Film Review: Heretic
A creepy, hilarious and disturbing journey into belief and madness
by Tadd Mecham
Heretic
four out of five stars
Rating: R: for some bloody violence
Run time: 111 minutes
Codirectors: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods
Released: 2024
What’s that? A horror film with an original idea that uses the Mormon church as its subject? To say my interest was peaked by Heretic when it came out is putting it mildly.
It follows two sister missionaries, Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East), who are welcomed into the home of the very charming Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) to share their beliefs. But not everything is as it seems. The visit soon morphs into a terrifying game of cat and mouse, where faith and resilience are put to the ultimate test.
This film will work for anyone who is a fan of horror/thriller. The intricacies of the strange house, and the demented theologist who owns it, peels back in layers to reveal more and more complicated questions about faith, religion and sense of self. But this subject matter and themes will be particularly interesting for anyone who grew up in the LDS Church.
I don’t know if any other work of fiction has gotten the textbook Mormon sensibilities (politeness, strange slang, and a very contained world view) this right on screen. But don’t be mistaken, they are not a Mormon caricature. The Sisters are not the butt of Mr. Reed’s many jokes about the LDS religion (and there are some good ones), and actively provide interesting arguments of their own in defense of their religion.
Heretic works because every character is fleshed out and three-dimensional. It explores fervent religious belief just as deeply as it does atheism. It deftly examines why some are able to believe through faith alone and others require evidence.
I don’t want to go into it too much to avoid spoiling anything. Watching this as blind as possible will make it that much better. But I will say that the acting is top-notch, with a career-best performance from Hugh Grant, the writing is complex and the story is unpredictable. It is a creepy, hilarious and disturbing journey into belief and madness.