By Gregg Goldstein
CONCLAVE – Official Trailer [HD] – Only in theaters November
Suspense and horror films typically get second-rate treatment at fall film festivals, often relegated to midnight slots and left out of awards ceremonies. But this year, three entries at Toronto’s festival — Focus Features’ papal conspiracy thriller “Conclave,” Mubi’s gory horror “The Substance” and A24’s horror thriller “Heretic” — prove to be exceptions to the rule.
“I really wanted to push the envelope and make sure [“Conclave”] appeals to a mass audience with its thriller elements, but also make it a cinematic experience that appeals to a more mature, more demanding audience at festivals,” said 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 paranoid thrillers from the '70s. "The film is really a fusion of two genres: It's a thriller, but it's also a really strong character study of its hero, Cardinal Lawrence [Ralph Fiennes], and his crisis of faith," Berger says. "I'm naturally drawn to films that are entertaining but have a really strong protagonist, so I can put the audience in their shoes. That makes it commercial, because you understand every twist and turn of their psyche, but it also makes it appealing to people who are drawn to more character-driven films."
