JP Nunez
I’m not going to lie, I went into Heretic cautiously optimistic. The movie promised a thrilling exploration of religious faith in a horrific key, and I found that equal parts enticing and concerning. See, I’m Catholic, and my background is in theology and philosophy, so I have a deep interest in these kinds of questions. But as I’m sure you know, horror films aren’t usually very kind to religious beliefs, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would this be an anti-religious screed in narrative form, or would it be a respectful and balanced exploration of the subject? I simply didn’t know, but I was sure of one thing: I couldn’t wait to find out.
Heretic was written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, and it stars Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, and Chloe East. In the film, Sister Paxton and Sister Barnes are young Mormon missionaries trying to spread their faith, but they get a bit more than they bargained for when they enter the home of a charming older man named Mr. Reed.
At first, the encounter seems completely harmless. Mr. Reed appears genuinely interested in the missionaries’ beliefs, and he even offers them some of his wife’s homemade blueberry pie. But as the movie goes on, it becomes clear that something is terribly wrong here. Mr. Reed wants to put these young women’s faith to the test, and that test just might have deadly consequences.
As you might be able to guess from that plot synopsis, Heretic stands or falls largely on the strength of its three main characters. Sure, they’re not the only people in this film, but they might as well be. Heretic takes place almost entirely in Mr. Reed’s house, so it’s really a three-person show. And thankfully, every one of these leads is fantastic.
Let’s start with the missionaries. While they both believe in the Mormon faith, Sister Paxton is clearly the more devout of the two. She’s even a bit sheltered, and actress Chloe East totally nails the youthful naivete of a religious girl whose entire life revolves around her church. In contrast, Sister Barnes is much more in tune with the outside world, but she never comes out and says it. We learn that primarily from Sophie Thatcher’s excellent performance as the young woman, so she’s just as much of a joy to watch as her less experienced counterpart.
But as great as the two missionaries are, it’s Mr. Reed who really steals the show. He’s played brilliantly by Hugh Grant, and if you saw Grant’s amazing turn in last year’s underappreciated gem Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, his villainous chops should come as no surprise. The man has the kind of charm that’s impossible to resist, and he somehow manages to retain that charisma even when he’s saying and doing incredibly shady things. In fact, Grant becomes even more captivating as his character starts to show his true colors, so he’s worth the price of admission all by himself.
Those three amazing characters are the heart and soul of Heretic, but they’re not the only great thing about the movie. It also features some excellent horror; much like Mr. Reed, that horror gets better as the story continues. This house may look normal enough from the outside, but the inside is a lot bigger and more terrifying than you ever could’ve imagined. It’s a bit like the house from Barbarian in that sense, but if you ask me, Heretic uses this creepy abode much better (although to be fair, I was one of the few people who didn’t like Barbarian, so your mileage may vary).
Every new room comes with its own unique mysteries and horrors, so you never know what’s coming next for poor Sister Paxton and Sister Barnes. Even when the place seems innocuous enough, there’s always a sinister undercurrent that lets you know something terrible is going to happen eventually, so you won’t be able to look away as this tense intellectual cat-and-mouse game slowly unfolds.
Then, when the horror really comes to the fore, Heretic gets even better. I obviously can’t tell you what’s hiding behind Mr. Reed’s many doors, but I can say that you almost certainly won’t see it coming. This is one of the rare cases where the payoff is just as good as the setup (every time!), so your eyes will be glued to the screen until the credits begin to roll.
Last but not least, I want to talk about the way this film handles religion. As you’re probably expecting, the characters spend a good deal of time debating various religious ideas. On the whole, I was pretty happy with the way these discussions played out. While Mr. Reed often poses challenging questions and arguments against his unwilling guests’ faith, the missionaries are generally able to hold their own.
Neither side really wins the debate, so at the end of the day, Heretic seems more interested in pushing us to think about these issues than telling us what to believe. To be fair, there are a few things I’d quibble with here and there, but for the most part, the writing/directing duo of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods did their homework pretty well, and they crafted a surprisingly balanced exploration of this often contentious issue.
That’s a rarity in the horror genre, so whether you’re religious or not, I highly recommend that you check this movie out. It has the hard-to-beat trifecta of excellent horror, awesome characters, and thought-provoking ideas, so if you ask me, Heretic is one of the best horror films of the year.
Heretic is playing in theaters right now.
