Torn Hearts (2022)

“Atone.”

Katey Sagal gives a commanding performance and carries the rest of the cast in 2022’s Torn Hearts. The film is a Blumhouse production written by Rachel Koller Croft and directed by Brea Grant. Along with Sagal (Married…With Children, Sons Of Anarchy) are Abby Quinn (Knock At The Cabin), Alexxis Lemire (The Half Of It, Truth Or Dare), and Joshua Leonard (The Blair Witch Project). In the film, Quinn and Lemire play Jordan Wilder and Leigh Blackhouse, a country duo known as Torn Hearts, who are looking for their big break. When an opportunity to pick the brain of (and possibly work with) Harper Dutch, one half of the iconic Dutchess Sisters, falls in Jordan’s lap, she and Leigh arrive unannounced at Harper’s home. As they begin working with Harper, the pair find themselves battling Harper and each other for a shot at fame in a twang-filled thriller of a film.

This film had so much potential. Sure, the desire for fame and glory isn’t anything new, but weaving it into a horror film with country music as a backdrop is pretty unique if you ask me. What drags the film down, however, will vary depending upon everything from your knowledge of 90’s country music to the performances of two of the three female leads in the film. For me, hearing the Torn Hearts belt out nasally modern country twang was brutal. Thankfully that only happens in the beginning of the film. The supposed 90’s country music by the Dutchess Sisters, Hope and Harper Dutch, sounds more like country-politan 80’s country with modern lyrics. I was able to look beyond these miscues, however, and tried to enjoy the rest of the film (which does include a very beautiful acapella song by Harper and Torn Hearts). I also have to say that even though the Dutchess Sisters were sisters, their rise to fame eerily mirrors the real country duo of Naomi and Wynonna Judd, a mother/daughter duo for those not in the know. Considering the untimely suicide of Naomi earlier this year, the film was a tad bit more unnerving for me than it may be for others.

The three female leads in the film varied in their performances. Abby Quinn does a very good job at being the workhorse half of Torn Hearts. It was nice to watch her struggle emotionally as Jordan tries to come to terms with the fact that she’s the songwriter and musician of the duo and not the pretty star of the show that Alexxis Lemire’s Leigh was destined to be on the country music scene. Lemire’s performance was a little bit light in my opinion, but she didn’t derail the film. Katey Sagal was a juggernaut in this film. She looks, talks, and acts like a beaten down former country star who is falling apart at the seams. Her performance was unhinged, devilish, and brilliant. Plus, even as a deranged former country singer knocking on seventy years she looks sexy. I have to admit that. She carried this film.

What keeps Torn Hearts from being an all around winner of a horror film is that it just isn’t that scary. Sure, the point of the film is to show you what lengths people will go to in order to become famous, but there are no real moments of terror in this film. It’s more like mild suspense thriller that just downed a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. Brea Grant keeps things moving at a decent pace but Rachel Koller Croft’s story lacks the teeth that it desperately needed to make it a better film.

Torn Hearts is a decent little film that has more hits than misses in it. Unfortunately, the misses add up just enough to keep this film from being better. Katey Sagal takes up the slack and keeps the film interesting. It’s not a must-see film, but I don’t think that you’ll regret watching it.

Thanks for checking out my post. See you again soon!