Film Review – Heretic

November 8th, 2024 | POSTED BY Sarah Ksiazek

Children who grow up in the Mormon Church (or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) go on a mission when they approach 18 or 19 years old.  The expectation is that these missions should spread the word about the Mormon faith and bring in new converts to the Church. Those on a mission also have to adhere to strict rules that address decorum and safety, such as always being in pairs and not being allowed to be in the presence of a stranger of the opposite sex alone without another of the missionaries’ sex being present.

In Heretic (2024), Sister Paxton (Chloe East) and Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) are a pair of young missionaries who attempt to introduce their faith to those they meet and those who have expressed interest in learning more about it. Sister Paxton is the chatty one and the less worldly of the two.  Sister Barnes seems more content with the world around her and more mature than her partner.  Mormon missionaries can be easily spotted by the public due to how they dress and act, leaving this pair of young women open to ridicule and awkward stares by those they meet. 

Sisters Paxton and Barnes wrap up the day at a small house to meet a man who expressed interest in hearing more about their faith.  Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) opens the door to them after hearing a series of unusual clicks when unlocking it.  Mr. Reed asks them to come in, and the young women ask if he has a wife, asserting that she must be in the room due to their rules.  Of course, he accepts their condition and brings them in, but with an odd question, he asks if they are okay with the walls and ceiling being metal.  Assenting quickly to such a strange question will come back to haunt them.  What ensues between Mr. Reed, the Sisters, and the absent wife is a theological cat and mice game.

Mr. Reed’s background is unknown, but there has to be some sort of educational background in theology or an extreme interest in it, to say the least.  He essentially gives dramatic lectures to the Sisters about religions, the backgrounds of each and their origins, and a referral to the one true religion.  While all of this is well and good, there is the lingering issue of the missing, busy wife who is apparently baking a blueberry pie, which the Sisters ask about often and become more insistent about her presence.  After realizing they may be in a precarious position, they try to open the front door but cannot, and their phones do not work in this place.  This house is not what it looks to be; there is no wife, and they are digging farther and farther down a rabbit hole of unknown depth from which there is no escaping.

Sister Barnes and Paxton are led to another room for more lectures and a choice between two doors, labeled “Belief” and “Disbelief,” and asked to make a choice as this was their promised exit from the house.  That rabbit hole is now filled with dread and trepidation, asking two believers to confront what is in their hearts and minds or just play a game with a diabolical Mr. Reed.

What begins after they choose a door, still somewhat trusting that this man will let them go, is the beginning of a torture of the mind and soul, not so much their body. They are still being asked to examine not just their belief in the Mormon faith but in God as well. Heretic is not so engrained in being a horror film but as a treatise of different sayings like “Don’t judge a book by its cover” and “Not everything is as it seems.”

Casting Hugh Grant as Mr. Reed enables the audience to find this man quite amenable and charming.  He has Hugh Grant’s mannerisms, English self-deprecating humor, and does not seem like the type of person who would harm a fly.  He is disarming.  All of this allows for the wolf in sheep’s clothing phrase to come into play both for the characters and the audience.  His insistence on there being one true religion and wanting to demonstrate it to his captive audience is not without irony.

Heretic leaves room at its end for some head-scratching and examination of religion and its beliefs.  You will be disappointed if you expect a lot of blood and guts from it—it is not that type of horror film.  It has its fair share of dread and disgust, but it is more of an examination of what you believe and how far you are willing to take a belief in something before you are slapped in the face with a reason to discard it or, at the very least, debate its existence.  Honestly, I am still pondering it, which may be the filmmakers’ ultimate goal. 

(Just a random comment for this review–I attended a screening for Heretic at an Alamo Drafthouse that included a piped-in smell of blueberry pie and slices of blueberry pie distributed at the right moment.  I am all for more of these types of cool, on-brand experiences while watching a movie.)

A24, Bryan Woods, Chloe East, Featured, Heretic, Hugh Grant, Scott Beck, Sophie Thatcher