"Torn Hearts" unleashes Katey Sagal like a simmering teapot of crazy

Torn Hearts (2022)

Satan’s rock ’n roll has long been connected with the horror genre, but maybe country music and horror can finally make strange bedfellows. In director Brea Grant’s Blumhouse venture “Torn Hearts,” the Nashville Country Music scene is the setting for a pair of rising starlets and their seasoned idol, played by the versatile Katey Sagal who can be comedically dippy in “Married… with Children” and fearsome in “Sons of Anarchy.” A resourcefully micro-budgeted showcase for this performer to get crazy on a younger generation, it’s like Sagal’s “Ma” or “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”

Best friends Jordan Wilder (Abby Quinn) and Leigh Blackhouse (Alexxis Lemire) are “Torn Hearts,” a duo of aspiring country stars. While performing in Nashville, they hope for their big break, but their manager/Leigh’s boyfriend (Joshua Leonard) isn’t much help besides putting them in touch with rising star Caleb Crawford (Shiloh Fernandez). Jordan gets something out of Caleb besides a one-night-stand: the address to her and Leigh’s idol, country star Harper Dutch (Katey Sagal). Harper was one half of the legendary Dutchess Sisters and recognized as 1993’s best new artists, but since Hope took her own life in front of Harper, she now lives as an alcoholic recluse in her decrepit Dollywood-like mansion. Jordan and Leigh show up unannounced, and Harper reluctantly invites the girls in. While the newbies hope to show their hero their stuff and maybe even record a song with her, Harper has other plans. Will the erratic country queen tear Torn Hearts apart?

A shallow finger cut from a broken rocks glass is just the tip of the iceberg for what’s to come. The question isn’t will Harper Dutch snap, but how and when? Once Harper begins seeing a little bit of her late sister Hope in Leigh and herself in Jordan, it becomes a game of survival for the two twentysomething fans. Getting them wasted and getting in each of their heads by comparing who’s the more talented one and who should go solo, a wedge is driven between Leigh and Jordan. A kooky, crazed Katey Sagal is the centerpiece here as Harper Dutch, and what this character is fully capable of remains a mystery for a while. Her nervous finger-tapping makes us nervous, as does her feeding the girls self-made drinks, and then it comes time to use a knife to slice that strawberry rhubarb pie. It’s a juicy role that Sagal digs into and finds layers, but Abby Quinn (2017's "Landline") and Alexxis Lemire (2020's "The Half of It") are appealing and engaging as Jordan and Leigh, too. It helps both actresses can actually sing and sing well, and bravo for the acerbic Jordan calling the house “Sunset Boulevard."

Director Brea Grant (2020’s “12 Hour Shift”) does bring a sharp, colorful style to writer Rachel Koller Croft’s straightforward script. Taking place in a bar and then two houses (mostly Harper’s sprawling abode), the film does simmer and bide its time with Harper pitting the girls against each other. It takes about an hour for this pressure-cooker situation to really explode and revel in its trashy aspirations, but the three central performances go a long way toward forgiving the general predictability of the story. In proving Harper’s persuasion, a few darkly vicious surprises still remain by the end, not far off from the broken dreams and heartbreak of a standard country song. While more inherent camp was welcome, Grant’s strengths in keeping the craziness trucking along within a limited space push “Torn Hearts” over the top.

Grade: B -

Blumhouse Television and EPIX are releasing “Torn Hearts” (97 min.) on digital on May 20, 2022.