In the Fire Review: Amber Heard Stumbles Through a Grim Period Piece (2025)

Science or religion? That is the question. Or perhaps a better question for a movie like In the Fire is, "Would this movie exist if Amber Heard didn't sign on?" The premise kept reminding me of Florence Pugh's Netflix film The Wonder — no, not Terrence Malick's To the Wonder with Ben Affleck. In her movie, Pugh plays a doctor traveling to a remote village to investigate a child with suspiciously special powers, and with In the Fire, Heard plays a similar role as a doctor who ventures into South America to see if a boy is, in fact, magically powered by the devil himself. Pugh is Oscar-nominated, Heard is not.

But that's not to say she hasn't been in the news recently, especially following her court trial against ex Johnny Depp and the mostly pointless Netflix project that followed. Heard has starred in better films — Zombieland, The Danish Girl, The Rum Diary — and seems a bit out of place for a project like In the Fire. It certainly has some breathtaking visuals and a couple decent supporting turns, but In the Fire is a bit dull and feels like something we've seen on the big screen over the years.

Meet a 'Damien' in Training

Co-writer/director Conor Allyn's new supernatural drama opens on a sort of baptism gone wrong, potentially thanks to a young boy named Martin (Lorenzo McGovern Zaini), who appears to have some sort of demonic power. He resides in a South American community, which is soon visited by Dr. Grace Burnham (Heard), an alienist who is there to investigate such questionable claims about what's behind the mysterious boy's eyes. "If there is a sick boy here, then I will see him," is just one of the clunky lines Heard stumbles through as she takes on this role of a fierce, determined doctor.

After her first meeting with Martin, we learn there is more to the story than what meets the eye: He is charismatic, can speak English as a second language, and can also play the violin pretty darn well. But then, Martin's conflicted dad, Nicolas (Eduardo Noriega), starts to reveal more about why exactly Martin is ostracized, recounting his wife's second childbirth gone wrong, a horseback riding accident, and other grim details.

"It is a matter of science, and we will solve it as one," Grace reiterates amid growing doubt across the village about her intentions, which are a stark contrast to what the townsfolk feel and believe. It doesn't help that Martin looks like young Damien from The Omen films (both the original and remake), but Grace remains hopeful as she continues her therapy sessions with him. They visit the grave of Martin's mother together, she shows him Rorschach images, etc.

An Irrational Romance

There is another parental figure in Martin's life: Father Antonio (Luca Calvani), who looks after Martin, which almost costs him his life at one point. The hotheaded villagers aren't exactly peaceful with their beliefs. There are sick animals in the village, and the "demonic" Martin is the first to take the blame. Plus, Martin even offers food to young children who are starving in town, which Grace admires — but then, the boys end up dead. His fault? Hmm...

When Grace goes to meet with one of the village heads, Father Gavira (Yari Gugliucci), to try and sway everyone toward science, that doesn't exactly go well either. It's most certainly the film's centerpiece of a scene, with Grace taking a public whipping as punishment for being "a witch." In MovieWeb's recent interview with director Allyn, he revealed how Heard was drawn to the project after reading about these characters who are bullied and ostracized by society for their beliefs, which are current issues today that Heard has dealt with in the recent past.

But even after this horrific punishment scene, Grace stands firm with her beliefs. She calls it "savant syndome" as Martin's official diagnosis. She thinks Martin was born with the ability to access parts of the brain that many don't know exist, which Nicolas refuses to believe. "Those people are scared, and they need someone to blame," she tells Nicolas. The two are drawn to each other during Grace's stay, leading to a romantic fling in between therapy sessions with Martin. Is it believable that Nicolas would warm up to Grace to such a degree? Eh.

'What Is Your Lie?'

Besides the public lashing, another climactic moment comes when Nicolas' home goes up in flames. Martin, meanwhile, is in the church crying "You are mine!" over and over again, and locals can't help but think that he's the one who started the flames at his own residence. Grace denies it, of course, and relentlessly continues hoping for Martin's well-being, despite the violent pushback all around her.

Another chilling moment comes during a therapy session, when Martin flips the script and poses a daunting question back at Grace: "What is your lie?" A teary-eyed Grace thinks she's a fraud, especially since her efforts with Martin don't seem to be going anywhere. Nicolas disagrees and ends up thanking Grace for trying, but he might be biased because he's also falling for Grace on a romantic level.

Then, the plague strikes their community, and guess who becomes a glaring target? The locals go after Martin, and Grace is there to try and protect him. "Get behind me, Martin!" she cries during a tense moment — and could this be a Biblical reference, when Jesus turns to Peter and says, "Get behind me, Satan"? If so, it's clever for sure. Other than that, some of the film's highlights include its overall cinematography, a slightly desaturated color palette to match the grim tone, and the aforementioned visuals, a nice change of scenery, certainly help. In our interview with Allyn, he confirmed young actor Lorenzo wore special contact lenses to achieve those frightening eyes of his. He's an impressive young star, perhaps with a bright Hollywood future ahead of him. Otherwise, In the Fire just feels weirdly clumsy and unoriginal.

From Saban Films, In the Fire is now in theaters, on demand and on digital.

2/5

In The Fire

In the Fire is a 2023 drama film by writer-director Conor Allyn and follows an American psychiatrist named Grace Burnham, who is called to a remote area to care for a boy with strange abilities. When Grace successfully diagnoses and cares for the boy, the local villagers believe their pastor that the boy is possessed by the devil, sparking a war between science and religion.