A24’s new psychological thriller “Heretic” captures the true fear every woman faces while interacting with a man who thinks he’s smarter than her.
Mr. Reed, played by the captivating Hugh Grant, is an enigmatic and reclusive man feigning interest in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to lure two young Mormon missionaries into his home. Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton, played by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, are eager believers going door-to-door to preach their gospel to anyone who will listen. From the moment he opens his front door, Reed’s mind games begin. Barnes and Paxton are the perfect victims: kind, vulnerable and unquestioning until it is too late.
The acting in this film was exemplary all around, but Grant was undeniably the star. The script heavily relies on Reed delivering lengthy monologues about religion and what it means to believe or disbelieve. Grant’s portrayal of the character is cynical and unsettling but is comedic at times. He refuses to let the girls leave, forcing them to listen as he compares a Bob Ross Monopoly board to Mormonism, and sings “Creep” by Radiohead – all while remaining relevant to his point.
The cinematography was another impressive detail, with many shots reflecting some sort of religious iconography. Reed constructed an entire room in his house to look like a church, including a bench pew covered in theology books. Then, as he stands between two doors he labeled “belief” and “disbelief,” the scene mimics the appearance of a religious figure standing before stained glass windows.
“Heretic” also maintained spectacular continuity – probably some of the best I have seen in years. At the beginning of the film, Barnes and Paxton turn around a blueberry-pie-scented candle to reveal Reed’s first lie that his wife was baking a pie. Later, when they are in the basement, there is an actual blueberry pie, making the audience question if Reed had truly lied about baking the pie after all. Reed answers the door with a watering can in hand and uses it again in the film’s final act. This movie took Chekov’s gun seriously. It felt great to catch something that was briefly mentioned and then shown again much later.
My only critique is that the final act did not live up to the accomplishments of the rest of the film. It felt as if the movie was trying to convince the audience that it was a horror movie through what I thought were unnecessarily grotesque scenes. Admittedly, the gruesome deaths that happen later in the film felt natural and relevant to the plot, but the Prophet being a gangly, decrepit old woman who hacks up black goo felt unnecessary.
Horror films can remain predominantly psychological, relying on suspense and discomfort as the main thrill, which many movies seem to forget. If “Heretic” stuck by that idea, even while maintaining much of the gore, it would have been perfect.
The scariest idea of all is being tormented “just because,” and this film masters that. “Heretic” questions the core ideas of religion being used as a control tactic, and what it really means to have faith. The mind games, theories and intellectual debate torment Barnes, Paxton and ultimately Reed, until the very end.
