Heartless is a 2009 British psychological horror film written and directed by Philip Ridley and starring Jim Sturgess, Noel Clarke, Clémence Poésy, Joseph Mawle, Eddie Marsan, and Timothy Spall.

The film garnered positive reception from critics who praised the performances and dark atmospheric tone that complemented the Faustian plot.

A witness to one of the murders, a little Asian girl, tells a TV reporter that they weren't wearing masks; the demonic faces were real.

Later, he receives a phone call from a man with the same voice, and is guided to the apartment of Papa B and his assistant Belle, who looks just like the little Asian girl from the TV report.

Initially things go well: a chance meeting with Tia leads a newly confident Jamie to spend the day with her in the park, where his beloved, deceased father first taught him to use a camera.

The deal sours, however, when the Weapons Man arrives: Papa B has reneged on their bargain and Jamie must now commit murder by ripping the heart from a living victim.

She starts calling Jamie "Dad" and becomes a bit of a guide to him, kindly and pragmatically explaining that he has no choice but to kill, to save his own life—and Belle's.

Tia had initially meant only to help Lee gain access to the safe, but she ended up sincerely falling in love with Jamie.

During the ensuing struggle Tia is accidentally shot and killed, and Lee is seriously wounded by "She", a gang leader to whom he owed money, and who wears a metallic claw in place of a severed hand.

As he stands still and burns to death, Jamie experiences a vision of his father, who tells him that you can only see the stars in the blackness of the night.

The website's consensus reads: "Smart, well-acted, and unsettling, Heartless marks a mostly satisfying return to genre thrills for writer-director Philip Ridley.

"[11] Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times credited the film to both Jim Sturgess for having "a terrifically watchable presence," and director Philip Ridley for his compelling soundtrack and dark visual direction that "even at its most seemingly outlandish remains intriguing and involving.

"[12] Joe Leydon of Variety praised the film for the performances of both Sturgess and Marsan and the direction of scenes that give off a morose tone, concluding that, "There's more mood than matter here, but suspenseful atmospherics effectively distract from minor plot holes.

Club gave the film a "B−", crediting its second-half moral tale and the brief appearances by Marsan and Spall but felt it was hampered by the first half with its "plodding pace, portentous tone, and underdeveloped characters", concluding that, "Ridley is a master of atmosphere and mood, but his fantastical conceits require a strong protagonist who isn't defined first by his birthmark, then by its absence.

"[14] Ben Rawson-Jones of Digital Spy felt the film wasted its main cast with a promising plot that was half-heartedly executed with failed horror elements and dialogue that telegraphs the story, saying that, "The form and content are a perfect match in Heartless.