A Dark Fantasy About Mercy, Violence, and the Choice to Break the Cycle

Hecate, directed by Mascha Deikova, begins with the familiar premise of a witch fleeing relentless hunters, but gradually transforms into something far more thoughtful. As a wounded sorceress seeks refuge deep within an ancient forest, an unexpected encounter forces both hunter and hunted to confront the possibility that they are far more alike than either could have imagined. What unfolds is less a tale of revenge than a meditation on empathy, choice, and the courage required to end cycles of violence.

Blending haunting fantasy imagery with emotionally grounded performances, Hecate draws upon mythology, symbolism, and horror to explore universal questions of forgiveness and humanity. Through meticulous visual storytelling and a world where silence often speaks louder than words, the film invites audiences to experience its themes emotionally rather than intellectually, proving that fantasy can reveal some of our deepest truths.

Below, we speak with director Mascha Deikova about reimagining the classic witch hunt, building the symbolic world of Hecate, and using fantasy to explore the enduring power of mercy.

Hecate begins as a classic witch hunt before evolving into something much more reflective. What first inspired this story?

Initially, I just wanted to write a very short script that we could film with friends over the weekend. My team and I hadn’t approached fantasy before that, so I settled on this setting. A classic “witch hunt” was an obvious, simple choice. However, while writing, a curious question arose in my head that I wanted to explore: What would happen if a witch realizes that her hunter is also a victim? That they share similar fates? Would she finish them? Or help them?

From there, the story kept evolving and evolving, to the point where we ultimately needed almost half a year of pre-production to pull this film off. Apart from that, I wrote this script in a year when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, and it influenced me and the topics in my head a lot. Some of those topics subconsciously flowed into Hecate.

The film explores violence, mercy, and the possibility of breaking destructive cycles. Were those themes always at the heart of the project?

Yes, they were. But I guess I realized that these are the main topics of the film once the script was already finished. These are also topics that generally take up a lot of space in my head, so to some extent, I explore them in everything I do.

The forest feels like a character in its own right. How did you use the setting to shape the film’s atmosphere and mythology?

As far as I know, forests and bodies of water are important symbols in Jung’s theory of the subconscious and dream interpretation. Going deep into the forest can be translated into diving deeper and deeper into the layers of our psyche that we cannot access in waking life. That’s why I love the setting so much — not only because it makes everything instantly feel cinematic, mysterious, and fantasy-like, but also because it has symbolic value.

The visual language is striking, balancing haunting imagery with quieter emotional moments. How did you develop the film’s aesthetic?

We did it together with my director of photography, Imanuel Thallinger. It’s not a fast process because we approach it by establishing the tension curve for the whole film first, cinematography “rules” for this world next, and then going into detail through careful storyboarding and previsualizing each of the shots. (For Hecate, we actually pre-filmed all of the shots with simple blocking, stand-ins, and chosen camera angles to see how everything comes together).

I’m a strong believer in not shooting lots of coverage and instead defining the role of each shot and how it pushes the story forward, so the visual language and aesthetic are all developed early in pre-production.

The action sequences feel driven by emotion rather than spectacle. How did you approach choreographing those moments?

The important point about the fight scene was that every action “the witch” makes returns to her in a reflected way (not only symbolically, but also physically). As our lead actress is also a body performer, we defined the whole choreography with her first. After that, the actress who portrayed the hunter learned all of the movements in order to create this “reflected” motion. We enhanced the idea of the “backfiring” magic through shockwaves in VFX.

On another note, we wanted to focus on the emotions of the characters more than mere stunts, so we made sure to pay close attention to the acting side throughout these sequences and include enough close-ups.

Much of the story is told through silence and performance. How did you work with your actors to communicate so much with so little dialogue?

Well, we had a lot to talk about with the actors: starting with backstories for each character (which we do not see at all in the final movie, but which are crucial for the actors to understand why their characters act a certain way), moving through the general topics that the film explores, as well as the emotions and messages that we’d like to convey, and all the way up to the physicality of their movements.

Witches have carried many meanings throughout history. What drew you to this mythology, and how did you make it your own?

I think that the “witch hunt” is one of the earliest and biggest sexist and misogynistic (anti-women) movements that humankind has lived through. It’s also a cliché that everyone understands without many words: when people want to annihilate something or someone who is different from them.

In Hecate, I wanted to take this old trope and load it with symbols and open moral questions. That’s also one of the reasons why I decided to make my witch a sorceress who devotes herself to Hecate — the Greek goddess associated with witchcraft, magic, the night, crossroads (that was important to me), and the underworld.

Fantasy and horror often reveal deeper human truths. What did these genres allow you to explore that a traditional drama couldn’t?

That’s a good question. I think the answer lies within it already. Of course, I could explore all these topics in a classic drama as well. Yet fantasy and horror allowed us to make it into a more “bodily” and emotional experience rather than a rational and intellectual one. And this opens up much more space for interpretation — for feeling the message rather than understanding it rationally.

What are the books, podcasts, or even YouTube channels that you recommend young filmmakers get their hands on?

Here is a list of the ones that I really enjoy and watch/listen to regularly (and have for years already):

Team Deakins podcast with Roger and James Deakins (conversations with active filmmakers from different departments). True filmmaking gold.

Corridor Crew on YouTube, for breaking down practical and VFX techniques from classic and modern films.

The ASC Clubhouse Conversations, featuring in-depth interviews with cinematographers.

Thomas Flight on YouTube for poetic and inspiring film analysis.

CineD.com, a filmmaking platform with reviews, articles, and industry news.

Stephen King’s On Writing, which offers invaluable insight into creativity, suspense, and storytelling.

Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic, an inspiring read for anyone pursuing a creative life.

I could also list many filmmaking handbooks, but I think those are already well known within film schools and the industry.

Can you share with us some of your favorite short films you’ve seen lately?

Sure! They are not all recent releases, but these are some that I discovered recently and truly enjoyed:

I’m Not a Robot
Sometimes, I Think About Dying
Summer Hit
The Most Perfect Perfect Person
Nelly’s Story
Cocodrilo