, bombing with critics and bombing even harder with audiences. It grossed less than $12,000,000 against a $35,000,000 budget and scored a 10% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics accused it of being “The Exorcist warmed over.” And that was far from the worst review it received.
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Even for the early 2000s, when critics still hadn’t warmed up to the horror genre, that’s quite a shocking number for a project that had so much talent and so much potential. And in the years since, audiences haven’t particularly warmed up to the movie. Not even with the revival of Exorcism Horror that we’ve gotten, where we not only have recent hits with The Pope’s Exorcist, but we’ve also reevaluated classic entries of the genre. The Exorcist III went from being yet another unworthy sequel to the original to now rivaling it as a fan favorite among the horror community.
I wouldn’t expect that kind of comeback for The Order, but I would still expect people to have at the very least more curiosity to look back on it and give it a second chance. But 20 years after its release, it’s time to take this one to church and potentially do some sin-eating of my own.
Upon watching, I desperately wish that I could tell you that there’s a redeemable product here. It has all the ingredients, from its cast to its themes, for a transcendent classic of the genre. It should certainly be, at the very least, a fitting vehicle for Heath Ledger, who was still asserting his leading man status. The film deals with complicated characters, a blurred line of morality between good and evil, and institutional order for personal salvation. Just the perfect material for Ledger, who was always fascinated with layered and multi-faceted characters even when he was Hollywood’s Golden Boy.
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So it breaks my heart to tell you that I can’t disagree with the consensus. If anything, The Order frustrated me more than those condescending reviews prepared me for. A thematically rich and emotionally potent concept is distilled by stagnant direction, muddled pacing, and a flaccid tone. If there’s anything redeeming about the final product here, it’s mired by the overly staged setpieces and thin characterization.
Despite his reputable body of work as a screenwriter, having won an Academy Award for co-writing LA Confidential, Helgeland doesn’t exhibit any control of the material here. Potentially dramatic scenes land with a thud because the approach is so flat. The Order feels like it was adapted from a stageplay, in the worst possible way. Pivotal scenes, or what should be pivotal scenes are typically staged as lengthy shot-reverse-shot dialogues or casual walk-and-talks. Ledger’s encounters with the Sin Eater, an immortal being responsible for slaying his mentor, have no engine of passion or even emotion. Unfortunately, that also comes down to the actors in question. But we’ll get to that.
Honestly, calling The Order a horror movie feels to be a bit of a stretch by the end. It’s only markers of the genre manifest in cliches, such as the appearance of two mildly creepy orphans that are sprinkled throughout the runtime. Honestly, The Order is more of a turgid drama. One that’s well shot and has some unsettling concepts trying to escape the barriers of uninspired direction. But the only way this movie will scare you is if you’re as terrified as exposition dumps as I am.
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There’s at least one setpiece smack dab in the middle of the second act where Ledger and Addy, who plays his jovial sidekick, descend into some hellish underground society in pursuit of The Sin Eater. But while it sports the only memorable imagery of the film, particularly the Monty-Python lookin’ Hooded Priest, it was here that the casual pace and total lack of urgency became undeniable. It’s possible that Helgelenand didn’t want to commit to a tone that could rub some audience members as pulp, and wanted to maintain an air of respectability. That would explain the overreliance on stuffy dialogue and ponderous tone. But, it’s too haphazardly assembled to pick up momentum even as a drama.
Okay. Fine. The movie itself is lackluster at best. But how’s Heath? Going into this, I had high hopes but no real expectations. This seems like a great vehicle for Heath to show how his personable charm and quiet, brooding presence could’ve translated to other genres. Obviously, The Order’s reputation cautioned me. It’s not like Heath didn’t have black marks on his resume, he famously hated his own performance from one of his more notable bombs, Casanova. Still, I held out optimism that if nothing else, I could say that his performance as Alex would’ve shined with better material.
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The reality is much more complicated, and I’m sorry to report that I had very little enthusiasm for much of what Heath was doing. I would guess that he had little enthusiasm either. This is one of his most passive performances and I wouldn’t be shocked to hear that he was quite unenthralled with the part. He’s given enough scenes to potentially flesh out his character’s backstory, particularly his complicated relationship with his Order, to give Heath something to work with. It’s these quieter, more tender moments that definitely remind you that you’re watching one of the greatest actors of their generation.
Still, despite his affable if not aloof charm, Heath takes such a lowkey approach that he mumbles much of his dialogue. I wouldn’t have been able to follow many of the supposedly dramatic scenes, whether it be when he first confronts the Sin Eater or his final exchange with Peter Weller, without the aid of good ol’ subtitles.
Of course, audiences watching this in theaters back in 2003 wouldn’t have had that luxury, leaving little for me to wonder why even Heath’s fans have seemingly forgotten about his one venture as a Final Guy. He rarely conveys terror, at best more posturing a sense of mild curiosity or inconvenience, even when he’s faced with the supernatural. He gets one attempt at an emotionally dynamic scene toward the climax, but I couldn’t help but imagine that if he were more invested in the character, those scenes would have more of an impact.
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That’s all a shame because he was as striking and dashing as ever. His stubble, tired eyes, and trenchcoat give him the allure of a really sensitive private detective, and there’s an adorability here that pierces through even the most mundane scenes. His banter with Mark Addy was particularly amusing, though honestly, that’s probably mostly attributable to MVP Mark Addy, the one performer who seems to have a sense of humor about the project.
It’s hard to blame Heath for not feeling particularly inspired, though. I’d have a hard time with the material if I shared the majority of my scenes with Benno Fürmann (Speed Racer) as The Sin Eater. Despite my affinity for some of his previous work, especially in Joyeux Noel, his vaguely European Man-of-Mystery schtick here didn’t do it for me. Then again, nothing about this character worked for me. Despite a promising enough backstory which at least gestures to some kind of real motivation, and a real stab at the Catholic Order, his screentime is comprised mostly of chit-chats with the occasional scene of “Sin Eating.” Unfortunately, those too-rare genre flourishes flounder thanks to the grotesquely dated CGI. Honestly, it reminded me of 1997’s Spawn. If you’ve seen that movie, then you know what a devastating comparison that is.
Also, who knew that Sin Eating involved so many ghost jellyfish?
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The cast member with the most thankless role unfortunately is Shannyn Sossamon as Mara, a woman who escaped a mental institution after Heath’s character performed an exorcism on her. She actually might have the most sparkling chemistry with Heath, at least in those initial scenes where their relationship is surrounded by mystery. But by the time her role becomes apparent in the story, both the film and the actress appear to lose interest in the character. After taking part in one of the most awkward sex scenes I’ve witnessed since The Room, Mara becomes a part of the Sin Eater’s ploy to convert Heath to Sin Eater-dom. You would think that killing the only love of someone’s life might turn them, you know, against you.
Spoiler alert in case you want to track down this flick for yourself, but Heath’s character doesn’t have a choice. He’s tricked into stabbing the Sin Eater with a dagger that automatically turns him into the next Sin Eater. Thus The Order concludes with the most lumbering epilogue ever granted to film when Heath uses his newfound mystical powers to get revenge against Peter Weller, who turned out to be the sinister Monty Python figure from earlier. Then Heath walks off to narration that made Harrison Ford’s infamous Blade Runner voice-over sound lively by comparison.
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That’s The Order. I would call it disappointing, but my experience with it averages out to the critical consensus. It might be an odd way to honor Heath Ledger’s legacy by looking back at one of his most underwhelming projects. But it reminded me of just what made Heath such an invaluable performer. He wasn’t interested in vanity projects or movie-star vehicles. He didn’t want to just fill out a role and let the audience gaze at his impossibly photogenic looks. Instead, he wanted to challenge audiences, and more importantly, he wanted to challenge himself. It’s probably due to the reception to The Order that Heath would take his boldest role in Brokeback Mountain, his next project after this.
The conclusion from this might be that Heath Ledger was wise to stay away from horror projects for the remainder of his career, but I still argue that he could’ve been a Scream King. It would’ve had to be for a vision that deserved his versatility and commitment. Heath Ledger shouldn’t just be a face on a poster. He was at his highest power when he was creating characters and transforming himself to embody new stories and craft unforgettable performances. The Order didn’t give him that opportunity, hampering his character with more exposition in a narrative that should’ve been brimming with humanity and spirituality.
At one point during The Order, the Sin Eater warns Heath’s character to not “intellectualize something so visceral.” All I’ll say is that I wish the movie ended up taking its own advice.
Categorized:Editorials
